While everyone has their own personal favourite when it comes to holiday movies (mine: Love Actually), there are a collection of cartoon flicks and stop-motion gems that make the rounds this time of year that help signify that Christmas is drawing closer.
Young or old, an embodiment of jolly ol’ St. Nick or crusty Ebenezer Scrooge, everyone can agree that these classics can’t be missed during the holiday season.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Christmas isn’t Christmas until Yukon Jack and the Abominable Snowman have shown up on television. This 50-year-old offering still stands up after all these years. Sure, the stop motion animation could be updated and they could give Rudolph a modern spin, but what makes this movie so timeless and awesome is that the original 1964 version is still the one that everyone waits for during the holidays, not some revamped reboot where Poochie the Dog comes to help save Christmas.
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
A lot of what makes Rudolph so great applies here with Frosty and his friends too. It’s old, looks old and could, conceivably, have been updated several times over during the last 45 years, but it hasn’t and the magic in that old silk hat still works. The Frosty cartoon remains one of the classic signifiers that Christmas is around the corner – not bad for a cartoon version of a 1950’s Gene Autry novelty song.
A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The newest addition to this list, Tim Burton’s stop-motion masterpiece where Jack Skellington kidnaps Santa Claus and decides to deliver presents himself is a dual-holiday mash-up that really doesn’t get enough love. Sure, it doesn’t drum up as much nostalgia as the older offerings on this list, but try to watch this film and not walk away humming – or outright singing – one of the many musical numbers. Besides, everyone needs a little change of pace here and there during the holiday season and Jack & Co. deliver just that.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
No disrespect to Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen and Ron Howard, but there is one and only one How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie that matters this time of year and that’s this one – the old school cartoon where the small-hearted villain from Mt. Crumpit descends upon Whoville to steal all the Christmas cheer. “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch” is still one of the most enjoyable songs of the holiday season as well.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
Dickens’ timeless novella adapted with Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit and Scrooge McDuck, future star of DuckTales, as his namesake, Ebenezer Scrooge? Awesome. This was and probably still is how some people get introduced to this classic cast of characters. Yet again, despite the temptation to update the animation or put a more current spin on the story, this version continues to play on each year, making it a time-honoured tradition in many households every December.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Raise your hand if you still refer to a sparse, decrepit-looking Christmas tree as a Charlie Brown tree? This was the first time Charles Schultz’ classic characters came to live and even though the movie turns 50 next year, the messages still ring true and its as enjoyable to watch now as it was whenever you sat down to enjoy it for the first time. Sally Brown’s “Dear Santa Claus, just send money” dictation to her brother remains awesome to this day. Good Grief.
