Tis’ the season for the great resurgence of all the old and new Christmas movies releasing onto streaming platforms. Christmas movies are a highlight of the holiday: entertaining the masses and keeping the jolly spirit alive. But what movies are a must watch?

5. “Elf” (2003)
“Elf” is a holiday classic featuring comedic actor Will Ferrell. Ferrell plays a character by the name of Buddy who was accidentally brought to the North Pole to be raised by Santa and the elves. Suddenly, a change of events occurs when Buddy begins to realize that he is not actually an elf, so in a quest to find his birth father, he travels to New York. Eventually Buddy finds his dad, who now has to live with the chaotic personality of Buddy. “Elf”, despite the fun and adventurous movie it is, tends to be overrated because of the amount of traction it receives during the holidays. It is given a lot of praise when the attention could be given to newer and arguably better Christmas movies.

4. “The Santa Clause” (1994)
“The Santa Clause” is the first movie of the trilogy featuring Tim Allen as main character Scott Calvin. Calvin, a divorced dad, has his son over for Christmas Eve. Suddenly Calvin is thrown into a crazy adventure after “killing” Santa. He is brought to the North Pole and is told he is to be the next Santa Claus but does not believe it. After a few days, he begins to grow features that resemble the jolly red man and has to face the reality that he is indeed now Santa Claus. “The Santa Clause” is a holiday must-watch because of how entertaining the whole movie is. A fault though is the uniqueness, many movies like “The Santa Claus” have very similar stories. While entertaining, the movie lacks any interesting plot.

3. “Klaus” (2019)
“Klaus” is a movie that tells a story about the origins of the renowned Santa Claus. The story begins with a selfish postman, Jesper, who is sent to a desolate and icy town by his father. With his privileged life being threatened by his father because of Jesper’s selfish ways, Jesper must find a way to mail 6000 letters before the year is over. In his desperate attempt to coerce the locals, he turns to a secluded and lonely toymaker for help. The movie is the first Netflix animated original film, an Academy Award nominee and has gone on to win many awards. “Klaus” is a heart-wrenching and beautiful movie that anybody can watch and love but lacks the nostalgia any other Christmas movie holds.

2. “The Polar Express” (2004)
“The Polar Express” is a movie with a message. On Christmas Eve, a young boy catches a magical train that travels to the North Pole in order to meet Santa. Along the way, the boy goes on a path of self-discovery with the help of his new friends. As problems arise, each kid must persevere against self-made obstacles and find that the wonder of life never falters when you believe in it. This movie has a wonderful and put together story with the help of nostalgia by the early 2000s.

1. “How the Grinch stole Christmas” (2000)
“How the Grinch stole Christmas” has to be one of the best Christmas movies to watch during the holiday. The movie is based on Dr. Seuss’ book, starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch, who hates Christmas and wants to make the entirety of the neighboring town miserable. His plan is interrupted by a young Cindy Who, who wants to show the Grinch that Christmas isn’t that bad while fighting her own Christmas doubts. This movie does a great job with relevance to real world problems and the material Christmas stereotype while still having the charm that the original story had. The humor also works well with the Grinch’s character as well as his personality, Carrey did a splendid job as his role.

Christmas movies bring a lot of joy and nostalgia to the season and regardless of rank they are all a joy to watch.

Contact Jordan Graham at [email protected]