Oh wow- I like most every Christmas movie. I'm something of a fanatic when it comes to Christmas, and of course Christ.
But I'll give it a shot and try to not blather on too long...
In no particular order-
obviously any and all of The Muppets' productions-
I've seen "Elmo's World: Happy Holidays" and I like it okay, but it's not exactly my favorite- though I do give it major credit for actually depicting the birth of Jesus when talking about Christmas. That was cool! And it was great to have Prairie Dawn, famous for her plays on Sesame Street already, do another classic type of play- a Christmas pageant! I just wish that Jesus hadn't been referred to as just a good man. He is certainly a good teacher- but He's good because He is the only One who is good- God. I would have liked to have heard Luke 2:11 in there somewhere- "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord."
But in my other big favorite Muppet Christmas production, they did quote from Luke 2. "John Denver and The Muppets: A Christmas Together" is such a great special! So many great songs like "The 12 Days of Christmas", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "The Peace Carol", "A Baby Just Like You" and "The Christmas Wish" and others. And I really appreciated hearing "Silent Night" in there along with John Denver more or less quoting from Luke 2 and Matthew 2 to tell about the birth of Jesus Christ. And the Muppets used for the Nativity scene were great! I read somewhere that Jim Henson took special care not to make them look comical for fear of offending anyone- I think he did them just right. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men, the angels and the animals there and of course Baby Jesus- all were very nicely done!
I was also quite thrilled to actually hear Christmas carols like "Carol of the Bells", "I Saw Three Ships" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" included in "Elmo's Christmas Countdown". That alone gives it a high rating for me- though of course I enjoyed everything else in there too.
"A Sesame Street Christmas Carol" was also really cool just for seeing the resurgence of Sam the robot!
And of course, "Elmo Saves Christmas" is good and I really enjoy "A Special Sesame Street Christmas" too. And "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" will always be up towards the top.
And of course I have to mention "The Bells of Fraggle Rock" episode of Fraggle Rock. That one is great too. Cantus had some great, fairly profound statements in there- particularly about the Fraggles already having the bells there with them.
And then there's "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" which was a great welcome treat. "It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" has become one of my more modern favorites. (I LOVE the "Everyone Matters" song!) "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" and "The Christmas Toy" are great too. I'd love to actually see "The Great Santa Claus Switch" some day.
And "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and "A Muppet Family Christmas" would both also be towards the top as well. I love Charles Dickens' book "A Christmas Carol" to begin with- I've read it more than once. I tear up at the plight of Tiny Tim and especially tear up with joy at the line where Tiny Tim feels that "they might like to see him and remember the One who made lame to walk and the blind to see." Awesome!
And I'm so pleased to hear "The Holly and The Ivy", "I Saw Three Ships" and "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day" sung in "A Muppet Family Christmas" (all of which are incredibly great Christmas carols about Jesus and the salvation He came to bring when you sing all the verses.)
Other movies...
"Ernest Saves Christmas" - comedy classic
"Jingle All the Way"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"The Santa Clause"
"The Santa Clause 2"
"The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"
"All I Want for Christmas"- I cry on this movie- it's so good!
"Home Alone"
"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (I LOVE both these movies! So good! I also cry a bit on some scenes on these. And for the record, I've seen the 3rd. and 4th. movies, and they're okay- but the first 2 are classic!)
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the cartoon version is still better than Jim Carrey's movie- but I like that one too. Of course, the book's better than both.)
"Miracle on 34th. Street" (I enjoy the 1994 remake, but the 1947 original is classic!)
"White Christmas" (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye- great musical comedy team!)
"It's A Wonderful Life" (You can't beat Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart!)
(And I definitely cry on those last 3 movies- such great movies!)
That's most of my quintessential Christmas favorites (although I could keep naming Christmas-themed episodes of TV shows I like and Christmas specials, etc.)
But I would remiss if I didn't mention "A Garfield Christmas"
and "The Nativity Story" (This one is a bit Biblically inaccurate at the end, but I understand why they did it that way and I enjoyed it.) Of course, I've heard some people call that movie a prequel to "The Passion of The Christ" and it is, though not really made by the same people. But "The Passion of the Christ" depicts the completion of Jesus' mission and purpose in being born at Christmas- to deliver us the greatest gift ever of Easter- His death and Resurrection that brought us salvation!
The 1979 "Jesus" movie is also an excellent depiction of The Gospel and certainly one of the most worldwide seen movies.
And "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also one of my top favorites- so many great scenes in there, but of course, I'm mainly thankful that Charles Schulz stood his ground and insisted that Linus recite Luke 2:8-14 in there, to tell Charlie Brown about Jesus coming to be the Savior- "That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."
....Okay- so I definitely blew it on the not blathering on bit- lol. Anyway, I'll just end by saying, Merry Christmas to all. And as Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us, everyone!".
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