PW's Top Ten Christmas Movies 

10. Dr. Suess` How the Grinch Stole Christmas

9. Jingle All The Way

8. Scrooged 

7. A Christmas Story 

6. The Santa Clause 

5. Elf 

4. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

3. Die Hard 

2. It's a Wonderful Life 

1. Home Alone 

10. Dr. Suess' How The Grinch Stole Christmas 

He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more! ~ Narrator 

Released 

1966 

Credits

Director: Chuck Jones 

Co-Director: Ben Washam 

Writer (Book): Dr. Suess 

Additional Story: Irv Spector

Cast 

Boris Karloff (Narrator/The Grinch)

June Foray (Cindy Lou Who)

Dal McKennon (Max)

Box Office 

N/A 

Critical 

8.4/10 (IMDB)

100% (RT Critics)

89% (RT Audience)

Not a big fan of the original Grinch , it was never a television staple in my household like other TV specials were and I don't have the same connection with it as others do. Truth be told I actually prefer the Jim Carrey remake to it , though it's not really fair to compare as they are dramatically different.

I don't know if that should count, since it was just a 30 minutes Christmas special.

I thought we were just doing movies.

Nov 22, 2017 16:25:29 GMT CM Punk'd said:

I don't know if that should count, since it was just a 30 minutes Christmas special.

I thought we were just doing movies.

I clearly stated in the other thread I was counting TV/Christmas specials. They are just as much of an event as movies. 

SHIT! My brain needs a tinkerin'.

How the Grinch stole Christmas is #3 on my list. It has been a tradition in my familiy's household for as long as I can remember and it's a tradition in my household now.   It is simply timeless.  Especially Boris Karloff's singing.

You can't have a Christmas list without The Grinch. It's a staple of Christmas television, with an iconic character and a great message about the Christmas spirit.

I have no recollection of the Jim Carrey live action adaptation other then I saw it in theatres. Like a lot of other live adaptations, it didn't feel necessary at all. Maybe I'm blanking and missed some important sub-plot the film adaptation brought forward, but it's right up there with The Little Rascals and the 101 Dalmations as one of the most forgettable movies from my childhood.

Not really a fan of either Grinch movie, but at least this one isn’t god awful like the Jim Carrey one.

Fark, wish I got a list put together for this.

The Grinch is great right until the end, where they ruin it by having the Grinch return all the presents, it's the same problem I have with Beauty and the Beast... Guston should have slayed the beast.

If A Christmas Story takes top spot, I'm gonna be so disappointed in PW, I fucking hate that movie.

I completely missed this and if Bad Santa isn't in the top ten I'm fighting all of you.

I'll post my top ten when this is over.

Nov 22, 2017 17:11:14 GMT Big Pete said:

You can't have a Christmas list without The Grinch. It's a staple of Christmas television, with an iconic character and a great message about the Christmas spirit.

I have no recollection of the Jim Carrey live action adaptation other then I saw it in theatres. Like a lot of other live adaptations, it didn't feel necessary at all. Maybe I'm blanking and missed some important sub-plot the film adaptation brought forward, but it's right up there with The Little Rascals and the 101 Dalmations as one of the most forgettable movies from my childhood.

First of all - Little Rascals has nothing to do with this. No need to pick fights with great movies that are just minding their own business. 

I probably wouldn't of recalled much of it either but my daughter really likes the Carrey version and watched it quite a bit the past few years. It's solid , Jim Carrey is totally natural in the role ... I'll never get the complete hate for it. 

9. Jingle All The Way 
We get one day a year to prove we're not screw-ups and what do we do? We screw it up ~ Myron

Released 

1996

Credits

Director: Brian Levant 

Writer: Randy Kornfield 

Cast 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Howard Langston)

Sinbad (Myron Larabee)

Rita Wilson (Liz Langston)

Phil Hartman (Ted Matlin)

Jake Lloyd (Jame Langston)

Box Office 

Budget: $60,000,000

Total Gross: $$60,573,641

Critical

5.5/10 (IMDB)

17% (RT Critics)

38% (RT Audience)

Loved it as a kid so dunno if I can view it without nost. glasses, but it almost seems blasphemous that it trumps Grinch.

There's so much to say about this fascinating movie , both good and bad. First of all , it did make my list towards the bottom - it's definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. I don't understand the recent love for this movie though , I don't know if it's genuine or ironic because it's not a well made or well acted movie and I remember it being shit on FOR YEARS and now it's hit some kind of weird resurgence. I'm happy for the movie though and hope it can now live on. Also Phil Hartman is in it and is the best part of the movie - I'd check it out for that alone. And Sinbad is fun.

A few things:

1. How the hell did this movie cost 60 million dollars to make in 1996? What the fuck were they doing? How much did they pay Arnold? Was it 55 million? Funny that it made it's money back though.

2. This might be the lowest rated movie to appear on any of our lists.

3. This movie was filmed like 90 minutes from my house. Not a big deal for some but it's one of the few movies that I can watch and recognize 90% of the locations. It brings back some great memories of the Mall of America and Camp Snoopy.

Nov 23, 2017 15:36:26 GMT Ness said:

Loved it as a kid so dunno if I can view it without nost. glasses, but it almost seems blasphemous that it trumps Grinch.

It doesn't hold up , unless you want it to ... if that makes sense. I still watch it once a year and my kids do laugh at some of the stuff. 

It topping The Grinch is insane , but so is PW. And it's pretty much SM's fault.

Both of these films do nothing for me. I think the Grinch just isn't really a thing in the UK - never really a big deal. Jingle All The Way sucks.

Nov 23, 2017 16:00:55 GMT PB said:

Both of these films do nothing for me. I think the Grinch just isn't really a thing in the UK - never really a big deal.

Oh, so it's not just me then? :lol: All this talk about The Grinch being must-watch and a Christmas staple had me scratching my head. I mean, I've heard of The Grinch, but not as some kind of iconic figure. Just a Dr. Seuss story.

Jingle All the Way just barely missed my list. Definitely a very flawed film, but it's hilarious, and really that's enough. But still a notch below the other films on my list.

Nov 23, 2017 17:00:56 GMT Emperor said:

Nov 23, 2017 16:00:55 GMT PB said:

Both of these films do nothing for me. I think the Grinch just isn't really a thing in the UK - never really a big deal.

Oh, so it's not just me then? All this talk about The Grinch being must-watch and a Christmas staple had me scratching my head. I mean, I've heard of The Grinch, but not as some kind of iconic figure. Just a Dr. Seuss story.

I think it's more of a North American thing. The cartoon from the 60's or whenever it was made is on TV like a hundred times between Dec 1st and Christmas. Same goes for the claymation Rudolph and the old Frosty the Snowman cartoon.

I like the original Grinch special but I don’t think it would have made my list, and I’ve never seen the Jim Carrey Grinch in full just bits and pieces of it, so I can’t fairly comment on it.

Jingle All The Way would have my list for sure, I love that movie. It’s over the top silliness with Arnie that always makes me laugh no matter how many times I’ve seen it. Plus, it has The Big Show in it as a giant Santa, what’s not to like about that?

I absolutely love Jingle All The Way. Was number 1 on my list. The movie is objectively not good, but I don’t care. Love watching it every year & it makes me laugh from start to finish. Saw it in theaters and have watched it every year since. My family made watching it a tradition that I keep up today by making sure to watch it ever holiday season. Arnold & Sinbad have great comedic chemistry playing off each other. Also, can’t forget the great Big Show cameo.

Nov 24, 2017 3:10:31 GMT SM said:

I absolutely love Jingle All The Way. Was number 1 on my list. The movie is objectively not good, but I don’t care. Love watching it every year & it makes me laugh from start to finish. Saw it in theaters and have watched it every year since. My family made watching it a tradition that I keep up today by making sure to watch it ever holiday season. Arnold & Sinbad have great comedic chemistry playing off each other. Also, can’t forget the great Big Show cameo.

This lady gets it. JATW is, was, and always will be my xmas jam.

Sorry for no new entry today guys. Did a little Black Friday shopping and had to come to work.

On the bright side , I bought our #8 (for two bucks) , watched it before work and now will be able to comment on it!

8. Scrooged 

That's the one good thing about regret: it's never too late. You can always change tomorrow if you want to. ~ Claire

Released 

1988 

Credits

Director: Richard Donner 

Writer: Mitch Glazer 

Writer: Michael O'Donaghue 

Cast 

Bill Murray (Frank Cross)

Karen Allen (Claire Phillips)

John Forsythe (Lew Hayward)

John Glover (Brice Cumming)

Bobcat Goldthwait (Eliot Loudermilk)

Box Office 

Budget: $32,000,000

Gross:  $60,328,558

Critical 

7.0/10 (IMDB)

68% (RT Critics)

70% (RT Audience)

At the Oscars 

- Nomination for Best Makeup 

So I knew Scrooged was coming on the list next , I also don't think I'd had ever seen it - at least not that I remember so when I seen it for sale on Black Friday I figured I would buy it and do some due diligence since I was relaxing before work anyways. And I've always heard great things about it.

And what happened was ... nothing. I really don't have a lot of takes on this movie. I think that it's a fine little 80's comedy that I don't get the complete fuss over. Bill Murray was really inconsistent all around in this movie I think , in fact it's one of the least well acted parts at certain points that I can remember seeing from him - which is weird because Murray is really easy to buy in most of his stuff because of his natural charisma.

I think the best part of this movie was the makeup effects , especially on the first and last ghost. I wasn't surprised to see today it was nominated for an Oscar for makeup because that is one thing that really jumped off the screen for me - especially in 1988.

Also I'm dumb - I never even put together the fact Murray was back with Ghosts again until I read that great tagline for this movie. That is a pretty cool , totally 80's thing.

Scrooged was #6 on my list, an utterly hilarious take on a classic holiday tale.

Scrooged was #5 on my list. I think it's a great 80s version of A Christmas Carol that gets at the heart of the story yet contextualises it in a great way. I watch it most years.

Nov 25, 2017 17:55:18 GMT PB said:

Scrooged was #5 on my list. I think it's a great 80s version of A Christmas Carol that gets at the heart of the story yet contextualises it in a great way. I watch it most years.

I like the story of A Christmas Carol and there was a version I remember watching in school that I really liked , but I only like a couple of the actual movies and others not so much. I was really excited for another take on Scrooge and A Christmas Carol and I think Murray is generally fantastic so I had hopes for this movie to make it into my regular Christmas time rotation and I don't think it will. 

Perhaps I'll have to try it again down the road. 

I completely forgot about Scrooged when I was making my list. Would have been high up.