The Wandering Fox's Favourite Christmas Films

Written by The Wandering Fox

Freddy and Teddy were getting themself well cosy under the Christmas tree, both fox and cat smiling as they had their warm drinks by their sides. There was no presents yet which meant they could have the tree to themselves. They watched the Wandering Fox come in with a few DVDs in hand.

Freddy: Hey mate! What DVDs you got there?

Teddy: Any of them Christmassy?

Yes they are, in fact they’re all my favourite Christmas films that I love to watch just about every December. Though there’s a few here that aren’t anything to do with Christmas but get me in the mood.

Freddy: Oooo that is good!

Want me to share them?

Freddy and Teddy: Go on!

Thank you!

Merry Christmas everybody, it’s me, the Wandering Fox, staying warm for Christmas! What I’m about to share with you guys is my favourite Christmas films or at least the films I love to watch at this season. These aren’t in any order, nor will there be any that will seem to be the most typical Christmas film everybody watches. But still, get back and get your hot drinks ready guys!

Krampus

Teddy: What!?

Freddy: Isn’t that a horror film?

Yes it is. But it’s not your typical horror film, no. I mean, Christmas always brings out some spooky and ghastly fun, only got to look at what Mr Dickens produced. Besides, Krampus is a part of Christmas, so it’s only right he gets in on here.

Krampus himself has been part of the legend of Christmas since about the 17th century, often joining Saint Nicholas in going about the city and he would punish the bad children and Saint Nicholas would reward the good lot.

I first heard of the film a decade ago around when it was coming out and I thought at the time it was stupid as why anybody want to make a Christmas horror movie and make an evil Santa. But after a few years, I gave it a watch and I can gladly say I've eaten some humble pie. Lots of humble pie. I was half expecting it to be a dumb gory movie. But instead what I got was a lot of fun and taught a good lesson that Krampus isn’t what I thought he was.

The film sees Max Engel unhappy with how his family are at Christmas. What had once been a fun time of the year has seen him drift apart from his sister, his bullies have shoved crap into him about how Christmas is a dumb and stupid commercial to make money and he was told the heart wrenching thing that gets all children as they grow up: Santa isn’t real. Combine that with his uptight in-laws coming over for Christmas dampens his mood that much that he tears up his Christmas letter to Santa and throws it away. Then that’s where everything goes buggery tit for the Engels as the house is buried by snow and the temperature has gone far below freezing, then Beth disappears…then they are being stalked by snowmen, gingerbread men and many bizarre things. Krampus is in town.

The film is surprisingly quite good at giving us a good lesson, that yes Christmas these days is far more stressful, people are greedy, businesses make a huge lot of cash out of Christmas, and Christmas itself gives way to family drama like your in-laws coming over and being a pain in the drawers. The opening scene does this so well with that frantic and hilarious shopping mall chaos XD

Krampus - Happy Holidays Scene (1/10) | Movieclips

But the film takes itself seriously enough in the holiday being ruined for Max with his in laws as we see the only person in the family he still has the Christmas spirit with is his grandmother Omi, but in a house full of stressed parents, a fed up sister, and a pair of mean cousins saying Santa and Rudolph were killed, it’s no wonder Max lost faith in Christmas. It doesn’t help either that his dad feels like a loser compared to his brother-in-law who is a loud and proud man or how Max’s mum is annoyed by her Aunt Dorothy.

The film’s gradual shift to darkness and suspenseful horror is well done. What first seems like an ordinary blizzard turns into a nightmare as Beth goes out to meet with her boyfriend, but everything literally turns dark and she’s chased by Krampus. The last we see of Beth in the movie is her looking at a toy box opening next to her and we hear her scream. The family are forced to fort up the house and stay warm as strange things occur then, fear is coming in. But that’s where the film also becomes a lot warmer as we see, in spite of the family differences, they come together, reflecting on memories, protecting children, owning up to their mistakes. It reminds you despite the stress, the smugness, and the sadness, the family comes together because they do love each other. That’s what I like about the film. It doesn’t lose itself too far in horror, it doesn’t either in typical Christmas either. It managed a great balance that makes it a cult classic. The ending as well leaves you hopeful and you feel rewarded in the end like any Christmas movie should make you feel.

The movie gives you great twisted takes on toys and gingerbread men, Der Klown is a big character that will give those of you with fear of clowns something else to be scared of, toy robots coming to life to try and knife you with their little blades, it’s a fun mix of horror and comedy.

The biggest scene stealer is Omi’s flashback as she recalls how her Christmas spirit was crushed in post war Germany, it switches to a stop-motion like animation that looks creepy, but is still engaing enough to entice you lot.

Krampus - When the Christmas Spirit Dies Scene (4/10) | Movieclips

You want a Christmas movie that has you think maybe you should be kind to others or a demonic Christmas spirit comes for you, then this is your movie.

Up next is.

A Christmas Carol 2009

Oh I know the Media Man will be happy this is on the list!

Teddy: Yes he will!

Freddy: Oh go on, tell us what’s so good about it?

I remember back when this film was coming out I was baffled as to why Jim Carey of all people was playing Scrooge. It gave me thoughts that he was just gonna be silly and it’d be a crap Christmas movie. So, me, my mum and dad watched it in the cinemas and...we loved it. It was a great Christmas movie and a fine adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Jim Carrey is just incredible in this. Who’d have thought the man who gave us Lloyd in Dumb n' Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Liar Liar would give us a great portrayal of Scrooge? His voice change works so well and the fact his likeness is in Scrooge but twisted slightly makes it work even better! Heck, he even plays the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, that’s a lot of work to do as the guy is talking to himself. If only he took himself as Eggman seriously…

A Christmas Carol (2009) - Final Scene (Part 2) [UHD]

The animation does look a little iffy by today’s standards, but it’s not enough to take away from how the movie is well acted and its CGI recreation of Victorian London works superbly with the character models. and the cinematography shifts so well with each ghosts visits. I love how the Ghost of Christmas Present observes the world, how he’s watching everything through a glass floor and his room is the brightest of all. The shift towards the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is still creepily well done as its bluntly horror with those creepy children and Ghost of Christmas Present turning to nothing. Yes it does get silly with how Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come chases Scrooge through the city. but it comes back out of it by giving us the death of Tiny Tim. The moment Bob Cratchit walks up the stairs and looks at Scrooge, looking so broken by his son’s death and the way Scrooge looks back at him is just gutting. It’s that moment to me Scrooge sees what his actions could do, the pain he will cause, and how he’s dreadfully sorry for what he has been like.

It’s why to me this is the best modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol, the visuals do look appealing and truly feel like you’ve gone back to the Victorian era in spite of the character models looking a little iffy, Jim Carrey gave us a great performance, the Ghosts look well designed as well as Ghost of Christmas Past and Yet to Come being my favourites, and they didn’t tarnish Scrooge’s character, unlike that Guy Pearce version.

You want to watch a good adaptation of this beloved story, then watch A Christmas Carol 2009. It’s the right film to watch on a cosy night.

Up next is not a Christmas movie, but they remind me so much of Christmas thanks to the fact the trilogy was released then.

The Hobbit Trilogy

There see, released in December!

The films based on the book that started the universe of The Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit trilogy sees Bilbo Baggins remembering his epic journey, with Gandalf the Grey wanting his help in helping Thorin Oakenshield and his band of twelve dwarves in taking back the dwarf kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug. Little does Bilbo know, he is playing a part in a larger story with him finding the One Ring itself and the servants of Sauron are at work in trying to stop Gandalf. Though Bilbo and Gandalf make it to the end, who doesn’t?

I remember wanting to watch these movies simply to see Sylvester McCoy as Radeghast the Brown with me being a Doctor Who fan. I went in to watch the first movie and came out feeling invested in the universe Tolkien created. It was just great to see Bilbo go from his cosy beginnings to becoming a braver Hobbit while seeing Thorin humbled, Gandalf being far more than what he was letting on, and getting to see the many magical creatures of the Tolkien universe for the first time in my life. Just being lost in this world of fantasy, going from the comfy warmth of the Shire to the icy and snowy Lake Town and to the wintry mountains of Erebor, it gives you that feeling of escapism that the winter season gives you. That and Gandalf is still a great character and while I do have criticism towards the movie in showing too much of what he was doing, I like how he had his own theme of having to fight his fear and it’s why he likes Bilbo and the Hobbits so much as they live a simple life, they enjoy it and often give each other a hand, that is something that Gandalf is fighting for and it makes him feel brave. It even continues his character in The Lord of the Rings as The Hobbit makes it obvious Gandalf is utterly frightened of Sauron but that’s his story: he has to face his fear and inspire others to do that.

Are these films as good as The Lord of the Rings? No. They are not. They sadly rely a lot on CGI more than TLOTR, we had Legolas and Saruman crammed in as well as a dumb love triangle between Legolas, Tauriel and Kili, as well as Galadriel being thrown in to divulge in what Gandalf was doing after he left Bilbo, and I can’t help but feel while Bilbo was mostly alright in the trilogy he didn’t get as big of a character growth as Frodo did, not helping is how Sir Ian Holm’s Bilbo was far more upbeat and chirpy compared to Bilbo who spent most of the movies looking confused and hopeless.

But I still find it to be fun escapism which introduced me to Tolkien’s universe and it just reminds me of those days back in Christmas in which me, dad and my brother would get together and watch these movies. I’d happily watch these movies again over Christmas.

Up next is not gonna surprise you but here it is.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 1998

I already talked about the movie on the blog before https://www.themediamanblog.com/post/rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-the-movie-review

I have fond memories of watching this film and it astounds me to this day of the top stars they had in this movie from John Goodman, Debbie Reynolds and Whoopie Goldberg in it! Then there’s the fact Rudolph and Arrow are voiced by Kathleen Barr and Matt Hill who would go on to voice Kevin and Ed in Ed, Edd n Eddy.

DORK! Dork!?

Oh and Rudolph’s dad was voiced by Gary Chalk, who was born in my city so YIPPEE!

Has the movie aged not so well over the years? Yeah, the animation is a bit eh and Stormella’s reasons for hating Santa and Christmas is never explored upon, the reason Rudolph was disqualified was dumb, and I feel the movie skipped over a big chunk of Rudolph’s life as he gotten older. But does that mean I hate it? No, I still love it, it was a big movie of my childhood. I connected with Rudolph a lot thanks to the fact he was bullied and he slowly finds his friends in his story and the fact he looks cute and is so kind in spite of his bullying is sweet. That and Santa is great in this, he’s so jolly and friendly, he is is stern and caring for his elves and spends time in getting Rudolph out of his stump.

That and the movie has some bangers of musical numbers in there like “It’s Christmas Town!” “I Hate Santa Claus” and “Show me the Light” being big songs in the movie.

It’s just a shame the movie was such a flop that it caused its studio to close. I’d have been happy if we gotten a sequel to the movie that explored Rudolph’s life after saving Christmas. Well, yes we did get a sequel.

Eh.

But still, i have lots of fond memories of the film.

Lastly is a film I just love so much.

The Polar Express

Oh yes, I remember this being a big film that was advertised back then. Do you guys remember the Cartoon Network adverts in which their characters woke up to hear the Polar Express coming outside their houses? I do! I remember dad taking me to watch it and it just stuck with me ever since. Directed by Robert Zemeckis who also did the Jim Carrey A Christmas Carol movie, this film saw a young boy whose faith in Christmas has faded as he wonders if Santa is real. That’s when, instead of Krampus coming over, he gets a ticket to the North Pole to see Santa. Along the way the boy befriends a girl, a boy, goes on a big trek through the train and the North Pole, slowly rediscovering his love for Christmas as kindness guides him through the movie that leads him to see how everybody sees Christmas and the magic of it. The movie has a great musical number for hot chocolate that just stays in your mind for years.

“ONLY EVER HAVE ONE RULE! NEVER EVER LET IT COOL!”

While I think the Conductor can be a bit up his own backside, I do think there’s a reason why to it and here’s a theory I’ve got:

I think the Conductor and the Ghost are the boy’s future selves if he fell too far either way. The Conductor is everything the boy could be if he just embraced Christmas and was rude to others for not joining in on the holidays. The Ghost is everything the boy could be if he lost his love for Christmas and haunts the train cos he refused to get on, but still has a good heart. The Conductor himself seems to make me believe this theory because he said on his first night on the train, he nearly slipped off but something saved him. Asked what it was, if it was an Angel, he says “Maybe”. Who is spending his first night on the train? The boy. Who saved him from falling off and disappeared in front of him? The Ghost.

In the end the boy chooses to be in the middle. He has no grudges towards his sister for losing her faith in Christmas, he doesn’t get angry at Billy for being such a sad kid. He chooses to be understanding and he will always believe in Christmas himself.

Yes, the animation is iffy today and the train given a rollercoaster moment is ridiculous, but I still love the movie to this day. Who can ever watch it and come away think everything about it was crap? Don’t tell me the theme music of the music isn’t in your head to this day?

Other Christmas films I like:

Violent Night. It’s Santa stopping a group of hitmen what’s not to like? Yeah, his backstory as a Viking could have worked on a bit but it’s still a fun movie.

Elf. While I’m not as into it as everybody else is it’s still a funny movie with a lot of heart in there. Who’s gonna forget the snowball fight or Buddy going “SANTAAAAAAAAAAAAA! OH MY GOD!”?

That Christmas. While I hate how the fox was treated in that movie, it was still a fun movie that did reflect on the hardships of those at Christmas.

The Grinch. The Jim Carrey version was the one I grew up with and it’s not perfect at all, but I liked it for how much they threw in to try to make the city look real, Jim Carey was funny and Cindy Lou was good in the movie.

Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Jingle Jangle. The ending is iffy, but it’s a funny movie as we see Eddy trying to steal everybody’s Christmas and getting his just desserts, how each character celebrates Christmas or how Rolf has that strange musical number, then there’s Ed is mega Christmas loving mode bless him! XD

Freddy: That’s quite the list!

Teddy: I’d happily watch those movies with you!

You’re more than welcome, guys!

Before I go everybody, I just want to thank you all for the support you’ve given me and the Media Man this year, we’ve done a lot of work to keep you all entertained with our blog posts and books. To those of you who are having a tough Christmas, if you’ve lost somebody, you’re a bit tight on cash, just remember that there’s always somebody to help you, be it a friend, family, charity. Do not be scared to ask for help.

Merry Christmas to you all!