HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
1966, 53 mins. Director: Chuck Jones
Forget director Ron Howard’s ill-conceived, live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The only cinematic take the story needed was released as an animated television special in 1966. It covered the exploits of ‘The Grinch’, who has lost his spirit for Christmas over the years and his only goal in life now is to rid the world of Christmas joy. It clocks at only 26 minutes as a TV cartoon, but it still is able to pack a great little story into that time. It is lusty, garishly coloured and good-hearted cartoon that is a classic Christmas animated tale. It also remains a model of economy, taking Dr. Suess’s simple tale and perfectly stretching it out to 26 minutes. Christmas isn’t Christmas without the Grinch. It’s the kind of weirdly clever, yet innocent and kid-friendly product that forces me to use this tired cliché – they just don’t make them like this any more. A seasonal classic.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
1947, 107 mins. Director: George Seaton
Is there really a Santa Clause? You bet there is, and this is the film that proves it! Another one of the classic films about Christmas, A Miracle on 34th Street surrounds a man who claims to be none other than Kris Kringle himself. Of course nobody believes him, and it is up to a lawyer and a little girl who must set aside their logical thinking just long enough to have faith that this man could really be THE Santa Clause. Edmund Gwenn as Kringle exemplifies everything we have ever associated with what Santa Clause would look like. It is one of the classic Christmas movies that is so happy being sentimental and enchanting rather than sickly sweet. Christmas wouldn’t be complete without it. You want the spirit of Christmas? It’s all right here. Formulaic, but charming. Takes consumerism and condemns it in a meaningful and thought-provoking way.
A CHRISTMAS STORY
1984, 98mins. Director: Bob Clark
With much affectionate humour, A Christmas Story recalls vividly what it was like to be a kid at Christmas in a more innocent era. In a break from the traditional holiday movies, this movie is told almost entirely from the mind of a young boy during the 1940’s. His voice is the narrator of the movie, as we see him go through the days leading up to Christmas, and ultimately Christmas day itself. The movie is delightfully entertaining, with a wryly amusing narration to keep the adults in the audience smirking. Funny, touching and unabashedly nostalgic, it is a true classic that never fails to take me back to a place of welcomed innocence yet it doesn’t make me wish I were back there…sharp, insightful observations, a careful attention to period detail, and, most of all, a gentle good laugh. The laughs are nonstop if rarely subtle, and the whole thing deserves to become a Christmas time classic.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
1946, 169 mins. Director: Frank Capra
You’d have to possess a very hard heart not to find something to love in this story. It is to me as warm and comforting as a scarf knit by Grandma. Deserving of one viewing per year, preferably without the interruption of commercials. It’s a wonderful story about a man going through some hard times, and makes the wish that he had never been born. For a short time, an angel grants him his wish, and the chance to see what life would be like if he really had never been born. The movie attempts to show just how much one man can change the lives of everyone around him, and gives us the feeling that even the smallest of deeds can turn into the biggest of deals for someone else. The film’s entire premise can be summed up with a bit of text from the film: “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”
