It's Snowing Trailers! A Christmas Movie Bonanza

by Kevin Kelly Dec 5th 2006 // 9:00AM

Filed under: Animation, Classics, Family Films


Break out your DVDs, pop some corn, gather the family around, and treat yourselves to the warm glow of a Christmas movie. My best friend's family has a tradition of watching Giant every year during the holidays. While it's a great film, I prefer the more traditional holiday movie approach, and these are all of the trailers from my favorites. There's a sprinkling of classics, some nostalgia, a couple of wacky entries, and of course what list would be complete without A Christmas Story?

I couldn't in good faith include movie like The Santa Clause (Tim Allen's Santa makes me want to move to the Island of Misfit Toys) and forget about The Polar Express (the zombie-like eyes of those animated humans haunts me to this day), so the wacky part of the list includes Die Hard and Die Hard 2. But before you dismiss those, think about it. They were both set at Christmas, remember? Die Hard had Argyle (De'voreaux White), the limo driver, pumping his Christmas rap music, and it ends with him saying, "Man, if this is their idea of Christmas, I *gotta* be here for New Year's!" Likewise, if memory serves, the last line of Die Hard 2 has Dennis Franz growling, "Ah, what the hell ... it's Christmas!" John McClane saves the world and warms the cockles of our hearts -- true multitasking at work.

The rest of the list is rounded out with perennial favorites like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Cousin Eddie later starred in his own Christmas Vacation sequel ... skip it), and Tim Burton's fantastical The Nightmare Before Christmas (did you know he didn't direct this? That was Henry Selick, fyi). But I couldn't complete the list without including Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. It's not a proper trailer on the next page (same goes for The Muppet Christmas Carol), but rather the "Hole in the Washtub" song from the movie. I know it's technically a TV movie, but it always deserved to be seen on the big screen in my heart. Muppets, FTW!

What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? I'll be here waiting for your answers, but right now I have to go rent some of these before I go crazy.


A Christmas Story

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

It's a Wonderful Life

Miracle on 34th Street

White Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Home Alone

Elf

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

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