Deep-Cut Holiday Viewing
A movie of a different feather?
I saw a TikTok user asking folks for recommendations of holiday movie deep-cuts, and I felt as though I had personally been summoned for the task… and also felt as though I had done you all a great injustice by not making a post on this very topic.
Have some favorites that I’ve missed? Drop them in the comments!
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)
This movie is BAD “in space-blazing color.” The king and first lady of the martians worry that their children are watching too much Earth TV, especially live interviews with Santa. The Martian oracle suggests that Mars really needs to have Santa, so they hatch a plot to abduct him. Confused all of the Salvation Army bell ringers and mall Santas, the martians kidnap two Earth children to help them locate the real Santa Claus. Between the low production values and the mid-century modern aesthetic, this movie is an absolutely surreal experience. (I make everyone watch this, and that’s why I don’t have many friends.)
Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
In its time, this movie had a pretty large budget and got tons of promotion, including a superliminal collab with McDonald’s. But it has become largely forgotten in folks’ Christmas movie rotations. The main plot centers around an elf (Dudley Moore) with big ideas about modernization being manipulated by a greedy toy executive (John Lithgow). The movie definitely prioritized visuals over all else, which was a main sticking point for a lot of reviewers. It was much more beloved in England than here in the States.
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)
This was the Rankin/Bass Christmas special that really wormed its way into my childhood, mostly because we had it on VHS and so I just assumed it was more popular than it actually was. In this one, an orphaned shepherd is blinded by lightning and the nuns of a nearby abbey take him in. One of the sisters (Angela Lansbury) describes snow to him, which no one else in the abbey have experienced due to their location. It’s very precious, if a bit understated (at least in terms of Rankin/Bass numbers.)
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
If I had to guess, I’d say that this animated musical retelling of A Christmas Carol was largely forgotten because the songs are – if I recall correctly – all unique to this special. It was actually based on a live-action TV musical that was never properly recorded and thought to be lost. The voice cast is frankly rad. The Topcraft animation is beautiful in many places (though it does sometimes look like mis-matched styles were used together in the same scenes, which can be a bit distracting.)
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)
This special has everything: Rankin/Bass claymation in the most fairycore/goblincore aesthetic ever seen on television depicting a weird Santa origin story based on a book by Frank L. Baum.
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
If the TV cart was coming into our classrooms at Christmastime, odds were very good that Ernest was going to be occupying our afternoons. Actor Jim Varney was born and raised in Lexington, so we’re big fans. In this, Ernest gives a cab ride to Santa, who leaves his magical sack behind. A common schtick for the Ernest character – which is already a cartoonish blue collar Pee Wee Herman figure – is donning disguises to get himself out of highly improbably scrapes. It’s silly, but surprisingly heartfelt in the end.
Jack Frost (1998)
Elevator pitch: Michael Keaton (who is in a rock band? and actually named Jack Frost?) is reincarnated as the Campbell’s Soup snowman (not really) via a maaaaagical harmonica so that he can right the wrongs he made in life. It’s goofy as hell. Originally, George Clooney was set to play the main character and the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop modeled the snowman on his face, and now that I say that, you can totally see it. (Sam Raimi was also set to direct, but dropped out when Clooney did.) If you listen closely, you’ll notice that the soundtrack is hilariously 90s, with Hanson, the Spice Girls, Lisa Loeb, Lucinda Williams and Jars of Clay, as well as a few 70s jams.
Eight Crazy Nights (2002)
There are no words to explain how aggressively bad this movie is; it attacks you with its awfulness. The plot itself – a mean-spirited young man with a criminal record must straighten up his act, help the local youths and learn the true meaning of the season – could have easily become a very wholesome, heartfelt Hanukkah movie. Adam Sandler’s humor was injected in there, and that still could’ve easily resulted in a light holiday classic. And yet. They insisted on making one of the main character’s voice absolutely ear-destroying (the director swears that focus groups responded positively to this, and to the most notoriously awful, gross, disgusting scene in the movie). This movie has absolutely no idea who its target audience is; the plot is designed for kids, but the language and humor is designed for adults. The “Bum Biddy” clip went TikTok viral earlier this year, and so more people are discovering the absolutely horrifying magic of this awful, awful cartoon movie.
A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
Our own childhoods very much shape what we assume is popular, or even normal, in our culture. Based on my own experience, I just assumed everyone watched A Smoky Mountain Christmas every single year. Dolly Parton caring for seven orphans in the Tennessee mountains? Lee Majors as a musky mountain man? And there’s a witch? Come on! It’s goofy, it’s schmaltzy, it’s a must-watch.
The Snowman (1982)
Based on a wordless children's book, this wintery short is absolutely magical to watch, as the art picks up on the book’s penciled art style and brings it to life. It’s so charming and captures the magic of childhood. Spoilers: the end is a really sad note, so feel free to just stop when the kid goes back to sleep.
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
If you watch The Muppet Christmas Carol every year but aren’t sparing some time for Emmet Otter, what are you even doing? It’s charming as heck.