It can get boring watching the same holiday movies over and over again, so maybe this year switch up things a little and try watching a few lesser known holiday movie gems.
Just a fair warning this list consists of movies which my sister and I deem as “underrated” Christmas movies. Also, there will be spoilers ahead, so you have been warned.
- “Arthur Christmas”
“Arthur Christmas” has to be the number one underrated Christmas movie, but it is also one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time. The movie follows the current Santa’s son, Arthur, as he attempts to deliver a present to a child, Gwen, which Santa mistakenly forgot to. Arthur is joined in his mission by an elf named Bryony Shelfley and his grandfather, Grandsanta. Arthur is an extremely loveable character due to his caring and compassionate nature which drives him to ultimately delivering the present to Gwen.
- “Olive, the Other Reindeer”
I am going to be completely honest, the pun and Drew Barrymore starring in this movie definitely caused me to rank it higher. Essentially, for those who have never seen “Olive, the Other Reindeer,” the movie follows Olive venturing to the North Pole to be a part of Santa’s sleigh and save Christmas as Blitzen’s injury threatens to cancel Christmas. Olive’s pet flea, Fido, mistakenly hears “Olive, the other reindeer” rather than the classic saying “all of the other reindeer” ultimately convincing Olive she can save Christmas. The movie is extremely heart warming as Olive is such a loveable character and makes friends with other extremely loveable characters causing the viewer to become invested in Olive’s story.
- “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas”
For all those Disney lovers, “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” is arguably the best Disney Christmas movie. The movie takes place around the half-way point of the original “Beauty and the Beast” as it is meant to serve as a one-off story. It follows Belle attempting to spread Christmas joy throughout the castle even though the Beast makes rejections of such due to being under the control of a new character, a pipe organ named Forte. Since “Beauty and the Beast” was one of my favorite movies as a child, it should be no surprise “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” is also one of my favorites. The movie is able to recreate the magic from the first movie with a Christmas twist and the addition of some loveable new characters like a piccolo named Fife.
- “Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale”
Honestly, “Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale” is my favorite “Nutcracker” adaptation. Although it may not be the most accurate as it follows Tom and Jerry being sucked into the magical winter wonderland with their other friends. Jerry takes on the role of the nutcracker, refusing to allow the King of the Cats, who is meant to be the Mouse King, to take over his kingdom of toys. This movie has been one of my favorites since I was child as I love the music and the animations featured within the movie.
- “A Miser Brothers’ Christmas
“A Miser Brothers’ Christmas” follows Heat Miser and Snow Miser, who the audience first met in “A Year Without a Santa Claus,” as they attempted to save Christmas from their brother North Wind. Since Heat Miser and Snow Miser are prone to fighting each other, they have made the naughty list every year which prompts them to want to change their ways and work together. Like the other claymation holiday movies, this one has an hour runtime, so I won’t reveal the rest of the plot. However, I will let you know this movie is a holiday favorite amongst my sister and I as the Miser Brothers, aside from North Wind, prove to be very fun and likable characters.
- “Prep and Landing”
“It’s good cause they kept it to a point, but it ain’t like they doin’ something spectacular,” my sister said. Going off my sister’s quote, “Prep and Landing” is very much to the point as it is a short movie with a runtime of 22 minutes. The short movie follows Wayne and Lanny, Christmas elves who work in the Prep and Landing organization. Wayne is disgruntled after not receiving a promotion to be director of the naughty list which promotes him to slack off with his job and force Lanny to do all of the work. After Santa is forced to cancel a landing to the house Wayne and Lanny were tasked with prepping, Wayne decides to fix the situation and get Santa to deliver gifts to Tim. Since the movie is short and very much to the point the plot is very concise and perfect!
- “Fred Claus”
I’ll be honest, “Fred Claus” would have been ranked higher in the list if I was able to tolerate his family members in the movie more. “Fred Claus” follows Santa’s older brother, Fred, who is attempting to live a seemingly normal life, but unfortunately gets arrested prompting him to turn to his brother for bail money. His brother agrees on the condition Fred comes to the North Pole to work for his bail money. From Fred’s time in the North Pole, the viewer is able to realize Fred’s family opinion about him being “bad” are false as Fred is just as caring if not more caring than his brother. I won’t reveal too much of the rest of the movie, but I will say Fred Claus is one of the most underrated Christmas characters as he truly has a big heart.
In short, definitely consider watching one of those underrated Christmas movies rather than rewatching “Elf” for the hundredth time.