From 'A Christmas Carol' to 'The Polar Express': Christmas themed films to watch this holiday season

Here are a few Yuletide favourites you can consider revisiting...
Bad Santa
This one’s a Santa Claus story with a difference. Billy Bob Thornton is a Santa who looks like he’s been on a weight-loss diet all year ’round. Oh, and he also drinks, smokes and cusses, all the while turning the ‘ho-ho-ho’ goody two-shoes image of St. Nick on its head.
A Christmas Carol
Director Robert Zemeckis takes the 3D computer animated motion-capture route again (he also directed Polar Express) as he breathes new life into the classic Charles Dickens tale. The rubber-faced Jim Carrey takes on multiple roles to good effect.

Home Alone
The baby-faced Kevin McAllister’s large family rush off for a Christmas vacation, not realising that they’ve left behind the tiniest tot in the brood — Kevin. And when two burglars (memorably played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) realise that the McAllister’s home is easy pickings, Kevin needs to muster every bit of resourcefulness to keep them out. And then of course, Kevin is reunited with his family, just in time for Christmas.

It’s A Wonderful Life
No list of Christmas-themed Hollywood films can be complete without mention of this classic. Directed by Frank Capra, James Stewart gave a performance he is most remembered for. The moral of the story being that money does not maketh the man, but love that adds to a meaningful life.
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The Polar Express
Apart from being a visual treat (the film uses live action as well as motion capture techniques), this one was on the imagination factor. This one’s about a boy who hops aboard a train bound for the North Pole which is of course, where Santa Claus and his Elves are based. And when he arrives at the North Pole, he finds himself in a veritable winter wonderland.

Elf
During Christmas Eve, while at a stop at an orphanage, a baby boy, drawn by the sight of a teddy bear next to Santa Claus, crawls into his large sack of toys. Santa then takes the boy back to the North Pole without knowing the baby is inside the sack. When the boy is discovered, he is named Buddy because of his ‘Little Buddy’ brand of diapers. Papa Elf volunteers to raise him. Comedy movie favourite Favreau and lead Will Ferrell together take this film up to a delightfully sweet level.

WATCH: Elf (2003) Official Trailer #1