page 10 • December 5, 2007
EntErtainmEnt
December 5, 2007 • page 11
These are a few of our favorite things ...
Just in time for the Holiday break, the Collegian staff pick their holiday movie favorites.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Released in 1965, my favorite Christmas movie (or cartoon in this case) is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s my favorite special because, first of all, I watch it every year. Secondly, it has a good message behind it, especially since we find Christmas being more commercialized each year. It has always been one of my favorites because of the constant struggle of Charlie Brown and his friends to find the real meaning of Christmas. In one such scene, Linus appears on stage and attempts to unveil the true meaning of the holiday, by reciting a passage from the Bible. I can’t explain why I enjoy this Christmas classic so much. I guess I just get that warm holiday feeling when I watch the characters dancing around the Christmas tree while Schroeder plays the Peanuts theme. It always seems to get me in the holiday spirit.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
—John Garces
Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is not your grandma’s holiday film (unless you have a really cool grandma). The story centers around Jack Skellington, a well-respected citizen of Halloween-town who stumbles into Christmas-town by accident and becomes smitten with all that is Christmas. He brings his newfound knowledge back to his fellow citizens, who promptly devise a plot to kidnap Santa, feed him to the oogey boogie man and take over the Christmas holiday. The film was shot in stop-action animation, meaning the characters and props were moved frame by frame, which really brings the characters to life. The towns and their inhabitants are intricately detailed and make for an easy escape into the story. In the end, Jack realizes the error of his ways, and after a few tense moments, he is successful in rescuing Santa from the oogey boogey man, And viewers experience the only conventional aspect of this film—a happy ending. The Nightmare Before Christmas is rated PG and although some have argued that it may be too scary for young children, my two little ones love it. This surprisingly heart-warming tale is good for the entire family. It is original, expertly animated, imaginative and fun. And that is why it is my all-time favorite holiday film.
I don’t know how many years I watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with my folks before I realized it had become a family tradition. And until I moved away, I never noticed how incomplete I felt skipping a holiday season without laughing at all of the similarities between my family and Chevy Chase’s (other than the annual income). National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is the predictable, yet side-splitting, story of an average upper-middle class family’s attempt to bring all the family together. All—as in both sets of grands, great grands and every niece, nephew and cousin (even distant) in between, under one roof. The Griswalds include every extreme personality from the tipsy granny to the overly judgmental granddad. And we can’t forget that distant cousin who’s fallen on rough times and has nothing to give his litter of tykes this year from Santa and the father who is just trying to keep everyone together ... and keep them from killing one another! It seems like with every Griswald character, I have a comparable family member, and that thought gives me a sense of comfort. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a must see, so we can all laugh at what most take way too seriously in the first place.
Rudolph, the RedNosed Reindeer
Photo courtesy CBS
—Keisha McDuffie
Photo courtesy Walt Disney Pictures
The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause is definitely my favorite Christmas movie by far. The Christmas when I was 9 years old, my mom’s best friend gave me a present. I got to open it early so that I could enjoy it the whole holiday season. Low and behold, it was The Santa Clause. The idea of Santa being an everyday dad as well as the fantasy of the elves’ workshop at the North Pole was everything I want in a Christmas movie. I liked the fact that the elves were played by actual children; it made the movie more relatable. I used to sit on the computer at any time during the year, watching the movie and draw Christmas trees on the paint program. It is just one of those movies I can watch anytime all year. To me, this is just a classic Christmas story. Seeing a man change from a very strict, egocentric person to a loving, caring family man is a classic moral in a Christmas story. It’s now a tradition with my dad and me to watch it every year. Even after watching it a thousand times, I enjoy it just the same every time. The movie warms my heart like a fire warms a marshmallow.
—Katie Hudson-Martinez
One of my favorite holiday movies is the short but ever classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Only about 50 minutes long, this little charm from the ’60s showcases Rudolph in all his claymation glory and Hermey, the elf with the dream of being a dentist. It’s funny and sweet and makes my holiday spirit grow three sizes (sorry, wrong movie). Sure, Yukon Cornelius believes a chihuahua makes a good sled dog and seven reindeer are pulling Santa’s sled instead of nine, but that’s what makes this film so great. But the main reason I watch this film when summer becomes Christmas is for the misfit toys. Something about a bird who swims or a train with square wheels makes me smile. They are such a bizarre addition to a holiday film, but my 6-year-old innerself can’t get enough of them. I also love how “dolly for Sue” has no physical reason to be classified as a misfit, but there she is hanging out with Charlie-in-the-box and spotted elephant. She is even hanging out with them later, huddled around a fire for dramatic effect. They have a castle; why are they not using it? But here’s to you, misfit toys. And I hope y’all will get that Christmas you deserve.
—Sara Pintilie
A Christmas Story Home Alone Miracle on 34th Street
Photo courtesy Walt Disney Pictures Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox
Photo courtesy MGM
—Sarah McVean
Miracle on 34th Street is an enchanting magical tale about an old man who believes he is Santa Claus and restores the spirit of Christmas in a town full of skeptics. This 1947 holiday classic is a heart-warmer and full of a talented cast: Natalie Wood as Susan, who finally learns how to enjoy childhood; Maureen O’Hara, Susan’s single mother who is raising her daughter not to believe in fairy tales, but finally learns how to open her heart and believe in magic; John Payne, the handsome leading man; and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, who touches the lives of everyone he meets. The lighthearted comedy opens when Kris Kringle gets a job as “Santa” at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then at the department store. He begins to send customers elsewhere for better prices, which lands him in a shrink’s office, then in a sanitarium and eventually on trial. All along the way, he delivers magic to everyone he touches. Every scene is cleverly plotted and fun to watch over and over. But the best part of the movie is the gift Santa delivers to Susan—the gift of belief. Many times in this hurried world we forget to have fun, we forget to have faith and we forget to dream. It reminds me that dreams can come true if we really believe.
Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox
—Susan Tallant
The movie Home Alone in the last 17 years has become a Christmas classic. In the film, 8-year-old Kevin gets left at home after his parents forget to take him on the family vacation. I can remember in the cold on Thanksgiving Day 1990, going to the movie theater with my family to see Home Alone. At that age, I thought it would be so cool to have a house full of toys to myself. Being 6, I thought the movie was the funniest thing I ever saw. When Kevin realizes the wet bandits plan to rob his house, he sets up a series of clever, hilarious traps to stop them, including a zip line from his bedroom to his tree house. Home Alone was the fantasy Christmas I’d always read about or watched in other movies, because Christmas time in Texas was far from the stereotypical Christmas. Most of my Christmas days growing up were dry, hot and sunny. So there was no snow sledding or sitting in front of a warm fireplace for me. In fact, I didn’t see snow on Christmas until I was 18. By the time I reached my teens, I didn’t care much for watching Home Alone, I guess I thought it was too juvenile. But as I got older, I started looking back at the movie. It reminded me of being young and hoping for a life when everything comes happily full circle in the end.
Photo courtesy NBC
Memorable moments make A Christmas Story a classic. Every child should watch this classic tale of Ralphie and the events that take place days before Christmas. Ralphie is the cutest little kid, having bright blue eyes and big glasses–it’s hard not to relate to him. Since the story is narrated by the adult version of Ralphie, watching it now makes me add commentary to the memories of my childhood. One of the best scenes is when one of Ralphie’s friends “triple dog dared” Flick, Ralphie’s little brother, to lick a pole–in freezing weather. My favorite parts of this movie are the small details that make me laugh. Ralphie dreams of and obsesses about the perfect present, a Red Ryder Air Rifle BB gun, but he consistently hears, “you’ll shoot your eye out!” And of course, we agonize with him after he waits weeks for a decoder pen only to uncover the secret Little Orphan Annie code: “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.” Every time I watch this movie, I think about how silly I used to be as a kid, wide-eyed and hopeful like Ralphie. I remember the feeling of going crazy over Christmas presents and not getting what I wanted. I remember what it’s like to be creeped out by a mean, scary Santa. I think about how my mom covered us in layers and layers of clothing before going outside. I remember all the little things that made Christmas the best holiday.
—Julissa Treviño
—Gary Collins
Scrooged
My favorite Christmas movie hands-down is Richard Donner’s Scrooged starring Bill Murray. Donner’s 1988 retelling of the venerable Dickens classic contains all the elements of a great movie. But the genius of Donner could have never materialized if not for the brilliant selection of Murray as leading man Frank Cross. Cross, Donner’s updated version of Ebenezer Scrooge, is a selfish, egotistical, megalomaniacal television executive who views Christmas as nothing more than the year’s biggest payday. He works hard and works his employees even harder … until, that is, he gets a visit from three spirits sharing the consequences of the cold-hearted choices he’s made throughout his adult life. The film goes from funny to uproarious once the sadistic Ghost of Christmas Present (Carol Kane) makes her appearance. The back-and-forth between the two keeps the movie interesting and adds to the fun. What makes the film work is Donner’s allegorical view of how greed and lust for power most often come at the expense of others, which after nearly 20 years still holds true. Additionally, he does it without getting bogged down with mushy, over-the-top heart-warming moments. If you’re a Murray fan or just need a good laugh, you will not be disappointed. It’s a good thing I have it on DVD; I would have worn out the VHS tape by now.
It’s a Wonderful Life
In my mind, It’s a Wonderful Life trumps all other holiday films—and that’s saying a lot; the list to choose from is probably as big as the snow monster in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. What is it that makes this film great? Perhaps it is George Bailey’s hopelessly romantic rant to his future wife, Mary, when he tells her he’ll give her the moon—but not before he lassos it and pulls it ever so closer (that’s what he said he would do, it didn’t actually happen.) It is writing and creativity like the aforementioned that continue to draw viewers even to this day. The movie is full of quips and philosophies that can be applied to life … and then quoted later. Every time a bell rings, I can’t help but think of an angel getting its wings. But with Clarence the angel by his side to guide him, Bailey’s emotional journey toward recognizing that his life did have an impact on the lives of people around him is what relates so well with viewers. The most feel-good part of the film occurs when Bailey runs down the hub of the city, yelling “Merry Christmas” at old buildings and kissing strangers on the street. Even though I’ve seen it more times than I have toes, that scene still makes me crack a smile. And, in that moment, it really is a wonderful life.
—André Green
Photo courtesy Paramount
—Mark Bauer
Photo courtesy Paramount