With Christmas just days away, Mental Floss has compiled a list of the 20 best movies that capture the heart of holidays. Here are the top 10 (in alphabetical order) and if you’d like to see the complete list you can see it here!
- Babes in Toyland (1961). Mouseketeer Annette Funicello shines as the secret heir to a fortune.
- The Bishop’s Wife (1947). Cary Grant plays a handsome young angel whose mission is to help remind a Bishop (David Niven) about the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of raising money for a new cathedral.
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). Charles M. Schulz’s holiday special left an indelible mark on pop culture in less than half an hour.
- A Christmas Story (1983). This classic coming-of-age Christmas tale involves tongues on flagpoles, risqué leg lamps, a sadistic Santa, and a super safe BB gun.
- The Christmas Toy (1986). Jim Henson produced this movie about an overconfident toy tiger, who puts a playroom full of toys at risk because he can’t handle being replaced by a shiny new toy.
- Christmas Vacation (1989). In this Vacation film, the Griswold family’s holiday misadventures devolve into the kind of chaos that requires a SWAT team.
- Die Hard (1988). John McClane’s (Bruce Willis) rescue of his wife’s office mates is a bit like an action version of Ebenezer Scrooge.
- Elf (2003). Will Ferrell navigates the big city world of cynics to help them locate their inner child and believe in Christmas again.
- Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977). It’s Henson’s take on The Gift of the Magi–with singing river otters.
- Frosty the Snowman (1969). Rankin/Bass stepped away from stop-motion animation for this story based on the wildly popular holiday tune.
