Christmas Chronicles

There's really nothing like a good Christmas movie to get you into the holiday spirit. In this article, we take a look at ten Christmas films in chronological order. You might be surprised to learn exactly how early Santa first appeared on our screens! It was a challenge to limit ourselves to just ten films so we've included a few honourable mentions at the end.

Santa Claus (1898).

In 1898 Santa made his first appearance in film in a one minute clip called Santa Claus. Given the time in which the film was made, it is really quite an extraordinary piece of cinema history. According to the British Film Institute, this short film was ‘a considerable technical accomplishment for its period and (used) pioneering visual effects’.

Scrooge (1901)

In the first film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, ‘Scrooge’ took Charles Dickens' work from 1843 and adapted it for the screen. The film, also known by the name Marley’s Ghost, is another example of early technical accomplishments given it was released before cinemas even existed (the world’s first cinema was opened a year later). Director Walter R. Booth used his background as a magician to create visual effects like a ghost appearing over a door and various flashbacks. Unfortunately only three of the original 6 minutes remain in the archives of the British Film Institute. Since 1901, countless adaptations of this story have been brought to life on screen with many famous faces taking on the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Even Disney produced an animated version in 1983 with Scrooge McDuck. Most recently, Ryan Renolds and Wil Ferrel have brought a musical version of the story to life in the Apple original film ‘Spirited’.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

In the years following World War II, the world was in need of some hope and inspiration and they found it in this beautiful story about a man who needed some reminding of his importance in the world. It’s a Wonderful Life is considered by many critics to be the greatest Christmas movie of all time. It is also believed to be the favourite film of its director Frank Capra while other directors including Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner also consider it to be a favourite. In 1990 the film was added to the U.S library of Congress’s National Film Registry for being ‘culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.’

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

This endearing story has become a Christmas classic and gave its audience of the post war era an idealistic view of the world through the eyes of a young child, suggesting that children are perhaps wiser than we often think. The film won three Academy awards and was preserved by the Academy film archive in 2009. A remake of the film was made in 1994 and continues to be a family favourite every December.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

In the mid1960s The Peanuts comic presented a made for television Christmas special that has continued to be a regular on television programming in December. A CHarlie Brown christmas paved the way for animation specials in many ways as it was the first to use actual children for the characters voices as opposed to adults imitating children, it was also the first to do away with canned laughter and was the first christmas special with a run time of 30 minutes as opposed to the usual full hour.I t also broke the mould in the way it referenced religion in relation to the holiday season. Although the producers of the animation were convinced that the film was going to be a flop, it actually received high ratings and very positive reviews, no easy feat given the 60s were a time when it was not so common for every household to own a television set.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

By the 1980’s film development had evolved with more sophisticated storytelling and advancements in special effects. By the late 1980s we were finally given a Christmas classic for the adults. Although this is the third instalment in the National Lampoon’s franchise, it’s often considered to be the best. The imagery of main character Clarke Griswold’s over the top lighting display has become so famous that many people reference the film when they see a house decked out with lots of lights at christmas time.

Home Alone (1990)

In 1990 when kids were playing with tamagotchis and cuddling beanie babies, teens were wearing plaid and Doc Martens and we were still renting videos from our local Blockbuster, we were given the gift that is Home Alone. MacAuley Culkin was perfect in the role of protagonist Kevin Macalister. Although not Culkin’s first role, it has perhaps become his most famous and who could forget the imagery of him screaming after trying his father’s aftershave. This was certainly one of those films that the whole family could enjoy.

Elf (2003)

In the early 2000s, we’d entered a new millennium and recovered from the fear of the Y2K bug. We owned blow up couches and flip phones, we updated our profile pictures on MySpace and our jeans sat low but at least the early noughties gave us one thing we’re not embarrassed about today…Elf. Released in 2003, Will Ferrel’s Elf is still as popular today as it was when it was released nearly 20 years ago. It’s the type of film you can watch every year without getting tired of it. Even viewers who are not typically fans of Ferrell’s work have said they enjoyed his portrayal of the naive and overly enthusiastic human elf. It’s hard not to laugh at the sight of a grown man getting excited at the news that Santa is about to arrive at the store.

The Polar Express (2004)

Just a year later in 2004 we were given the gift of Tom Hanks in The Polar Express. Based on the book of the same name, The Polar Express made use of advancements in 3D technology to digitally record the actors performances before turning them into animations. It was even entered in the Guinness Book of Records in 2006 as the “first all-digital capture film” where all acted parts were done in digital capture. Tom Hanks played 6 roles in the film including the conductor, the Hero Boy and Santa. This heartwarming story has been considered by some to be another version of Charles’ Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, with the young Hero Boy representing the part of Scrooge. However, others believe it has more religious undertones with the boy’s disbelief in Santa meant to be a representation of a disbelief in God.

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Fast forward to the late 20teens and we have entered the age of the streaming service which brought with it an influx of Christmas movies. The benefit here is the opportunity for families to view a movie together, which in this day and age can be an expensive thing to do at the movie theatre. One such family friendly film is the Christmas Chronicles, the first being released on Netflix in 2018 with the follow up released in 2020, although if we’re being honest the first one is by far the better of the two. The Christmas Chronicles is one that has something for everyone in the family and is certainly set to become a favourite with Kurt Russell earning rave reviews as “the coolest santa ever”.

With so many wonderful christmas films gracing our screen each year, it really was difficult to narrow it down to ten. So here are our notable mentions:

1933 - The Night Before Christmas is an animated classic which has been redone many times. Even Tom and Jerry have their own version!

1942 - Holiday Inn gave us the Christmas carol ‘White Christmas’.

1983- Trading Places. We love a role reversal story and one that’s set at Christmas time is even better!

1994/ 2002 - Santa Claus 1 and 2: We loved Tim Allen in the famous red suit!

2003/ 2006 - Love Actually and The Holiday: If there was a competition for best romantic comedy Christmas film, we think these two would tie for first.

So there you have it! A chronology of christmas films. Did your favourite make the list? If you'd like to watch a visual history of Christmas cinema, please check out our YouTube channel.