There have been many great Christmas movies over the years, but now Pubity fans have voted for their favourite of all time – but which is it?
Christmas is less than a month away, so you might want to get into the spirit by watching some seasonal movies – and you really are spoilt for choice.
Christmas really is the gift that keeps on giving for moviemakers. With so much going on – from buying presents, to family reunions, to reflections on life – there are endless plots to choose from, whether you want to go for comedy, romance, drama or horror.
But which is the best? In its latest ‘You Decide’ tournament poll, Pubity attempted to find out. On its Insta feed Pubity presented a knockout tournament where Christmas movies are pitted against each other and fans vote for their favourite to get through to the next round.
But there can only be one winner – but which was chosen?
Winner: Home Alone
This 1990 comedy classic starring a young Macaulay Culkin swept all aside to take the crown. In the final, Home Alone hammered The Nightmare Before Christmas taking a whopping 86% of the vote. The reasons are clear – everyone loves the story of how Kevin McAllister is accidentally left at home when his family goes on vacation to France. While he’s happy to be in charge at first, things take a turn when thieves try to break into the house. Of course, ‘try’ is the operative word as Kevin concocts ever-more ingenious ways to foil them.
Runner-up: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Another modern classic, 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas made it to the final. Tim Burton’s stop motion gothic fantasy musical tells the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, having grown tired of organising the Halloween celebrations, looks for something else to interest him. Having found Christmas Town, he decides that Halloween Town will take over Christmas this year – with predictably disastrous results. Can Jack see the error of his ways and make everything right?
Semi-finalists: Die Hard and How the Grinch Stole Christmas
We won’t go back into the ever-increasingly tedious debate about whether Die Hard is a Christmas film or not (it is) it made it to the semi-final of this You Decide. You know where you are when Bruce Willis is in a vest – a solid action thriller. This was his first outing as Detective John McClaine and cemented his reputation as a leading man. McClaine is having a bad day – made worse by an emerging hostage situation in an office building, even more so when it emerges one of the hostages is his wife.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the live-action movie take on the much-loved book by Dr Seuss. Jim Carrey is on form as the Grinch who hates Christmas and plots to steal all of the presents for the people of Whoville. But can he go through with the plan, or will the spirit of Christmas win the day?
Quarter-finalists: The Polar Express, A Christmas Story, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman
The quarter-finalists are all traditional and much-loved children’s Christmas movies – showing how those we watch when we were little often make the longest-lasting impression.
The Polar Express – again based on a book – tells the story of a magical train bound for the North Pole, which stops outside the house of a boy who questions his belief in Santa Claus. Can the trip restore his belief?
A Christmas Story (1983) is much beloved in the USA and Canada and is staple on TV during the season. The story focuses on a nine-year-old boy and his desire for one particular present – an air rifle (it was the 80s… they were wild).
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1998 take on the old story of a reindeer who is mocked for his looks, but becomes a hero. In this case, he has to rescue his friend Zoey from wicked Ice Queen, Stormella, as well as guiding Santa’s sleigh.
Finally, Frosty the Snowman is another classic, this time from 1969, but is again aired every year on TV and is loved by children and adults alike. It tells of a story of a snowman brought to life by magic, and his friends’ attempts to get him to the North Pole where he won’t melt.
