Oh Christmas! And before we all spontaneously burst into song and start eating copious amounts of food, there is rather a lot of rushing around and getting organised to be done. It’s bad enough traipsing around shops and queuing endlessly and the thought of doing all this with little ones certainly leaves one cold. So, what better way to entertain them while you do all the wrapping and cook of tasty food than to educate them with a good Christmas film? It’s easy to fall in the trap of jumping straight onto the classics like, A Christmas Carol and Miracle on 34th Street; however the kids of today may just appreciate these few a little bit more.
Having said that, let’s start off with a 90’s classic shall we? Home Alone seems to be on every year doesn’t it? At least 10 times during December, just so everyone has a chance to catch it and so they should. Considering this film is nearly 25 years old, it never fails to translate on screen and simply a fun film. Here we have Macaulay Culkin as young boy Kevin who accidentally gets left behind whilst his family spend Christmas in France. How he gets forgotten about by his parents brings up all sorts of questions, but by the by he is left to fend for himself and has some unexpected visitors. This eight year old boy has to use all his immediate resources to fight against two, quite frankly, idiotic burglars. No one wants their house burgled and especially not on Christmas Eve! Joe Pesci and Daniels Stern as robbers Harry and Marv makes for some extremely funny viewing and the booby traps set by Kevin are sure to mesmerize your kids and most importantly make them laugh. Whatever Macaulay maybe up to now, Home Alone is undoubtedly a must see at Christmas time.
Sticking with director Chris Columbus for the moment with the iconic Gremlins, based on Columbus' screenplay. No Christmas is complete without Gizmo now is it? Sure, he is adorably fluffy and cute, however make sure you don’t get him wet, keep him away from bright lights, and most importantly, never, ever feed him after midnight. When Billy gets given the big eyed, fuzzy Mogwai for Christmas, it seems to be the best present ever; however things don’t quote go according to plan. Once the rules are broken this new pet unintentionally unleashes a horde of mischievous monsters across town. These naughty little creatures cause havoc all around town, stealing Christmas trees, presents and scaring the locals pets. This film certainly has something for all the family and sure to keep you kids engrossed whilst you are running around. So, perhaps if you were thinking of getting your child a mogwai – maybe, just maybe a Furbie is the way to go.
This animation is an absolute joy and a must see during the festive season. Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas has everything going for it – gorgeous animation, a fantastic storyline, an amazing score and most of all a very catchy soundtrack. Danny Elfman’s outstanding song writing and singing is hard to get out of your head after watching. Not to mention that children are going to love this, with all the singing, dancing and jumping around on screen they will feel truly involved in Jack the Skellington Christmas mission. This brings all the magic of Christmas alive with a clever twist. With characters such as Santa, the Easter Bunny, The Oogie Boogie man and several mystical creatures, this overall a visually spectacular Christmas adventure.
Getting a bit more up to date now with hit comedy film, Nativity! Oh the Nativity! No doubt every child will get taught about the said nativity in school and lucky for you Martin Freeman and Marc Wootton are here re-telling a rather funny version. At school, it’s everyone’s dream to be in the school play, in the spotlight and especially in that yearly Christmas play. The film follows a primary school teacher who is in charge of this year’s Nativity play. This hectic situation goes from bad to worse, but is never without that warm feeling of Christmas and of course everything works itself out in the end. Ultimately, this is a clever little film, not short of laughs which can only be a good thing when choosing what to put on this Christmas.
No matter how old you are, there is an undeniable spell that animation holds over you. A film that isn’t about Christmas, albeit isn’t Christmas about more than just a tree and presents? The touching message conveyed in Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away is powerful enough without decorations and flashing lights all over it. Young Chihiro is taken on a magical journey full of mystical creatures, witches, wizards and spirits. This becomes a story of love, sadness and most importantly shows children working hard can get good results. The delights that have been created in this dreamlike universe are just as magical as Christmas itself. One perhaps very young children wouldn’t appreciate, but certainly a film all children should see. One that they tend to show a lot around this time of year and after watching I guarantee you will want a Dragon named Haku to protect you!