🎄HOLIDAY VIBES, PT. 2
Two holiday classics that will bring you Christmas cheer, laughter, and a wistful tear to your eye.
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~Heather
It’s Christmas Eve and I’m happy to report that I’ve officially crossed into the festive zone. Since my last post, I’ve watched a bunch of holiday movies, listened to a hilarious episode of one of my favourite movie podcasts, How Did This Get Made?, decorated my tree, wrapped gifts, and traveled to my childhood home to spend Christmas with my parents. I hope you’re also enjoying some holiday merriment and watching some classic, funny, and perfectly cheesy holiday movies to get you in the spirit.
After too much overthinking and trying to find a Christmas movie to recommend that you may not have seen — I gave up!
I think we all know the classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, the modern classics like Elf and Home Alone, and (for my generation), the animated childhood favourites like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.
So, rather than try to wow you by recommending an obscure holiday movie that will bring you Christmas cheer, I thought I’d say a few words about two movies I love to watch at this time of year.
Let me know if you’ve seen them or if you’re watching for the first time!
THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL
Writers: Jerry Juhl (based on the story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens).
Director: Brian Henson
Starring: Michael Caine and The Muppets!
Canadian Release Date: December 11, 1992
Gonzo as Charles Dickens: “Welcome to the Muppet Christmas Carol. I am here to tell the story.”
Rizzo the Rat: “…and I am here for the food.”
Rizzo the Rat just gets me.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) is a retelling of Charles Dickens’s famous book, A Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine and Jim Henson’s muppets — and I love it. This timeless gothic tale in movie form highlights personal and societal themes that still ring true today, and like all adaptations of this story, it gives us as viewers a moment to pause and reflect. With the addition of muppets, Brian Henson’s version of this Christmas story is also funny, musical, creative, extra poignant, and thoroughly entertaining!
Aside from Rizzo’s hilarious lines and delivery (rather, the voice actor Steve Whitmire’s delivery), one of my favourite aspects of this film is that Michael Caine clearly took his role very seriously. As he tells the story through his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge, Caine emotes so genuinely and effectively. Every scene he’s in is perfection. His emotions are real, and you see the care he takes in his acting down to the minor details.
I also love spotting lesser-known muppets in scenes, like the adorable mice who politely request cheese, the cutest fluffy rabbit caroler (Bean Bunny), and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew with his trusty sidekick, Beaker (one of my favourites of all time).
The songs are merry, the lines are funny, the puppetry is perfect, and the scenes are poignant — I always shed a tear when Bean Bunny shivers in the streets, wrapped in newspapers for warmth.
So, light the fire, wrap yourself in a blanket, get a nice mug of hot cocoa, and settle in with the family for this jolly Christmas film.
Where to Stream: Disney+
Where to Rent: Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, AppleTV
Fun Facts:
Michael Caine told Jim Henson, "I'm going to play this movie like I'm working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role, and there are no puppets around me."
The Director, Brian Henson, is Jim Henson’s son — this film was his directorial debut.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
Writers: Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe (based on the novel by Victor Heerman).
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Starring: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, and Marjorie Main.
Release Date: November 1944
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light.”
~Judy Garland as Esther Smith
A romantic musical comedy, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) is a movie that was made in the ‘40s, set at the turn of the century, and continues to entertain audiences today. If your first watch is in 2024, you’ll notice the anti-feminist dialogue throughout and the racist tones of white partygoers appropriating the ragtime song “Under the Bamboo Tree”, both of which, upon further research, I’m learning may have been part of director Vincente Minnelli’s social critique on the values of the time. However, as the story unfolds, you’ll be charmed by Judy Garland, amused by the hilarious dialogue, and thoroughly impressed by Margaret O’Brien, at the time a child star, who plays the youngest of the Smith family: Tootie.
In glorious technicolor, the film depicts The Smith family, an upper-middle-class family living in St. Louis, Missouri leading up to the World’s Fair. Garland stars as Esther, the romantic middle daughter who has a crush on the boy next door, John Pruitt (Tom Drake), and much of the story follows her quest to woo him and become engaged. The film chronicles a year in the Smiths’ lives, and features the iconic “Trolley Song”, a Halloween subplot about growing courage and growing up, and the debut of the now-famous Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
The main reason I watch this movie every year is so that I can be serenaded by Judy Garland, but I’m always reminded of how both darkly comic and touching the script is — particularly the scenes featuring Tootie.
A great film to watch with all generations present, I suspect you’ll sing along to the Trolley Song, laugh out loud at the outdated language, covet the Smiths’ huge Victorian home, and shed a tear with Tootie and Esther in their wistful scene overlooking the snow people in the front yard.
Where to Rent: Amazon Prime, Google Play, AppleTV (or you may catch it playing on cable TV)
Fun Facts:
Judy Garland recorded "The Trolley Song" in a single take.
For her performance, Margaret O'Brien was awarded a Special Oscar for Best Child Actor.
Liza Minnelli points to how often her father, director Vincente Minnelli, visually "framed" her mother Judy Garland in the film, using curtains, actual window frames, flowers, etc., because he was becoming enamored with her. It's part of the reason why this is one of Liza Minnelli's favorite films - it's the movie where her parents fell in love.
What are you watching this time of year? Join me in the chat or leave me a comment:
Thanks for reading!
I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season and I hope it’s full of great movies, delicious food and drink, and lots of laughter.
Enjoy the movies,
~Heather
Streaming and rental sources listed are limited to the services and websites I subscribe to and/or have access to (in Canada) at the time of publishing. Feel free to search your streaming and cable services for these titles.
I love the Muppets Christmas Carol! A classic