Top Ten Favorite Christmas Movie Scenes
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals! It's that time of year again, and with the temperature outside being all over the place this month, Christmas movies have been a great way to trick the brain and get into the the holiday spirit. As with every great movie, there are a handful of scenes that keep you glued to the tv, waiting for that perfect cinematic moment that pulls you in every time. I've tried to put some variety in this list, so unfortunately the obvious choices like "It's a Wonderful Life" or any of the versions of "A Christmas Carol" were left off so they could make other, classier lists. Let's get to it!
10. Die Hard- "Welcome to the Party, Pal!"
There's been a big debate on the internet as to whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie or not. There are those who consider it to be one of the best Christmas movies of all time and then you have the people who do not and who are wrong. Personally, I've always considered it a Christmas movie and it's my list, so I'm putting it on here!
We all know the set up. John McClane is a New York cop who is estranged from his wife, Holly, that has moved to California for a seemingly very impressive job. But as luck would have it, on the night John decides to visit her during her office Christmas party, a group of terrorists take over the building, leaving John as the only man that can save the day. It's a tale as old as time.
But my favorite scene from this movie comes near the end of the first act. John, in a desperate act to get a patrolling policeman's attention, throws the body of a terrorist out the 40 story window, onto the policeman's car. The officer panics and throws the car in reverse, all the while being shot at by more terrorsists from inside the building. McClane, watching from above, exclaims "Welcome to the party, pal!" with a surprising amount of Christmas cheer.
So while this scene (or any other scene from this movie) would be top tier on any other list, it isn't a "traditional" holiday movie, but it does deserve a spot on this here, regardless. The scene may not be filled with Christmas trees or Santa, but its a great action scene with an iconic one-liner, all taking place on Chritmas Eve.
9. The Polar Express- "The Ticket"
So while "Die Hard" may not be super Christmas(y), "The Polar Express" is aggressively so. While the animation of the little kids in this movie may not have aged well (and that's putting it gently) I think the rest of this movie still holds up despite being made in the early 2000s and displays some great Christmas imagery.
Based on the children's story book, "The Polar Express" follows a young boy as he is taken aboard the Polar Express, a magical train leading to the North Pole, to reclaim his faith in Santa Claus. As with all trains, everyone on board must have a ticket with them. But for one of the passengers onboard, the ticket that is being asked for flies out the window. The ticket is then shown gliding through the wilderness in an uncut shot where it flies past a pack of wolves chasing the train, an eagle catching it and taking it to its nest, to it then falling out and turning into a snowball, where it rolls back down toward the train and eventually lands back inside.
This scene has nothing to do with the weird looking people in this movie and is all the better for it. It's basically a tech demo where the animators were able to show off a really cool scene. I've always enjoyed the roller coaster feeling, mixed with the Christmas vibes of the train racing its way through the snow.
8. Krampus- "Toy Attack"
With the release of big time movies like "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" coming out in 2015, many smaller movies got pushed to the way side and forgotten. Unfortunately, "Krampus" a surprisingly well made Christmas/Horror movie, was one of them. I'll be the first to admit that this movie is not high art. But it is a really fun holiday horror flick with a solid cast, amazing creature design, and great Christmas atmosphere that makes the scares all the more creepy.
After having a dysfunctional family dinner party that would make even the Griswold's blush, Max (now fed up with the holidays) rips up his letter to Santa and throws it to the wind, unwittingly summoning the mythic German inspired monster and all of his minions. So in this scene, now trapped in the house by a blizzard and aware that they are under attack by some malevolent beings, the family hears movement in the attic and in the kitchen and decide to investigate. To their horror, they discover that some of the toys that were up in the attic have come to life and have begun to attack the younger members of the family, meanwhile, the obnoxious uncle of the movie stumbles upon an army of gingerbread men in the kitchen that begin to attack him. What follows is absolute mayhem as members of the family take on the various possessed Christmas fixtures and fight for their lives.
While this scene is really goofy to describe, it's surprisingly tense as the family fights what are normally run of the mill Christmas items and trying to save the kids from them. The gingerbread man fight is also really well done as it balances comedy and a small scale action set piece.
So while most have probably never heard of or have forgotten about "Krampus", I highly recommend it for horror movie lovers that are looking for something festive.
7. Jingle All the Way- "You Too, Barnaby Jones!"
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Howard Langston is on the hunt for the elusive Turbo Man action figure. Unfortunately for him, it is the most sought after gift of the holiday season, as well as the object of his son's unhealthily obsessed desire. The world, as well as a deranged postal worker played amazingly by Sinbad, seem to be out to get him as he does all he can to get his hands on "The Doll!".
In my favorite scene from "Jingle All the Way" Howard storms into a radio station in the hopes that reciting the names of Santa's reindeer will win him a Turbo Man. As he battles his way inside the booth against Myron the Postman, the radio dj sounds an alarm, calling an army of cops into the building. Howard makes an escape, leaving Myron, armed only with the packages in his mailbag, to face the cops. Myron then pulls out one of his packages, falsely claiming that it's a bomb and that it's ready to go off! He then manages to get the cops to lay down their guns and make his own escape, only to find out seconds later when he surprisingly hears a gigantic BOOM...that it really was a bomb.
This has been one of my favorites since I was a little kid. Sinbad is incredible in this movie and I love how crazy he is in this scene. While the movie as a whole might fall apart by the ending, this is a great part of a Christmas movie that has been in my rotation for years.
6. Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'- "What's This?"
Fun fact: Did you know that despite Tim Burton's name being in the title, he actually had very little to do with this movie? Which is crazy, considering that this is the most aggressively Tim Burton(y) thing ever made. From the dark, creepy animation to the bright, cheery Christmas world, this seemed to have his finger prints all over it. But nevertheless, it's a bizarre Christmas/Halloween classic that has a major cult following.
Despite the huge following, it took me a while to come around to "Nightmare". But in the last few years, despite the fact that I still think the stop motion animation is pretty creepy, I've come to appreciate it and admire how original it is. Which leads to my favorite Christmas scene from the movie.
Jack Skellington, bored with his success in Halloweentown, mopes through the woods and stumbles upon a portal leading to ChristmasTown. The town is different than his own nightmare world in every way, and upon landing in the snow and staring in wonder at the Christmas lights, toys, and elves, Jack bursts into singing "What's This?" as he searches through the town.
The song is catchy, and the animation is amazing as Jack's nightmare figure dances around the jolly Chrsistmas setting, drinking in every detail. And while the the stop motion animation helps creepify the inhabitants of HalloweenTown, in this scene it comes off as charming as the elves and their surroundings resemble older Christmas classics like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".
5. Home Alone- "Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal!"
Accidentally abandoned for the holidays, Kevin McCallister is left to fend for himself. While his family is scrambling to get back to him from Paris, the mouthy 10 year old has to ward off the seemingly unstoppable "Wet Bandits" while trying to figure out how to run the household.
In this scene, having just scared away Harry and Marv the night before, Kevin orders a pizza but doesn't have the funds to pay for it. Instead, Kevin waits until the pizza guy gets to his front door to play an old gangster film, where he's hooked it up to the speakers, perfectly sinking the dialogue from the movie with the pizza guy and his questions. The gangster threatens the pizza guy despite his pleas, shouts "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!" then opens fire, scaring the delivery boy and sending him running, leaving the pizza behind.
This scene's ridiculous but so well constructed and funny, that they bring the gag back in the sequel. The genuine fear from the awkward teenager is hilarious and the over the top performance from the old gangster in the movie is amazing. Home Alone is a classic that I loved as a kid that has only gotten better to me as I've gotten older.
4. Gremlins- "They're watching 'Snow White'....and they're loving it."
While a Mogwai like Gizmo would make for an adorable pet, the repercussions of failing to follow the 3 sacred rules of tending to the little guy are pretty severe. Billy, gifted the creature by his father after discovering him in Chinatown, learns this the hard way.
After destroying the town and harrassing its inhabitants, the Gremlins decide to take a break and go to the movies. Billy, having accidentally brought the plague upon his home town, takes it upon himself to try to get rid of them. Upon entering the theater, Billy, his girlfriend, and Gizmo, discover the Gremlins inside are watching "Snow White" and losing their minds. The scene is bizarre but really funny as the monsters dance around and sing to the movie, wearing 3D glasses and throwing popcorn at each other. The scene then ends as Billy cuts a gas line and lights a fire, leading to a tense chase and a great explosion as the group barely outrun the monsters in time to escape.
"Gremlins" is a mainstay in my movie line up every holiday season. Much like "Krampus" and "The Nightmare before Christmas", "Gremlins" blends horror really well with the Christmas aesthetics, as well as featuring some funny moments and great effects.
3. Dr. Seuss' 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'- "She's Gonna' Blow!"
As many people online have stated, the Grinch becomes much more relatable as you get older. Mostly, you just want to hang out at your house with your dog, avoiding people at all costs. Unfortunately for the Grinch in this scene, he has been called down to Whoville in order to win the Holiday Cheermeister Award.
Making matters even worse, the corrupt mayor of Whoville has a grudge against the green outsider, and is hellbent on making him miserable for as long as humanly possible. The Grinch, already hating the Who's and everything to do with Christmas, must suffer through endless holiday festivities before he can get his award. But before the award is given, the mayor presents him with an electric razor, the centerpiece of his most traumatic childhood moment, which caused him to leave town and spend his solitary life at the top of a mountain. The Grinch, understandably, loses it and becomes a one man army of destruction, tearing his way through Whoville and only stopping when the tiny toy car he has stolen wrecks and explodes with the force of an atomic bomb.
Ever since I first saw The Grinch as a little kid, this has always been my favorite scene. It's off the rails in the best possible way and allows Jim Carrey to be as ridiculous as he can be. As great as the props and the sets in this movie are, the visual of this menace in his Christmas clothes riding a tiny toy car through the streets of Whoville, has always been my favorite part and the scene I enjoy the most.
2. Elf- "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
Buddy the Elf (played by Will Ferrell) was raised in the North Pole by Santa and his elves. But upon learning that he's actually a human and not a 6'3 elf, he sets off to New York to find his father and win his approval. As the movie progresses and Buddy gets into several misadventures, he finds himself in a Christmas store where he is mistaken for one of their workers, due to him still being dressed as one of Santa's helpers.
He soon learns that "Santa" will be making a guest appearance at the store the next day and feeling that the venue isn't decorated properly, stays there all night to make sure it's up to snuff for Santa's arrival. As he finishes the next morning, he hears one of his coworkers (Zoey Deschanel) singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" in the shower from the locker room. Pulled in by his love for Christmas songs and Deschanel's voice, he goes into the locker room and starts quietly singing along with her.
It's a really charming scene as they sing together, Deschanel is known for how good of a voice she has, but surprisingly, Will Ferrell has a really pleasant voice as well. They sing a few verses together until Buddy gets carried away and sings too loudly, scaring Zoey Deschanel, causing her to scream at Buddy, sending him running into some lockers and knocking himself out.
I've loved this scene since I saw it in theaters nearly 20 years ago, which makes me feel extremely old. It's a short scene, but it's so sweet and charming that even if I don't have time to watch the entire movie, I always make sure to stick around until this scene comes on.
1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- "The Jelly of the Month Club"
Clark Griswold, the ultimate family man and the most casually destructive person on the planet, just wants to host a good Christmas. Unfortunately, literally everything in this movie goes wrong for him as he tries from start to finish. Whether he's getting stuck in the attic while everyone else is away shopping, skyrocketing into a Wal-Mart parking lot while sledding, or struggling to light up his (now) radioactive house with Christmas lights, he's not having a good time and is starting to crack.
Along comes my favorite Christmas scene, when he gets his "Jelly of the Month Club" card from his boss. While it is the gift that keeps giving the whole year round, it's the final straw for Clark. He was relying on his yearly Christmas bonus to help pay off the swimming pool he was planning to install. Now, eyes bulging and mouth ready to hurl insults, launches into one of the best meltdowns in cinematic history. For what feels like a solid minute he vents all of his frustrations, aiming them directly at his boss, pausing only briefly to take a few gulps of egg nog, "It's good!...It's good!"
Chevy Chase kills it in this scene, never stumbling over his words (or blinking his eyes) as the family stares on in a mix of sympathy and horror. And as he ends the rant, he declares that he wants his boss brought before him, tied up in a bow and begging for forgiveness, which comes true in a later amazing scene.
"Christmas Vacation" is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Every scene is memorable in its own right and it was hard to pick just one. But seeing that it all builds to that amazing hissy fit (and the ensueing chaos that follows soon after) it was a no brainer to pick this one.
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