Let the Christmas Viewings Begin…
Christmas season, and time to break out the Christmas books and DVDs. Our collection and things we borrow from the library gets a little longer each year. Like the “5 Gifts” post, I will try to post this earlier, say after Thanksgiving, next year.
Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas. A Muppet production based on a favorite book from my childhood by Russell and Lillian Hoban, who also wrote the Frances the badger books. The video adheres closely to the story and the Muppets are a perfect fit. 8yo Drake and I enjoyed this. 5yo Guppy said he hated it, and my husband G. Grod slept through much of it, as he does every year.
Bridget Jones’ Diary. Not for the kids, and not exactly a Christmas movie, but it starts and ends at the holidays, and I love it. I love the casting (Hugh Grant and Colin Firth), the soundtrack and timing, the humor. I feel like I might be a bad feminist for loving it so, what with Bridget only redeeming herself in the end by getting the guy, having humiliated herself yet again, by racing around town in her tiger-striped undies. Don’t care. Love.
A Charlie Brown Christmas. Guppy got to pick this one. He and Drake both loved it, though I’m not sure they’re reliable critics, as they also loved the lame ass sequel on the DVD.
The Shop Around the Corner. Not with the kids. Perhaps my favorite Christmas film, and one I love much better than that other Jimmy Stewart classic. Remade as In the Good Old Summertime and You’ve Got Mail.
A Christmas Story. No one in our family had ever seen this, which some friends considered travesty, one we corrected this year. Enjoyable, funny, but I think it’s classic would grow with repeat viewings, which we haven’t had yet. Drake liked it; Guppy didn’t.
Shaun the Sheep: We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas (with Seasons Bleatings!) Guppy picked this, since he hated the last one. Both boys were delighted and cackled gleefully and often, as they always do with the Shaun DVDs. If you’re a Wallace and Gromit fan and haven’t checked them out, do.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. When Guppy was younger–two or three years ago?–we watched this and he hid his eyes and said he didn’t like the green guy. He’s acquired the taste though, and loved it this year.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Before watching, Guppy said he didn’t like it. After, he’d changed his mind. Both boys were confused by the shunning of Rudolph. I’m convinced that Hermie’s (why does it sometimes sound like Herbie?) dentistry is a deliberate metaphor for something else. And the defanging of the Bumble seems more cruel every year.
The Lemon Drop Kid. Recommended by Connie Willis in her MIracle and Other Christmas Stories. Bob Hope as a con artist who owes a gangster money by Christmas. Good, not great, but has him singing Silver Bells with his co-star. Worth it, if not must-watch for every year.
More to come…