My favorite Christmas Movies

The Grinch is a cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. This was followed in 1966 by a popular television special also titled How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio, and directed by Chuck Jones.

In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing Halloween Is Grinch Night, a Halloween special that aired on CBS. Like its predecessor, the sequel was recognized at the Emmy awards. In 1982, Marvel green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, which was also produced by Dr. Seuss, under his real name, Ted Geisel. This third special garnered two Emmy awards.

The Grinch is considered a Christmas standard, and parodied/featured outside the Dr. Seuss brand frequently around the holiday season. The character is referenced by the media often in instances where a holiday display is ruined by vandals, or holiday burglaries are committed. Outside Christmas, the term "Grinch" is synonymous with "grouch" or "Burkey", as in someone that shows great disdain for something wholesome.

Scrooged is a 1988 comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. The original music score was composed by Danny Elfman.

The cast includes: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, David Johansen, John Houseman, John Glover, and Robert Mitchum. It also features cameo appearances by Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, musicians Larry Carlton, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, and Paul Shaffer, actor/singer Robert Goulet, and actors Jamie Farr, Buddy Hackett, Lee Majors, and Pat McCormick as well as the Solid Gold Dancers. Bill Murray's real-life brothers, Brian, John, and Joel also appear in the film.

The film was marketed with references to the film Ghostbusters which had been a great success four years earlier in 1984. In the USA, the tagline for Scrooged was, "Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it's three against one." In Brazil, it's named "Os Fantasmas Contra-Atacam" (The Ghosts Strike Back). In Spain, the film was titled "Los fantasmas atacan al jefe" (The Ghosts Attack the Boss). In Italy, the movie was released as "S.O.S. fantasmi" ("S.O.S. ghosts").

Jingle All the Way is a 1996 family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. The name is taken from a line in the Christmas song "Jingle Bells". This is the last comedy to date that Schwarzenegger starred in. Schwarzenegger received a salary of $15 million for his role in the film.

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 film written by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. It is the story of what takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real thing. Because of its Christmas theme, the film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentlemans Agreement.

Davies also penned a short novella version of the tale, which was published by Harcourt Brace simultaneously with the films release.

Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum and released in the United States on November 7, 2003. The film was generally well-received by moviegoers and critics and continues to air throughout the year on television, with an emphasis on the November-December airdates.

The Santa Clause is a 1994 Christmas film released by both Walt Disney Pictures and Hollywood Pictures. The film stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a father who finds himself contractually bound to become Santa Claus when he unintentionally puts on the previous Santa's suit.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is the fourth feature film to star The Muppets, and the first produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. It is one of many film adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

'''National Lampoons Christmas Vacation''' is a 1989 Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoons Vacation film series. The title song of the same name was written for the movie by the husband-wife song writing team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, performed by Mavis Staples.

Since its release in 1989, Christmas Vacation has been ranked on many top 10 favorite Christmas film lists and is considered a modern holiday classic.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,832658,00.htmlhttp://www.film.com/features/story/top-ten-holiday-movies/12565629http://humor.about.com/od/moviecommentary/tp/xmas_movies.htmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/03/funniest-christmas-movies_n_378863.html

The Polar Express (also known as The Polar Express in 3D) is a 2004 computer-animated feature film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg.

Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were "animated" using "live action" performance capture technique, with the exception of the waiters who dispense hot chocolate on the train, because their feats were impossible for real-life actors to achieve. Performance capture technology incorporates the movements of live actors into animated characters. It stars actor Tom Hanks in five distinct roles, including the role of Santa Claus. The film was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment in association with Shangri-La Entertainment, ImageMovers, Playtone and Golden Mean, for Warner Bros. The visual effects and performance capture was done at Sony Pictures Imageworks. The studio first released the $170 million film in both conventional and IMAX 3D theaters on Wednesday, November 10, 2004. It was the last film in which Michael Jeter made a contribution as he had died on March 31, 2003, and the film is dedicated to his memory.

Trapped in Paradise is a 1994 crime comedy film written and directed by George Gallo, and starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey.

Scrooge (1951), released as A Christmas Carol in the U.S., is one of the best-known film adaptations of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.

The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an acclaimed turn as Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's charwoman. Fans of British cinema will recognise George Cole as the younger version of Scrooge, Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Cratchit, Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit, Clifford Mollison as Samuel Wilkins, a debtor, Jack Warner as Mr. Jorkin, a role created for the film, Ernest Thesiger as Marley's undertaker, and Patrick Macnee as a young Jacob Marley. Michael Hordern plays Marley's ghost, as well as old Marley. Peter Bull serves as narrator, by reading portions of Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film, and also appears on-screen as one of the businessmen cynically discussing Scrooge's funeral.