I surveyed students from Klein Collins on what their favorite Christmas movie is from a list of twenty titles. This list shows the five most popular and also includes my own opinion of the movie below. Take this list with a grain of salt, as some of my reviews can probably be attributed to nostalgia.

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas

I usually watch this around Halloween instead of Christmas, but that might just be because there aren’t as many iconic Halloween movies as there are Christmas movies. Either way, it’s a great movie with fantastic animation and songs. The movie follows Jack Skellington in Halloweentown as he tires of celebrating Halloween year after year until he discovers Christmas. In my opinion, I think there are better Christmas movies, but this is definitely a good option.

4. Home Alone

In Home Alone, Kevin is left behind accidentally while his family goes to Paris for Christmas. The acting in this movie is amazing, especially from Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci (Harry and Marv). Even Macaulay Coulkin’s performance was a great portrayal of a child with no restrictions. This movie never gets old. Home Alone 1 and 2 are basically the same movie except for the location, but both are great separately. I definitely think Home Alone deserves one of the top spots in this list.

3. Die Hard

This movie is a little controversial as to if it is even a “Christmas movie” to begin with, but is a great movie nevertheless. The main character is policeman John McClane. While attending a Christmas party with his ex-wife and kids, a terrorist group takes control of the building and McClane is the only one able to save the hostages. According to the same poll that ranked the movies, 53.5% of KC students think Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I think that it is a really good movie, but should be ranked lower on a Christmas movie ranking.

2. Elf

This movie is one of my absolute favorites, and I watch it every year. The movie follows Buddy, a human raised by elves in the North Pole. He discovers that he isn’t an elf as an adult and travels to New York to meet his real dad. This movie is so funny because of Buddy’s innocence and how much he sticks out in New York. Every interaction he has with others is full of jokes. This movie is lighthearted and comedic, making it so rewatchable each year.

1. The Polar Express

If you love Tom Hanks, you’re in luck because he plays every male adult character in this movie (five different characters!). On Christmas Eve, a boy who no longer believes in Santa Claus embarks on a train headed for the North Pole. I saw this movie countless times in my childhood. I was surprised at how highly it ranked though, and honestly believe it should be lower on this list. The character animation looks terrible and the plot is all over the place. Instead of following any type of plot, the movie uses action scenes to fill up time. Each scene is stretched out to try and make a picture book into a 90 minute movie. The Polar Express is charming at times, but has too many problems for me to enjoy.