MSJ at the Movies: Christmas movie tier list

After finally reaching the conclusion of Thanksgiving, the Christmas season is finally upon us, and the transition to holiday movies has entered many households. Some people simply resort to their all-time favorites yearly and watch them on repeat. Meanwhile, others widen their viewership to include newer and more eccentric films. 

Regardless of your desire, we picked eleven of the most popular holiday movies and separated them into three tiers. The first tier represents all-time greats; the second denotes average films; the third signifies some of the worst Christmas movies created. With that out of the way, let’s discuss the four best Christmas movies of all time.

To start us off, Elf is one of my personal favorite Christmas movies of all time. Elf, Starring Will Ferrell, is about a kid raised by Santa and other elves. He grows up thinking he’s an elf until he discovers the hard truth that he isn’t and has a real family. He leaves the wonderland of the North Pole and deals with the city of New York in search of his dad. This movie is top-tier because it brings out good family-friendly comedy and brings joy and belief back into Santa and Christmas.

Next on the list is Christmas Vacation. This movie is about a family staying in one house for the holidays. Clark Griswold wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife and children as he tries to make sure everything is in line. This movie includes a lot of hilarious comedy and is required to watch every year. 

Home Alone is also another classic one that you have to watch every year. This movie is about an 8-year-old boy who is left home alone while his family goes on vacation without him. Suspicions rise about a young boy being home alone, so two burglars try to rob his house. Little do they know that this 8-year-old has some fight in him. This movie brings comedy and overall holiday spirit. These are just a few of the fantastic Christmas to watch yearly, but some aren’t good enough to be watched every year.

The movies in this tier list are good but not spectacular. The movie Polar Express could go either way, but I think it falls in the middle tier. This movie is about a bunch of kids who get on a train that is supposedly taking them to the North Pole to see the first gift being handed out. When they get there, Santa chooses one kid from the crowd to receive the first gift of Christmas. The movie has a very scattered plot, and it is hard to keep up at times. 

The next movie I would like to discuss is Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Everybody likes Charlie Brown, and the movies are classics. However, they are more for a younger audience. Charlie Brown has a lot of different movies for different holidays, like the Halloween one. In my opinion, that is an excellent movie, but the Christmas movie just doesn’t reach expectations and is just a good movie to watch every once in a while. 

Now for the next movie, nothing is wrong with the film itself, and it is an excellent depiction of the story. Rudolph is a great movie and is definitely a classic to watch. However, everyone knows of the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer story. Therefore, since everyone knows the story, there is no motive to watch it yearly. 

Finally, these three movies do not make the cut of worthy Christmas movies and should not be the first viewing choice. Though the first Home Alone movie makes the first tier, the rest of the movies are not nearly as entertaining. The rest of them do not meet the uniqueness of the first film and are pretty much about the same topic. With the repetitive nature of all these movies, they get boring after a while and should not receive the same clout as the first. 

Next, the Disney remake of The Grinch similarly does not make the cut as the original film. It takes an animated approach instead of the realistic ideals of the original movie. Also, Disney puts a childish twist on it, making the movie boring to older viewers. Even though they take the same plot, the original movie easily deserves a higher ranking in this list.

The final movie on this list, Santa Claus, also comes in a series, but the disappointment of the first version explains them all. The plot is about a man who finds Santa in his front yard and travels back to the North Pole to replace him. His son tags along, and they go on an adventure through Santa’s workshop. This movie appeals more to children and does not provide much competition to the Christmas comedies. 

The uniqueness of Christmas movies fits all tastes and provides an excellent viewership experience during the holiday season. No matter the quality and subject, these movies get us in the holiday spirit and supply all types of people with unmatched enjoyment.

Alex Kwas is a sophomore member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

Tyler Martin is a junior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.