Christmas is well, its about the best time of the whole year. No matter when they take place, modern era or period, Christmas Movies and Television Specials are always about someone who has lost their faith in humankind regaining it, saved by other people being kind because its christmas. Christmas is the landscape that everybody wants to paint on. Everyone who tells stories is attracted to the heightened emotions that it brings. Nostalgia plays such a huge part in christmas because it is part of so many peoples childhoods. And being able to go back and relive those feelings every year by watching Holiday Movies is just joy. A Christmas Story is one of the best movies about nostalgia, family, and christmas. Jingle bells, jingle bells. Jingle all the way. A Christmas Story. I watch it every year at least twice. Its like the script of my life. Can we go now . Can we go now . Yes. Yes, we can go now. Come on. It brings out every childhood wonder and hurt that you can imagine. Good morning, miss shields. I cant think of another movie that gets childhood so perfectly. That weird sort of age where hes sort of, like, nine years old. Hey, listen, smart[bleep] where ralphie swears and uses bad words, but he actually Still Believes in santa claus. Yeah, ill ask santa. It taps into a universal Kid Experience of christmas. Writing essays about the thing that you want, like a red ryder bb gun. I want an official red ryder carbine action, 200shot, range model air rifle. It really does capture wanting that gift that you know your parents dont want you to have. No. Youll shoot your eye out. Ralphie is facing resistance from all corners. His teacher. Youll shoot your eye out. The Department Store santa. Youll shoot your eye out, kid. Its a great simple story, mostly told from the kids point of view. Ho, ho, ho. No its funny and sweet, but cinematically really original. Ah god, its hard to beat home alone for me. Macaulay culkin. Iconic performance. This house is so full of people. It makes me sick. Home alone is about what if youre gone away for the holidays what else could we be forgetting . And you forgot your child. Kevin ive made my family disappear. Just the fun and the hijinks of that film. It is on the Mount Rushmore of Holiday Movies. I remember just thinking that i was fully transported into, like, this could actually happen to me as a fiveyearold. It was terrifying, that idea, but also so exciting. Being liberated from Family Responsibilities, but at the same time, taking on Family Responsibilities to protect the home and repel the bad guys. It becomes, basically, a looney tunes cartoon. You guys give up . Or are you thirsty for more . At the same time, youre also seeing his mom desperate, trying to get home. Ive been from chicago to paris to dallas to where the [bleep] am i . Scranton. Finally, kevin is walking alone in his neighborhood and he realizes that it used to be home alone in celebration and now its home alone missing his family. And that really is what makes it such a great Christmas Movie and not just a kid attacking the bandits movie. Home alone really established john hughes as somebody that had the Holiday Christmas theme down. What were looking for today is the griswold family christmas tree. National lampoons christmas vacation is, essentially, about how being around family makes you crazy. The stress of being with your extended family, making sure the lights are right ah make sure all the kids are getting along. Nobody could do that the way john hughes could. Oh its a very relatable movie because there is so much pressure that we all put on the holidays. And, of course, in christmas vacation, its just one catastrophe after another. Is he drunk . The best man holiday is actually the second film within the best man franchise. No dessert yet. Not until we do our talent show. And that christmas talent show shows just how within the culture that movie was. So, of course, youre going to do the new edition classic can you stand the rain. It was emotional, but it was funny. It was like a box of holiday chocolates. No. Come on. No. Why . Christmas comedies run the gamut of different kinds of stories and different tones. Ah can you help me . Yes. Yes. Merry. Mary had a little no, Merry Christmas. Merry christmas. And i think what people come to a Christmas Movie to find is the humor plus the heart. Buddy, i think theres something i probably should tell you. I consider elf to be a modern christmas classic. I mean, even trying to describe it makes me laugh. It rides this Vying Tightrope between this sweetly magical movie about someone who wholeheartedly believes in the Christmas Spirit. A lot of people down south dont believe in santa claus. What . But it also is a movie about this big tall dork in an elf costume making his way through manhattan with no idea whats going on. You look like you came from the north pole. Thats exactly where i came from. Its a very traditional package for a Christmas Movie built around, like, the subversive heart of will ferrell. And theres something kind of delightful about that. Morning. 10 am. Santas coming to town. Santa oh, my god santa . Here . I know him. He found the edge in a very innocent character and, to me, thats whats so fun about it. I know him. The movies i grew up with, like rudolph the rednosed reindeer, that, to me, seemed like a hook. Byebye. Lets treat this movie like its a guy who grew up in a 1960s christmas special. Hermey and it was also an opportunity to explore visual effects with forced perspective theres room for everyone on the nice list. And stop motion, all very old techniques. This might be the golden opportunity to find out who you really are. And like rudolph, its a classic kind of fishoutofwater story. But will ferrell just brings so much to it. Come with me. Okay. All he wants is to be accepted and believed. And at the end of the movie we get to see all these people who come to believe. There is that consistent christmas element in elf of change, or realization. Merry christmas ho, ho, ho cold and flu symptoms, to help take you from 9 to none. For maxstrength nighttime relief, nyquil severe. Young lady who was, you know, mid 30s, couple of kids, recently went through a divorce. She had a lot of questions when she came in. I watched my mother go through being a single mom. At the end of the day, my mom raised three children, including myself. And so once the client knew that she was heard. We were able to help her move forward. Your client wont care how much you know until they know how much you care. Listen, im done settling. Because this is my secret. 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And in miracle on 34th street, this question of faith is put on trial. Before you go up on the floor, i just want to give you a few tips on how to be a good santa claus. Go right ahead. To have santa claus convince you that he is, in fact, kris kringle, you have to go on a faith journey. There goes santa claus. Oh, dont even mention the name. Young natalie wood, in one of her first screen appearances, has been raised to be a cleareyed realist. No santa claus, no fairy tales, no fantasies of any kind. Is that it . Thats right. This movie is reflective of a very specific time in american history. This is the end of world war ii. Many people are scarred emotionally and otherwise, and the country is trying to find its way again. Oh, christmas isnt just a day, its a frame of mind. The Christmas Spirit is in trouble. Its waning. Would you please tell her that youre not really santa claus . The idea that a child would be raised in a World Without fantasy is not unheard of. Children, like Everyone Else, had just lived through this horrifying, worldspanning conflict. Im sorry, she doesnt speak english. Shes dutch, she just came over. This young girl is a war refugee. Shes an orphan. Hello. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] kris kringle starts speaking in colloquial dutch, and natalie wood witnesses this remarkable moment. And you can see her kind of starting to go, oh, well, maybe this guy is more magical than im giving him credit for. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] its one of the most moving moments of the film, but its also very specific to that era because there were war refugees. And it was incumbent upon us, the viewer, to make them feel welcome and to give them a Merry Christmas, too. They said you wanted to see me, mrs. Walker . By the end of the movie, edmund gwenn, as santa claus, changes not only little natalie woods mind but her mothers. Hes not like anyone else. He must be santa. I think perhaps youre right, suzie. And when i first saw it, it landed with me because i was at that age where, you know, the cat was out of the bag, but i was nostalgic for the belief. And i lost myself in miracle on 34th street. This idea of magic that weve come to forget and not believe in, and that kids still have. I believe. Part of it is the ability to believe that a lone man can travel across the world in one night and magically, from a sac that fits on a sleigh, produce gifts that he puts down chimneys that they wouldnt fit in every house all over the world. And the kid goes, ill buy that, that sounds good. Hey, you whoa the biggest twist of the film The Santa Clause is if you happen to find santa theres a clause that says if something should happen to me, put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do. Yeah, right. Its almost like a horror movie. This guy starts to gain weight even though hes not eating any more. He gets white hair. He doesnt know whats happening to him, but he eventually realizes he really is santa claus. Annie. Nice. Beep johnny. Naughty. In The Santa Clause, the father, whos not the greatest dad, but he transforms into santa. And by doing that, he actually becomes the father he probably should have been before. It just took him transforming into santa to get there. I love you, dad. Santa claus is the superhero of christmas. Santa, is there a back way out of this place . Of course there is, lee, but this is one santa thats going out the front door. He protects the magic of it. One night only. He can be playful, and i like that about santa in movies. Sometimes, theyre there to pull out a flask or get shoved down in the middle of a chase. Theyll get their beard pulled. So it can be silly, in a way, but it just works because its an acknowledgment of the kid in all of us. And what would you like for christmas . Santa has traditionally been depicted in film and tv as a jolly, fat, white man. Hey, man, you aint santa claus. Over the years, weve had debates about what santa should look like, what he can look like. What makes you think this isnt santa claus . Because santa claus aint black, hes white. And so even though we have the jeffersons, which was a revolutionary show at its time, 34 years later blackish, another revolutionary show, has a similar episode. And theres still this expectation that santa should be white. Theres only one santa. Mmhmm. But daddy wants to be one of santas helpers, isnt that nice . But well still get our presents from the real santa, right . The white one . Until we get to the point where its not surprising to see a black or an asian or a latino santa, were still going to be having this conversation. The real santa is chinese. What . What . Santa is chinese . Yes. Why do you think all the toys he delivers say made in china . But its a fictional character. Santa can be whatever we want. It could be a woman. Ah ugh the movie noelle is a story about the person who is eager to take the mantle is the one that is often ignored. Noelle is the sibling of the soontobe new santa claus played by bill hader. Oh, this is heavy. The book of santa. Ive read it, ive memorized it, ive listened to it on tape. I just dont get it. Okay. He wants to do anything in this world except be santa claus. Merry christmas. So do we break for lunch now . Anna kendrick was the perfect person for that movie. She is so grounded and humble. I think humility is a really important quality in a santa. Its not just about the presents we get, its about the presents we give. The presents of love and understanding. Christmas is an opportunity to be our best selves and figure out what that is. And in noelles case, her potential is santa. Of course, she should be santa. S and lunchboxes perfect for any party. Pool parties. Tailgates. Holiday parties. Even retirement parties. Man, i love parties. Subway keeps refreshing and refreshing even when things seem quieter, the urge to protect means staying on the lookout to help keep others from harm. At pfizer, were driven by this impulse. Weve reached hundreds of millions of lives with our covid19 response. And we keep innovating. Whatever comes next, we will respond fiercely. Like family. This rental car is so boring to drive. Lets be honest. The rentacar industry is the definition of boring. And the reason can be found in the name itself. Rent a car. You dont want a friend. You want the friend. You dont want a job. You want the job. The is always over a. Thats why we dont offer a car. We offer the car. Sixt. Rent the car. [sfx stomach gurgling] its nothing. Sounds like something. When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief. When you need it most. If you run a small business, you need the most from every investment. Thats why Comcast Business gives you more. More innovation. With our new gigspeed wifi, plus unlimited data. More speed. From the largest, fastest, reliable network. And more savings up to 60 a year on Comcast Business mobile. All from the company that powers more businesses than any other provider. Get started with fast speeds and advanced security for 69. 99 a month for 12 months. Plus ask how to get up to a 750 prepaid card with qualifying internet. A Christmas Carol is the Classic Story Written ByCharles Dickens in 1843. A Merry Christmas to you, uncle. God save you. Humbug. And it has gone on to become the most adapted work of literature in the english language. What reason have you to be merry . What right have you to be merry . Youre poor. A lot of what we see as christmas stories are a retelling in a different way with different characters the dickensian a Christmas Carol. You dont like christmas much, do you . A Christmas Carol holds the greatest archetype, ebenezer scrooge. He looms as large as santa claus does. Scrooge is a meaty role, and a lot of actors have taken it on albert finney, alastair sim, and george c. Scott, patrick stewart, michael caine, bill murray. Ebenezer scrooge is shakespearean in his interpretive possibilities. Everyone wants to take a crack at scrooge. Its like the great character that you measure yourself against. You want all day tomorrow, i suppose . If its quite convenient, sir. Its not convenient. One of the enemies of christmas is greed. And dickens is responding to the income inequalities, the unfairness, the hardships of urban life in britain during the industrial age. Two pounds, five shillings, ladies. Due before christmas. That means today. Its a powerful story about regeneration and rehabilitation and change. Its a Morality Play and its a redemption story, but its also a ghost story. Merry christmas, governor. Merry christmas. There was this notion that christmas night was when the veil between the two worlds was at its thinnest. Why are we having a ghost story at christmas . Well, we really like it and we cant stop. We cant stop remaking it. Theres a 1901 version. In 1910, the Edison Company made their own adaptation. Then you have Reginald Owen pla