Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday dating back to the 1600s. The first dinner occurred between the English colonists and the Native Americans after a challenging harvest. After hearing about the Thanksgiving slasher film released in theaters recently, I have noticed that very few films truly capture the essence of the holiday. The Thanksgiving movies that were attempted were not very successful upon release and were quickly forgotten. Some of the most memorable Thanksgiving films are Free Birds (2013) and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), though they do not count as feature films.
Compared to a more global holiday, Thanksgiving just doesn’t have as much mythology and other elements that can be used as Christmas. Thanksgiving has too many unofficial mascots, like Halloween. However, that holiday has a lot of horror elements to use for storytelling. Christmas has a mascot and holiday elements that help create a story, such as Santa, the North Pole, elves, reindeer, and snow. If these holiday movies are targeted at younger audiences, they would rather watch a movie about fantastical elements rather than a holiday they are not genuinely invested in. The competition sets back the very few Thanksgiving films with other blockbuster movies.
Another probable reason there are few Thanksgiving movies is scheduling. Christmas feature films are typically released around November. Due to preferences, people are more inclined to watch Christmas movies. It is thus more challenging to launch Thanksgiving movies. Another is merchandising; I can recall one Thanksgiving movie, “Free Birds,” not having too much merch despite being a movie for younger audiences. Ironically enough, the pizza featured in the film is from the Chuck E. Cheese Company. They contributed bracelets featuring the characters from the movie. However, compared to Christmas movies like Rudolph or Frosty the Snowman, it is easier to find merchandise containing these characters, from plush toys, plates, or limited-edition figurines.
After Halloween, Thanksgiving is often forgotten. This is when people usually begin preparing for Christmas. Even advertisements on TV or the Internet have more Christmas ads than Thanksgiving. There are only a few traditions to play around with, and they are more widely celebrated worldwide. Movie producers would rather be more invested in Christmas films that are sure to get an audience and earn big at the box office. If a Thanksgiving movie is to be made, then the film has to have unique elements that can intrigue the audience as well as a solid plan as to the date of the release. Even more importantly, a movie about Thanksgiving should have fantastical elements that can captivate a younger audience.
Overall, there are not many Thanksgiving films because of scheduling for the box office, lack of investments within production, lack of fantastical elements, lack of merchandising, and competing against other holiday-based films like Halloween and Christmas. But there are a few gems that are good to watch and show the tradition of coming together and sharing a meal, which brings Thanksgiving to life.