The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. There’s so many adorable decorations, such yummy food, and just an overall joyful cheer in the air – even if you don’t personally celebrate the holiday. My favorite part of the holiday season has got to be all the movies and specials on TV. There’s the all-time classics like Rudolph or Elf, but there’s also so many amazing specials that get forgotten about. Here are my top three favorite underrated Christmas Specials.
1. Jack Frost
No, not that movie where a dad becomes a snowman…although that one deserves to be underrated, in my opinion. The one I’m talking about is where Jack Frost is a winter spirit who wants to become a human – because he falls in love with a ditzy girl. The special is about forty five minutes long and, while the animation is very dated, the story is super cute. It has fun side characters like Holly the winter gypsy and Snips the snowflake maker. The villain of Kubla Kraus and his puppet are also hilarious characters, and they definitely upstage Jack Frost. It is a bit bittersweet, however that makes it interesting compared to all the super happy specials. My only complaint is the random groundhog skit at the beginning – but the rest of the special is well worth it.
2. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
I used to watch this with my brothers every year around Christmas time, so I was surprised when almost nobody knew what I was talking about when I referenced it! It usually only airs once a year, making it even less well-known. The name is self explanatory, but the plot makes the movie even sillier. Long story short, Santa gets sued, there’s an evil cousin who is trying to take over a bakery, and a reindeer gets drugged. There’s some interesting musical numbers and overall it’s just a fun little special. My short summary doesn’t do it justice…you really just have to watch it!
3. Fred Claus
I absolutely love this movie! It isn’t Oscar worthy or anything, but it’s extremely entertaining. It stars Vince Vaughn as Fred, Santa’s older, deadbeat brother. Fred is the antagonist to Santa Claus – the protagonist – yet Fred ends up having to work for him after he gets arrested. He turns the North Pole upside down in the funniest ways, and the movie is sure to make you laugh. The only downside is that it stars Kevin Spacey…but he’s the villain so you’re supposed to hate him. The movie was taken off the air for a year after allegations surfaced against Spacey, but does make a few appearances during the Christmas season now.