Freeform has released their annual “25 Days of Christmas” movie schedule, and fans were quick to point out how lackluster the lineup is this year. Some of the best classic Christmas movies were missing, while movies having nothing to do with Christmas (*cough, cough* Finding Nemo) made it on the list multiple times. Here are some of the strangest things about the lineup.
Even though the program is supposed to countdown to Christmas, some of the featured movies have nothing to do with Christmas at all. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie Life-Size, but it does not belong on this line-up. Also bizarre, movies in the Toy Story series will air a whopping 14 times and The Lion King will be played on Christmas Day.
Another complaint people had was that movie series marathons have gaps or are out of order. The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 3 will be played back-to-back, while the second movie is nowhere to be found on the lineup. Home Alone 3 (arguably the worst one in the series) will be playing without the accompaniment of the first two movies.
The biggest concern with this year’s countdown is that some previously featured movies are now mysteriously missing. This includes classics such as The Polar Express, Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and Jack Frost. However, Freeform shouldn’t be blamed for this, because the rights to these movies were recently bought by AMC.
That’s right, the channel known for dark television hits like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad is premiering their own month-long holiday movie marathon. They’re calling it “Best Christmas Ever” and the lineup might be even better than Freeform’s. In addition to the movies listed above, they’ll also show Jack Frost, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year and The Santa Clause 2.
Merry Christmas and Happy Binging!