Favorite Christmas Cartoons and Movies

Watching the many Christmas cartoons and movies takes on new meaning when you get to watch them with a 3 year old. It's given them a whole new perspective, let me tell you, because how a 3 year old will interpret the meaning behind each one has really altered my idea of favorites.

For instance, How The Grinch Stole Christmas is just plain wonderful. Sure, the Grinch starts out terrible, and the way he treats that little adorable dog is dog-abuse in a major way. (We had a few conversations about that with my grandson, given he has his own small dog now, just in case he got the wrong idea.)

But when, toward the end, the Grinch realizes that Christmas isn't about the pretty lights and the gifts, that it has a much deeper meaning that encompasses counting our blessings, being together with loved ones, and sharing of ourselves more than of monetary gifts, well... The Grinch's heart grows, and I get teary-eyed every time.
For me, that is one of the most wonderful moments EVER in any Christmas story. And in the end, the little dog gets the biggest slice of "roast beast" at the holiday dinner. :::sigh:::
Such a wonderful story!

On the opposite end of the scale, watching Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, which USED to be a favorite, was a near painful thing for me this year.
Good grief, in this rendition, Santa is a grade-A jerk, the head toymaker elf is outright abusive, and in general everyone is downright cruel to Rudolf and poor Herbie, the elf who wants to be a dentist.

And those so-sad misfit toys! Talk about tearing your heart out! They were soooo badly ostracized!

For my grandson's sake, I spent more time trying to gloss over the meanness in that cartoon than I did smiling at the fun.
Remember when the reindeer coach tells the rest of the reindeers that they won't let Rudolf play in any of the reindeer games... because he's different?
I was horrified!
And Rudolf isn't different like Herbie, who makes a choice to be a dentist instead of an elf.
No, poor Rudolf is born with a physical affliction, ie his red nose.
And because of that, he's shunned, harrassed and all but kicked out on his own. It isn't until later that his father (who Santa says "should be ashamed" of his young buck) goes to look for him!
Though in the end, the "bad guys" are sort of redeemed, it wasn't to my satisfaction - or my grandson's!

Another good one is A Charlie Brown Christmas. When Charlie Brown drags in that ragtag tree that doesn't even have any pine needles, well, my heart just melts. I see Charlie Brown as a defender of the underdog - eveni f it's just a sad little tree - and that's something I've always been too. My kids are the same and I hope my grandson will be too.
I like the idea of the special sensitivity to all things.

And when Linus explains the true religious meaning of Christmas, it's a wonderful thing. We all smiled a lot with that cartoon.

(Though I do wish, just once, Lucy would let Charlie Brown kick that stupid football!)

Then you have Frosty The Snow Man. When my grandson asked, "Where are their mommies and daddies?" because the little kids (like grade school age!) take off with Frosty and stay out all night and sleep in train box cars... yeah.
Try explaining that one!

Of course, I just went with the, "It's make-believe. In real life, a mommy or daddy would NEVER let their little kid go off alone that way."
My grandson wasn't entirely convinced, and even he saw the danger involved, but it was still a fun cartoon about believing in miracles, being fair, and doing the right thing.

And lastly, I could never forget the unforgettable A Christmas Story!
We haven't watched it yet this year, and I'm not sure a 3 year old would "get it" anyway (or be patient enough to sit through it when there are singing Christmas decorations all over my house) but A Christmas Story will always be a classic.

Sure, we're led to believe that the dad rules with an iron fist. His major fit when he gets the "leg lamp" is a riot. His French pronunciation of "Fragile" is hilarious.

But the big pay-off comes at the end, when the right toys are there for Ralphie, and the dad forgoes his Christmas turkey (which gets eaten by the neighbor's dogs) for a Chinese Christmas that the whole family enjoys even more - because they're together.

There are a lot of other Christmas stories we're looking forward to watching, like The Muppets, and Scrooge. I hope that they're at least as good as I remembered!

What about you? Do you have any favorite Christmas cartoons or movies?
Have you seen any new holiday movies recently?

Scrooged with Bill Murray is one we love, but it's definitely not suitable for our grandson!

I hope everyone is warm, safe, happy and healthy for this wonderful holiday season!