Being home with the family can lead to arguing and Christmas movies — and more often than not, the two events go together, with debates over what counts as a holiday film.
Our writers unpacked these debates, seeking answers to fundamental questions like if holiday movies can depict violence and what brand of magic makes one think of Santa Claus instead of Voldemort. To best your family in any cinema-related argument this season, check out The Hatchet’s cases for and against the most controversial holiday film categorizations.
Why “Die Hard” is a holiday classic
Kate Hernandez | Reporter
Despite skeptics arguing that its action-packed plot disqualifies it as a contender for a Christmas movie, “Die Hard” embraces the genre’s themes of coming together with some holiday cheer. The movie revolves around Bruce Willis’s character, John McClane, attending a holiday party with his estranged wife and daughters. The festivities become a target for an international terrorist organization, and it falls to McClane to save the day.
The film is packed with references to the holiday season, opening up with McClane asking a driver to play Christmas music and featuring a soundtrack with classics like “Let It Snow!” and “Winter Wonderland.” “Die Hard” has lots of action, but the Christmas setting, music, themes of family reconciliation and coming together during the winter made it an instant holiday classic.
“Die Hard” is a thriller, not a holiday movie
Noomah Uddin | Reporter
When you think of holiday movies, certain tropes come to mind: snow, Santa, family, giving and so forth. What does not come to mind are terrorists, hostages and fighting. I will die hard on the hill that “Die Hard” is not a Christmas movie.
Ending the movie with “Let it Snow” and throwing a Santa hat and shirt reading “Now I have a machine gun. Ho-ho-ho” on a man left dead in an elevator isn’t enough to have the film be considered festive. These elements don’t satisfy the list of tropes that are often found in Christmas movies: forgiveness, hope, generosity. Plus, the bald buff John McClane is about as far as one can get from portly, heavily bearded Santa Claus.
Unlike seasonal classics like “Elf,” “The Grinch” and “Home Alone,” whose plots incorporate such themes, “Die Hard” simply happens to be set during Christmas. It’s a great movie, but that’s all it is.
Christmas is in the title: “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a holiday movie
Raina Pawloski | Reporter
Spooky imagery and creepy cast of characters lead some to say that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie, but the film centers around the desire for the festive spirit.
In the movie, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and ruler of Halloween Town, becomes enamored by the idea of Christmas, so much so that he becomes fixated on giving his own spin on the holiday. Other characters in the spooky Halloween Town don’t quite understand it, but they nonetheless celebrate the festive spirit and work overtime to ‘make Christmas’ in their own way — showcasing how infectious the holiday spirit truly is.
While Halloween serves as a backdrop to the film, its main plot revolves around Christmas. Don’t discount “The Nightmare Before Christmas” because of the skeletons and ghouls: This movie is a jolly and festive tale. If you can’t handle a spooky and undead Christmas tale, go back to Rudolph.
Nightmare is in the title: “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie
Cristina Stassis | Managing Director
With the holiday season in full swing, don’t mistake “The Nightmare Before Christmas” as a Christmas movie. The movie has some holiday elements, like Christmas Land, snow and of course, the man himself, Santa Claus. But don’t let that fool you. Jack Skellington being so fascinated with Christmas leads to Oogie Boogie, a bug-filled burlap sack character, kidnapping Santa and torturing him on Christmas Eve, stopping him from delivering gifts. No Christmas movie would contain such gruesome scenes.
And if you’re thinking that Jack saved Christmas by becoming Santa for a night in the true Christmas spirit, wrong. He doesn’t deliver the run-of-the-mill gifts most children would expect under their tree. He delivers evil and haunted gifts, highlighting the film’s true Halloween identity.
Let’s not forget that Disney released this movie in October 1993, well before Christmas. Throughout the movie, you can see clear evidence that it’s more of a spooky tale than one that’s supposed to bring holiday joy. Some of the most memorable aspects of this movie are the Halloween-centric songs and scary displays from characters, like removing their heads. Other than Sandy Claws, there are no other main Christmas-related characters, and every other character is from Halloween Town.
The merry and magical world of Harry Potter
Ianne Salvosa | Managing Editor
Master gave Dobby a sock, and the holiday season gave the boy who lived a reason to live.
I remember winters in my childhood home, sitting on the couch watching ABC Family’s Harry Potter Marathon during Christmas break. My family always watched these marathons together, and we were devastated when ABC Family ditched it in 2017.
The most cheerful moments of the Harry Potter movies — a beloved franchise in my household — are snow-covered, Weasley-Christmas-sweater wearing Christmas scenes. Harry receives a dark blue sweater with a white “H” from Molly Weasley, his best friend Ron Weasley’s mother, a symbol of a mother’s love that he wasn’t able to fully experience, in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” In “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry shares a kiss under the mistletoe with his love interest at the time, Cho Chang.
Nothing screams Christmas like family and egregious devotion to a boy with magical powers. The Harry Potter series deserves a spot on the Christmas movie roster for its religious cult following just like the holiday season and history in the Christmas countdown.
Magical, but not merry, Harry
Amelia Cox | Reporter
The “Harry Potter” series is associated with Christmas, but the movies have nothing to do with the holidays. When I think of Christmas movies, I think of flicks that revolve entirely around the winter season like “Elf” or “Home Alone,” not ones with magical wizards and witches.
The characters within cast spells like expelliarmus, which makes wands fly out of people’s hands, not ones that make reindeers’ noses light up. Holiday magic is distinct — and Harry never finished that class at Hogwarts.
