Tuesday, December 1, 2009

"Name" That Christmas Movie / Animals Like Christmas Too

NAMES NAMES NAMES

Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004) - Color - Starring Anna Sophia Robb
86 min.
(from Netflix) In 1904, fun-loving, 9-year-old Samantha Parkington moves in with her moneyed grandmother in Mount Bedford, N.Y., where Samantha becomes best friends with Nellie O'Malley, the young Irish maid from next door. But the girls' disparate backgrounds of privilege and paucity soon separate them in this made-for-TV family drama based on the popular American Girls series of books.

Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005) Color
86 min.
(from Netflix) Based on the popular American Girl series of dolls and books, this tale set in colonial Williamsburg follows 10-year-old Felicity Merriman as she becomes enamored with a beautiful mare and attempts to rescue the horse from its abusive owner. Along the way, the high-spirited girl learns valuable lessons of independence, responsibility and loyalty. Takes place during the Winter/Christmas season.

Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront (2006) - Color
83 min.
(from Netflix) In 1944 America, the McIntire family -- like the rest of the country -- is learning to cope with the changes brought about by a world at war. For young Molly, this means learning to get along without her father. Exhibiting the plucky spirit fans of the American Girl books and dolls have come to love, Molly does what anyone would do in the face of adversity: organize a dance contest!Not that heavy on the Christmas scenes as the other two, but still worthy of the watch.

Eloise at Christmastime (2004) Color - Starring Julie Andrews
87 min.
(NY Public Library) Eloise, with her Nanny, sets off celebrating the season in her own irrepressible style. Eloise has a to do list as long as her Christmas list, whether it's helping coordinate a Christmas Eve wedding, shopping for the entire staff of the hotel or helping a neighbor save her home. This movie is adorable, most girls between 7-10 will like it.

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) Color - Starring Jim Varney
91 min.
(from Netflix) When Santa Claus decides to retire and pass on his magic bag of Christmas surprises to a new Saint Nick, he enlists the aid of a hilarious assortment of characters. A perky teen runaway and hapless taxi driver Ernest P. Worrell must convince a skeptical kiddie-show host to take over the post of Father Christmas.

Fred Claus (2007) Color - Starring Paul Giamatti, Vince Vaughn
115 min.
(from Netflix) The joy and happiness of the holiday season is ruined for Santa Claus when his cranky older brother Fred comes to stay with him in the North Pole. Always outdone by his saintlike brother, the bitter Fred, a repo man with a rap sheet, threatens to squash the spirit of Christmas.

Jack Frost (1998) Color - Starring Michael Keaton
102 min.
(From Netflix) In this heartwarming family movie, rock musician dad Jack Frost gets another shot at family time when he's reincarnated as a jolly snowman the Christmas after his tragic death in a car crash. But first, he must convince his beloved wife Gabby and son Charlie that he is who he says he is. When the warmer clime sets in, however, will it be goodbye for good?

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (1991) Color - Starring Richard Thomas, Ed Asner
95 min.
(from IMDB) While newspaper writer Bronson struggles with the death of his wife, he receives a "special" assignment. He must answer a little girl's question about whether Santa Claus really exists. Hard to Find.This is based on a true story. This is the only full length feature film (made for TV) with this title. There is an animated one from 1974 that is 25 min. Neither are easy to find though. Hard to Find.


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Animals like Christmas Too
Blizzard (2004) - Color - Starring - Christopher Plummer, Whoopi Goldberg
99 min.
(from Netflix) When Katie moves with her family and has to drop her beloved ice skating lessons, she figures her Christmas is ruined. But meeting an outcast reindeer named Blizzard has a way of making her feel better about her options. Working together, the new friends do their best to get Blizzard back into Santa's good graces -- and Katie back out on the ice.

Prancer (1989) - Color - Starring Sam Elliot, Cloris Leachman
103 min.
(from IMDB) Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished apple farmer, still believes in Santa Claus. So when she comes across a reindeer with an injured leg, it makes perfect sense to her to assume that it is Prancer, who had fallen from a Christmas display in town. She hides the reindeer in her barn and feeds it cookies, until she can return it to Santa. Her father finds the reindeer an decides to sell it to the butcher, not for venison chops, but as an advertising display.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) - Color
52 min.
(from Netflix) Sam the Snowman narrates the story of an eager, red-nosed reindeer who saves Christmas by leading Santa's sleigh through a driving snowstorm. Rudolph teams with an elf named Hermey and prospector Yukon Cornelius, and the trio encounters the Abominable Snowman en route to the island of misfit toys. The little reindeer returns to the North Pole hoping Santa can save the toys, but old St. Nick has a better idea.

Santa Buddies (2009) - Color - Starring George Wendt, Christopher Lloyd
88 min.
(from Netflix) George Wendt and Christopher Lloyd may be the human stars of this holiday tale, but the true stars are the Buddies: Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Buddha and MudBud, the golden retriever pups who must save Christmas. It all starts when Budderball gets his name on Santa Paws's naughty list, and Santa Paws's son, Puppy Paws, decides to take Budderball under his paw in this family-friendly North Pole adventure.

The Winter Stallion (1992) -Color - Daniel Travanti
96 min.
Alternate Name: The Christmas Stallion(from Netflix) This movie tracks the magical bond between a 16-year-old named Gwen and her horse, Mabon. Gwen's life as she knows it is about to change now that her grandfather has died. Her estranged Uncle Alan is considering selling the Welsh farm on which they live, as well as all the horses. If he does, Gwen will lose her beloved stallion and the only home she's known.

1 comment:

Wall-to-wall books said...

The Winter Stallion sounds good, I've never seen that one.