As the holiday season approaches, there’s nothing like a Christmas movie. There are so many Christmas movies to choose from; these are the top five Christmas movies as voted by Cypress High School students. 

1. Home Alone 

There are six Home Alone movies made from 1990 to 2021. Home Alone (1990) is the original and classic comedy Home Alone movie, directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes. The film follows Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, who is accidentally left home alone when his family leaves on vacation. Enjoying being home alone and doing everything he wanted to do Kevin is having the time of his life. Until two burglars named Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) break into the McCallister home. Kevin must protect his home and sets up a series of creative and funny booby traps.

2. Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) is a stop-motion animated musical fantasy film that was directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton. The story follows Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon and sung by Danny Elfman), the Pumpkin King, who stumbles upon Christmas town and is enthralled with the bright lights, joyful spirit, and festive decorations. Inspired by Christmas, Jack gets help from the residents of Halloween Town to steal Christmas, but their scary nature leads to some comediac and chaotic results. One part of Jack’s plan is to kidnap Santa and deliver Halloween Town’s ghoulish gifts to children for Christmas. The story features other memorable characters like Sally (voiced by Catherine O’Hara) and Oogie Boogie (voiced by Ken Page), who truly make the film.

3. Polar Express

The Polar Express (2004) is an animated Christmas adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis and is based on a children’s book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The story follows Hero Boy (voiced by Tom Hanks,) who is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. On Christmas Eve, he wakes up to the sound of the Polar Express, the train going to the North Pole. While on the Polar Express, Hero Boy learns about the true spirit of Christmas during the various challenges he encounters on his adventure. 

4. Grinch

There are three Grinch movies that have been made from 1966 to 2018. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) is a live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s children’s book, directed by Ron Howard. The film expands on the original story, giving the Grinch (Jim Carrey) and the residents of Whoville a deeper backstory. The Grich is a grumpy green man who lives in a cave on Mount Crumpit and loathes Christmas and the Who’s festive celebration. Determined to ruin Christmas, the Grinch devises a plan to steal Christmas. The plan entails stealing all of the Christmas decorations, gifts, and food. Disguised as Santa the Grinch and his loyal dog, Max, carry out the plan until the Grich encounters a little girl who believes in the true spirit of Christmas, Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen.) After meeting Cindy Lou Who and learning the true value of Christmas, the Grinch’s heart begins to grow, and he becomes friendly to the Whos. 

5. Elf

Elf (2003) a classic Christmas comedy directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. The film follows a boy named Buddy (Will Ferrell) who is accidentally taken to the North Pole and raised by Santa’s elves. As Buddy grows up, his height and lack of toy-making skills force him to realize that he isn’t an elf. After learning that he is human, Buddy leaves the North Pole and sets off to New York City with the hope of finding his biological father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan). While in New York, Buddy’s childlike innocence and enthusiasm for Christmas clash with the cynical, fast paced city life. Buddy does find his father, who is on the naughty list and doesn’t believe that Buddy is his son. Over time, Buddy wins over the Walter family and forms a romantic relationship with Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), an employee at Gimbels department store.