It’s that time of year again when we take a moment to ponder the holiday season’s deepest mysteries. Like is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?
The list of films that may or may night be considered Christmas movies is long – and heavily debated. But three titles that almost always seem to come up in conversation are Die Hard (1988), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).
Let’s take a look at each film and then rate its level of holiday cheer on a scale of one to four Christmas trees!
Die Hard
Set in a Los Angeles skyscraper taken over by ruthless terrorists during a holiday party on Christmas Eve, this movie now is considered one of the greatest action films of all time. But what, besides the day on which all this action takes place, makes it a holiday film? Well, play the soundtrack and you’ll think you’re listening to a record of traditional Christmas music (including Run D.M.C.’s classic “Christmas in Hollis”), and there’s even an appearance by a man in a Santa hat at the end. In 2018, though, Bruce Willis — who played detective John McClane and destroys the terrorists by movie’s end — emphatically claimed that “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie!” at a Comedy Central event. And he may actually be right. It is a brutally violent movie that lacks much holiday spirit. But something sure worked, because Die Hard 2: Die Harder was released two years later and takes places at Dulles International Airport on — you guessed it — Christmas Eve.
Is it a Christmas movie? 🎄🎄🎄
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Halloween movie or Christmas movie? Here’s how the entertainment website IMDB summarizes the plot of Tim Burton’s stop-motion animated musical fantasy: Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls and goblins of Halloween Town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween — but alas, they can’t get it quite right. So you can see how people might get confused and just end up watching the movie during both seasons. That said, there’s something about “nightmare” and “Christmas” that don’t mesh. Maybe that’s why The Nightmare Before Christmas had its wide theatrical release on Oct. 29, 1993 (and not Dec. 23 of that year). Besides, as some viewers have claimed, Christmas already has enough movies, while Halloween doesn’t have enough non-horror films. Director Henry Selick agrees, declaring at a film festival in 2015 that “it’s a Halloween movie.”
Is it a Christmas movie? 🎄
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The movie based on the book that started it all offers a blizzard of festive cheer — from the fancy feasts, the gorgeous snow and the beautifully decorated giant trees at Hogwarts to the twinkly atmospheric music throughout much of the film to Harry waking up on Christmas morning to find gifts just for him. That last one is among the movie’s most memorable and emotional scenes. ScreenRants even noted that the motifs of family, friends and the “warmth and joy of just being together” are more present in this Harry Potter installment than in subsequent films. But some of those later movies also have their own Christmas moments. Syfy considers Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) “the epitome of a Christmas movie” with “literal shots of snow, mistletoe and presents uder the tree.” Don’t forget about the Yule Ball in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, either.
Is it a Christmas movie? 🎄🎄🎄🎄
But don’t simply take my word (and the Internet’s). Watch — or rewatch — these classic films this holiday season and decide for yourself.
Photo by Kostya Levit Naddubov via Pexels
