With the holly jolly, cozy Christmas season upon us, the masses are turning to their favorite holiday flicks to embrace all things merry and bright. A cherished and enduring genre of film are Christmas musicals, with many featuring jovial tunes that audiences can’t get enough of. Silver screen great and legendary artist Bing Crosby is famous for crooning the titular classic song in White Christmas, while the iconic Judy Garland tugged on heartstrings everywhere with her stunning rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in Meet Me in St. Louis.
From Michael Caine’s delightfully deceitful portrayal of the greedy miser Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol to the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington kidnapping Santa Claus in the Disney movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, there has been a colorful array of knockout movie musicals centering on the joyful holiday. Let’s take a look at some of the best Christmas musicals.
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10 Holiday Inn
Paramount Pictures
Silver screen legends Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby teamed up for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, in which they portray two dueling musical performers who both vie for the love of their beautiful partner (Virginia Dale) at the titular inn that’s open only on the holidays.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Russian songwriter and composer Irving Berlin wrote the beloved holiday classic song White Christmas for the picture, with Crosby iconically crooning the enduring number and making the hit his signature song; it is the world’s best-selling physical single. The overwhelming success of the timeless tune led to another film being based on the song that also featured Crosby, with 1954’s White Christmas.
9 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Netflix
In the 2020 Netflix fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, jolly toymaker Jeronicus Jangle is left heartbroken when his right-hand-man and apprentice steals his most cherished invention, leaving his toystore in ruins and robbing the gifted artist of his creative spark. 30 years later, Jangle finds his Christmas magic restored with the arrival of his brilliant young granddaughter, with the visionary duo working together to create the ultimate invention that’s full of holiday spirit.
Touting a star-studded cast including Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, and Anika Noni Rose, the heartwarming film has toe-tapping original musical numbers such as This Day, Magic Man G, and Over and Over.
8 Scrooge
National General Pictures
Adapted from the timeless Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, the Oscar-nominated 1970 musical Scrooge follows the greedy miser as he discovers the true meaning of a fulfilled life after being visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Albert Finney is superb as the cold-hearted moneylender Ebenezer Scrooge, breaking out into song with lively renditions of tunes like I Hate People and I’ll Begin Again.
For his commanding portrayal of the notorious character in the spirited musical, Finney won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Scrooge also earned multiple Oscar nods including Best Original Song for Thank You Very Much.
7 The Polar Express
Warner Bros. Pictures
Robert Zemeckis directed the visually-stunning 2004 animated fantasy film The Polar Express, telling the enchanted tale of a little boy who boards the eponymous train that is heading to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus. On his journey, Billy meets other children searching for Christmas magic as well as a kind-hearted conductor that encourages and inspires him to dream big and never lose his sense of wonder. Zemeckis enlisted his longtime collaborator Tom Hanks to star in the endearing picture, brilliantly blending motion-capture CGI animation and live-action to bring the children’s book story to life.
Though not a traditional musical, The Polar Express nonetheless features brilliant original songs like “Spirit of the Season” and the Grammy-winning single “Believe”; Hanks also sang two songs in the film, “The Polar Express” and “Hot Chocolate” and proving once again there’s truly nothing the revered actor can’t do.
6 Babes in Toyland
Buena Vista Distribution
Adapted from the Victor Herbert operetta of the same name, 1961’s Babes in Toyland centers on lovebirds Mary Contrary and Tom Piper as they prepare to be married, only for the soon-to-be-groom to be kidnapped by the scheming and evil Barnaby who wishes to wed Mary in order to steal her inheritance.
The underrated Disney gem stars Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello as the young lovers, and the adaptation was updated from previous installments to include more cheery renditions of musical numbers like Toyland and Workshop Song. The vibrant cinematography, upbeat soundtrack and whimsical characters help make Babes in Toyland and enjoyable Christmas musical hit.
5 How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Universal Pictures
The dynamic Jim Carrey delivers a tour de force performance as the not-so-jolly green Grinch in Ron Howard’s 2000 fantasy comedy How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a brilliant retelling of the beloved Dr. Seuss children’s book that depicts the holiday-hating Grinch as he sets out to ruin Christmas for all the residents of Whoville.
Lauded composer James Horner created the music for the fan-favorite flick, helping pen emotionally-stirring songs like Where Are You, Christmas? and Christmas, Why Can’t I Find You? for the big-screen extravaganza. Carrey went on to earn a Golden Globe nomination for his role and How the Grinch Stole Christmas was a box-office smash, earning over $345 million and receiving an A- CinemeScore from audiences.
4 The Nightmare Before Christmas
Touchstone Pictures
Henry Selick directed the critically-acclaimed 1993 stop-motion masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas, superbly executing Tim Burton’s thrilling tale that follows “Halloween Town” pumpkin king Jack Skellington as he sets out to transform the spooktacular place into a winter wonderland by kidnapping Santa Claus and stealing the holiday.
With an unforgettable soundtrack by Danny Elfman (who also provided Jack’s singing voice) and catchy tunes like This is Halloween, Kidnap the Sandy Claws and Sally’s Song, the enduring ’90s staple is a go-to for fans of both Christmas and Halloween.
3 Meet Me in St. Louis
Loew's, Inc.
Silver screen icon Judy Garland headlines the 1944 Christmas musical Meet Me in St. Louis, in which the lauded performer portrays one of four sisters who each learn about life and love in the year leading up to the World Fair of 1904. Garland famously (and beautifully) sang the classic holiday tune Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, going on to become a worldwide hit and inspiring multiple covers by artists like Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, and Christina Aguilera. Meet Me in St. Louis was a massive critical and commercial success, garnering four Academy Award nominations and earning a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score by critics.
2 The Muppet Christmas Carol
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
The lovable puppets helped bring the classic Dickens tale to life with the musical dramedy The Muppet Christmas Carol, featuring Michael Caine as the grumpy and greedy Ebenezer Scrooge and the rest of the Muppet gang as the famous literary characters including The Great Gonzo as the narrator and Kermit the Frog as Bob Crachit.
The feel-good flick has become a cherished Christmas staple for audiences across the world, with fans loving Caine’s rendering of the notoriously stingy miser; when describing his approach to bringing the character to life, the actor stated, “I’m going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.”
1 White Christmas
Paramount Pictures
Film and music sensation Bing Crosby once again stars in a beloved holiday classic with 1954’s White Christmas, in which the esteemed crooner stars appears alongside Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen as singers performing at a failing Vermont inn during the Christmas season. The film is directly based on the Irving Berlin song (which Crosby helped popularize) and includes phenomenal musical numbers, zippy songs and breathtaking cinematography that truly capture the magic of the jovial holiday.
Crosby once again belts out the titular single in the film, and the ’50s classic also features toe-tapping tunes like Snow, Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep, and Sisters. In their retrospective review, Total Film noted, “This was the Mamma Mia! of its day, a nostalgic blast of popular Irving Berlin showtunes gift-wrapped in newfangled VistaVision that danced its way to the top of the 1954 box office.”
