As the holiday season quickly approaches, it is the perfect time to snuggle up with some hot chocolate and Christmas pajamas to watch your favorite classic holiday movies.

Some of the most popular classic movies are stop-motion pictures or cartoon films. Stop-motion picture films are when the producers of the movie use real objects, most often puppets, and use pictures frame-by-frame to create a movie. A cartoon is simply a frame-by-frame of drawings.

“Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” the 3rd best holiday movie, is a stop-motion movie made in 1964 that has a run-time of 55 minutes. This classic tale starts when Santa’s lead reindeer, Donner, has a fawn named Rudolph. Rudolph is expected to become the next generation leader of Santa’s sleigh. However, this destiny is quickly spoiled when he is born with a bright red nose. Rudolph covers his nose for the reindeer games, where he goes to learn how to fly. But, when he is called cute by a doe named Clarice, he gets so excited his nose covering falls off and he is kicked out of the reindeer games. Rudolph runs away to the Island of Misfit Toys where he meets toys that don’t fit in. After spending time there, he makes his journey home just in time for Christmas. Christmas Eve is too foggy for Santa’s reindeer to fly, except for Rudolph who can illuminate the sky with his red nose. This classic tale has become extremely popular over the years and it is included in many family traditions.

This movie is a known holiday classic around the world. Rudolph is a popular figure of Christmas and showcases that being different is okay. This movie helps to encourage individuals to use their differences as strengths.

“Frosty the Snowman,” the 2nd best holiday movie, is a cartoon film made in 1969 that has a run time of 22 minutes. This is a story about a magician who visits a school with his magic hat. When his magic tricks don’t work, he discards his magic hat. After school the kids make a snowman, who they name Frosty. They realize that Frosty needs a top hat to complete his look and they find the magician's discarded top hat. When they put the hat on Frosty, suddenly the snowman comes to life. Frosty and his new friends go on plenty of adventures. The magician sees that his magic hat brought a snowman to life and he wants the hat back. Soon it becomes too warm for Frosty to stay and he must return back home to the North Pole. One of the children, Karen, gets on a train with the snowman back to the North Pole. But, the magician is after the hat and follows them all the way to the North Pole. Karen gets too cold so Frosty takes her to a greenhouse to get warm. While warming up in the greenhouse, the magician locks them inside which causes Frosty to melt. The magician takes the hat but Santa comes to the rescue to help Karen and Frosty. Every year Frosty goes back to the children to go on more adventures with them.

“Frosty” is another well-known movie that showcases the magic in teamwork. If it had not been for the teamwork of the children, Frosty would have never come to life. It also showcases that being mean comes with consequences, as seen with the magician.

“The Year Without a Santa Claus,” the best holiday movie, is a stop-motion movie made in 1974 that has a run time of 51 minutes. This is a story about Santa Claus, who believes there is no Christmas spirit, having a cold on Christmas Eve and taking a vacation. Two of his elves, Jingle and Jangle, take one of Santa’s reindeer, Vixen, to go find children that may help Santa realize that there is still Christmas spirit. But first, they must pass through the Miser brothers, Heat Miser and Snow Miser, who can never agree on anything. Finally, they land in Southtown, USA and find a group of children playing outside. When they ask the children if they believe in Santa, they say no. Suddenly, the animal patrol comes and picks up Vixen. The elves go to the mayor to try to get Vixen back. The mayor does not believe that they are elves and says he will let them get Vixen if they can make it snow on Christmas. They call Mrs. Claus for help. Santa finds out that Vixen is in the kennel and travels to Southtown to help the elves. Santa goes by the name Klaus and meets a boy named Iggy. Mrs. Claus meets up with Jingle and Jangle and heads to the Miser Brothers. After many arguments, Mrs. Claus called Mother Nature and they finally agreed to let it snow in Southtown. As Christmas approaches, the children of the world decide to declare it a holiday for Santa. Santa feels so appreciated that he decides to go out for Christmas after all.

This movie is less known than the other two movies. However, it sends a very important message of teamwork and showing those we love that they are cared for. Santa doesn’t believe that anyone loves him or believes in him, but Mrs. Claus, Vixen, Jingle and Jangle all prove that people still care about him. The ending of the movie shows the children giving Santa presents for his vacation and how that inspires Santa to go out on Christmas.

Interested in knowing more about these heartwarming holiday movies? Visit these links for more information:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064349/plotsummary

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058536/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072424/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0