By Fenrir Mercury
The Truth Behind Our Favorite Classic Christmas Characters
By Fenrir Mercury
Happy Holidays from Tiger Times! What a wonderful time to curl up with family and friends and watch a fun movie. There are a myriad of holiday movies out there, most of them surrounding Christmas. Many characters from those movies have also become very popular and synonymous with the holiday. We know and love them, but how do they look from a more literary standpoint? How do their actions align with their motivations? Are they really the heroes or villains we think of them as? Let’s take a deep dive into the iconic characters we grew up with.
One of the first names that comes to mind, as well as the character with the oldest source material of the handful discussed, is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. A story remembered as a classic tale of learning to accept our differences, right? However, under heavy analysis, the morals presented by the 1964 Rankin Bass film are not all that they seem. The moral itself of the story is intended to be that differences make us special and we should accept them, but unfortunately, the presentation of this moral seems a bit misguided. Instead the story presents Rudolph’s differences as only being accepted once they have been proven as useful to the greater good. After years of ridicule since birth, our red-nosed friend is only loved and accepted by his society once his nonconformity serves a purpose. In spite of this twisted message, the movie still manages to have a side as bright as the red nose in question. At the very end of the movie, Rudolph uses his newfound acceptance and voice to speak for those less fortunate than him, and he and the rest of Santa’s team make a stop by the Island of Misfit Toys to finally give them out to children who will love them for who they are.
Although our next character is more oriented towards the spooky Halloween season, his interference with Christmas made him still worth mentioning. Jack Skellington from the 1993 hit The Nightmare Before Christmas is loved by many, especially Halloween fans looking for an excuse to extend their celebration into the Christmas season. And what’s not to love? He has natural charisma both in and out of his own universe, and has a fascinating character arc throughout the movie; however, our Pumpkin King also tends to be very flawed. He can be overly ambitious and oblivious to the consequences of his actions and the trouble he causes. One aspect that tends to be overlooked is that this ambition is fueled by an emptiness he feels inside, despite his meaningful existence. He is unhappy with his given purpose and wants to do anything to improve it and make his holiday new and exciting again. In spite of his blindness, Jack is also willing to do anything to right his wrongs and fix his mistakes. Luckily, he is not able to do so, but finds a new sense of fulfillment in his purpose along with being proud of himself for trying something new.
Last and least only in the size of his heart is the fantastically infamous Grinch. The Grinch is known for being rotten and evil, but where does it come from? The most classic depiction of the Grinch is the 1966 2D animated short film whose script follows the original children’s book word for word. Because of its simplicity, our classic Grinch has little depth to him. However, there is much to be inferred about what is known. What is known about the Grinch is that he hates Christmas, but what about Christmas specifically motivates him to steal the holiday? Most notably, he hates the noise made by the Whos’ singing as well as their various fantastical toys they receive on the accursed holiday. This could be attributed to the Grinch being cranky; although, there’s also an overlooked possibility that he has sensory issues. Perhaps the noise generated by the holiday leads him to a state of sensory overload. Or perhaps he hates the unity that the holiday brings. The Grinch exists outside of society, or “Whomanity,” if you will. The 2000 live action film starring Jim Carrey entertains the potentiality that this was caused by the Grinch being rejected for his appearance, which leads to the further possibility that he resents the unity the holiday brings because it’s something he was never able to have. Whatever the case may be, every adaptation of the mischievous story always ends the same way. The Whos come together in spite of their misfortune which harnesses the good in the Grinch’s heart and causes a change for the better within him.
All of these stories, with or without twisted morals, fill us with the true magic of the holiday spirit. They bring us together to celebrate a holiday that highlights the best parts of humanity. So this holiday season, cuddle up with those you love and enjoy these classic movies in a new light and look at them in ways you never thought to before.