With Michigan weather officially turning towards the worst and Mavericks being forced inside in fear of the roads and wind chill, holiday movies are about to become an official pastime. From horror to family classics, Christmas movies have become their own overarching genre with hundreds of films made over the last century. There are many beloved favorites diligently re-watched every year with soft glowing Christmas lights and snow dancing outside. But too much holiday spirit can sometimes lead to disastrous results. There are Christmas movies that should be avoided at all costs and others should just have never been made in the first place. So, what are the worst Christmas movies of all time? Well, thanks to a vote of 50 Mavericks, that question can finally be answered.
The third worst Christmas movie of all time is “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas,” with seven votes. The movie features Jack Skeleton, the Pumpkin King of Halloween, going through a midlife crisis. In an attempt to bring his life excitement after getting tired of the same old Halloween shenanigans that he leads year after year, Jack discovers Christmas town and decides that this year he’ll give Santa Claus a break and take over Santa’s holiday.
The largest reasoning behind this movie being voted for was the fact that it is more of a Halloween film than a Christmas movie, which is fair considering most of the film takes place in Halloween town and the townspeople put their own spin on the Christmas holiday. Others from the survey also explained their disdain for the spooky aspect of the film, furthering the idea that it shouldn’t be considered a Christmas movie in the first place. “It’s a nightmare, that’s not Christmas,” said freshman Abbey Wigton.
This non-Christmas idea is further carried by the fact that the “Boogie man” does kidnap and threaten Santa Claus. Even though Santa is saved by Jack, him being kidnapped in the first place is not at all holly-jolly. There’s another tell-tale sign that this is a Halloween movie: the presence of pumpkins.
“It’s just a Halloween movie, and it has a pumpkin in it so it is socially unacceptable to call ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ a Christmas movie,” declared freshman Nina Sharrak. Pumpkins do typically mark the transition between the two holidays. At some point ar
ound Thanksgiving, the orange vegetable disappears quietly off porches and out of decor just in time to make way for Christmas trees and wreaths. I personally love this film, but that is probably due to the fact that Halloween is indeed my favorite holiday and therefore this film holds a special place in my heart during October. It’s for that reason that I can see why most consider it to not be a great Christmas film because of the heavy spooky season sway and the classic, but creepy, work of Tim Burton.
With 10 votes, the second worst Christmas movie is “The Polar Express” directed by Robert Zemeckis. The film illustrates a boy who doesn’t believe in Santa or the magic of Christmas and, because of this, he unknowingly RSVP’d to a train ride to the North Pole. On the way, he befriends a girl and another little boy named Billy; together they rediscover the boy’s belief in Christmas and overcome quite a few obstacles on the way, such as the magic train derailing on a frozen lake or a million caribou blocking the tracks.
Now this was a controversial pick, as many believed the movie to be overplayed, boring, and find the animation style to be extre
mely unsettling. “In ‘The Polar Express’ the characters are creepy,” explained junior Noelle Heymoss. “Whoever drew them didn’t cook. I hate that movie.” It doesn’t help that none of the characters are named besides one side character and Santa Claus. Despite its flaws, this film generates instant nostalgia for most kids who grew up in the 2000s, therefore many were slightly outraged to hear that this movie was even voted on. It should also be mentioned that the soundtrack to “The Polar Express” is indisputably the best when it comes to the Christmas genre and imaginary bonus points should be added for that. I re-watch this movie year after year for its nostalgia and soundtrack, but I agree with those who voted for this film as I find many scenes to be pure nightmare fuel, especially the scenes with toy Ebenezer Scrooge in the recycled toy train car.
Now before the worst Christmas film of all time is exposed, the runner-up winner should be mentioned. Coming in fourth place, just shy of the podium, was “The Santa Clause” with four votes. The first movie centered around a Scott Calvin, played by Tim Allen, becoming Santa Claus after accidentally knocking his predecessor off a roof. He struggles with taking on his new identity and keeping the relationships in his life, especially with his son Charlie. The main reasoning behind the votes stretched anywhere from it being repetitive and over watched to just pure hatred over the fact that Scott theoretically killed then stole the life of the previous Santa Claus.
I’ve never thought of this film from a criminal standpoint, but it does look like a potential homicide and identity theft so maybe my mind was just clouded with nostalgia and childhood innocence. Finally the eagerly awaited reveal, the worst Christmas movie of all time is, drumroll please: “Home Alone 3” directed by Raja Gosnell. 11 Mavericks voted for this film, but everyone who participated in the survey and had seen this movie agreed it’s downright awful. Starring Alex Linz as Alex Pruitt, the movie centers around a group of international spy-like criminals who are attempting to steal a computer chip that contains some kind of top secret data. After a mix-up in an airport, the computer chip is tucked into a toy car that ends up at Alex’s house as a gift because he is home sick from school. Alex decides it’s up to him to protect his house from these villains as they try to get the computer chip back.
Now, this film should really never have been created. “‘Home Alone 3’ literally makes no sense,” exclaimed junior Damien Johnson. “It’s like they tried to remake the first movie and they failed miserably, absolutely ruining it.” Anyone who has seen the original films “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister is aware of the story of the “wet” then “sticky” bandits and Kevin constantly defending himself and his home.
The third film brought back none of the beloved original cast or even hinted at their storyline, thus making it feel unrelated to the first two films. Many continue to ignore this film’s existence or just pretend that it is not part of the franchise. As someone who has unfortunately seen this film numerous times, I can proudly say that it is the worst Christmas movie of all time and it truly should never have been made.
Christmas movies are a staple of the holiday season, stretching the board from horror movies to Hallmark rom coms. Despite this, nothing is perfect and even the magic of Christmas can’t save movies, especially “Home Alone 3.” Seriously, never watch it, or do and laugh at how bad the movie is.