My Top 10 Christmas Specials of All Time

Merry Christmahanakwanza fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

With the holidays getting closer & closer, our thoughts turn to the Christmas specials of yore. The classic films that previous generations have enjoyed, and newer features that my generation likes. This post compiles what I consider to be the top 10 greatest Christmas specials of all time. There are certainly some of the classics on here, but some of the more recent features, appear as well. There’s even some holiday twists & turns as well! Anyways, here are the top 10 Christmas specials of all time. Enjoy the magic!

(Note: In the time that this has been around, some links have deactivated, and my writing in 2014 was necessarily the greatest in hindsight. I'm updating this list with new links & grammar corrections, not to mention expanding the list to 12 instead of 10. I'll post up 12 & 11 in a week or so.)

12) Die Hard (Link)

Let's get this out of the way: this is one of the best action movies to have come out of the 1980s! It cemented the legacy of Bruce Willis as a top star, and paved the way for many imitators (Some good, some not) to grace the silver screen. It also happens to be one of the most iconic Christmas films ever made. Granted, it's connection to the holiday it tenuous at best, but it's still a seasonal classic. Regardless, Die Hard is over the top, filled with plenty of one-liners & explosions, and I always look forward to watching it every December. 

11) A Nightmare Before Christmas (Link)

If Die Hard stretched the Christmas connection, A Nightmare Before Christmas pulls it until it nearly tears apart. That's not to say that I don't see why people watch this around this time of year, cause I most certainly do. My big issues is that it's not just a Christmas movie, but it's a Halloween movie at the same time. This bipolar feeling I get from watching the saga of the Pumpkin King just leaves me confused by the time I'm done, but at the same time I leave my seat strangely fulfilled. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. You just have to watch A Nightmare Before Christmas, and see for yourself!

10) Duke: Nuclear Winter (Link)

I wanted to include games on this list, and for the longest time, I actually had two at this spot: Nuclear Winter, and the “How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day” Headhunter Pack from Borderlands 2. I decided to not make this a tie, because while the Headhunter Pack was fun, it was essentially just a bite-sized holiday treat (It also doesn't help that it goes by really quick). Duke: Nuclear Winter isn’t necessarily much better: the only game made by the apparently short lived Simply Silly Software (Eye-Catching name, isn’t it?), this is easily the weakest of the Duke Nukem 3d expansion packs released back in 1997. It was shoddily put together, level designs were lackluster (The first two levels are just levels from Duke Nukem 3d, only backwards & given a holiday coat of paint), and is the quickest of the 3 packs. What gets Nuclear Winter on this list is the sheer absurdity of it all!

Basically, Duke gets a telegraph from Herbie (Of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fame) saying that aliens have taken the North Pole. They’ve captured Santa, and enlisted help of the Feminist Elven Militia to assist them. Hell, there’s even a snowman at the beginning that narrates the story in the opening cutscene. Did I mention that said snowman has skeleton arms? Any case, for a quick but goofy time, give Duke: Nuclear Winter a shot. Just be sure to be nice while you play, or Santa might shove a lump of coal up your ass!

9) The Grinch (2000 Live Version)(Link)

Easily one of the more polarizing specials on this list, the 2000 live version of The Grinch is equally as infamous. Extending the running time, replacing the clever writing for more childish, rude, and rather crude jokes, and all in all somewhat destroying the legacy that the original movie wrote. At the same time, however, there are some bright points. In the original feature you didn’t know much about the Grinch, but in this you get his background, including why he hates the Whos & Christmas. It’s actually kind of sad, and because of that, you felt a little bit of sympathy for ol’ green. Secondly, I think that the “Christmas Isn’t About Presents” message within this edition is stronger. While I appreciate the fact that the Whos in the original knew it already, I thought that they had to learn it in this movie creates more of an emotional impact.

Yes, the live action The Grinch has a host of problems, but there’s silver linings in this dark cloud. If you want something more basic & juvenile, this is a special for you.

8) Love Hina: Christmas Special (Link)

Once again, the anime franchise that you either love or loathe makes a return to the Heavy Metal Otaku blog, and just in time for the Holiday season! Unlike the original show, it’s harder to find this movie (Not to mention the Spring Special, or the Love Hina 3-episode special). Funimation never picked this up, and thus has become something of a commodity. Despite that, this special is a charming little feature. If you’ve ever watch Love Hina the TV series, then you’ll immediately recognize the formula. If you’ve never seen, or if you aren’t an anime fan, you won’t need to learn much about the formula for what’s going on. Just a quick glance or two at the main show’s background (And maybe a glance at the manga) is all you really need to understand things.

To conclude simply: if you like Love Hina, you’ll like this. If you don’t like Love Hina, then you won’t like this.

7) Rankin Bass Christmas Specials (All)(Link)

It might look cheap to lump all of the Rankin Bass Christmas movies into one post, and truth be told you’re right. Some of the later specials delved into some pretty strange territories, enough to the point where you think you’ve might have taken a hit of Acid. Some really strong Acid, mind you. With that point beside, you can’t deny that the Holiday features that Rankin Bass produces are some of the most timeless around. Just mentioning titles like Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus, and Jack Frost will brings smiles out of people. Hell, I think it’s damn near impossible to find someone who hasn’t seen Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, much less hasn’t heard of. Yeah, lumping these special together onto one spot might seem lazy, but the magic that these films have says so otherwise.

6) Scrooged (Link)

There have been plenty of various on A Christmas Carol over the decades. There’s a version that took place in the old west, there’s one with the Muppets (I was close to putting it here. So friggen close), and there’s even a version that replaced Oprah for Scrooge. However, the one that triumphed over them all was the 1986 classic, Scrooged. Forgoing the English money exchange for a Television Network in New York City, you have Bill Murray as the angry network president. His performance in this is top notch, as he lays out the humor, and says some of the funniest one-liners you can ever hear in a Christmas Movie, much less a comedy. The other factor that makes this movie such a big hit are the other actors involved: there’s Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Robert Mitchum bringing up the rear in some surprisingly good support roles. Coupled with rather colorful interpretations of the three ghosts (Dexter Poindexter as a taxi driver.....do I need to say anything else!?), and you have a Christmas movie you can’t avert your eyes from.

5) Jeff Dunham: A Very Special Christmas Special (Link)

Despite some controversy surrounding him, I’ve always found Jeff Dunham to be one of the funnier comedians out there. His humor isn’t the deepest or most complex, but it is clever, and coupled with the ventriloquism routine he uses, creates a unique comedy act. Every single special of his that I watched I’ve laughed at, but my favorite is his Christmas special from 2008. You’ve got backgrounds for each of the characters, each of said characters has their own view on Christmas. Some of them good, and some that are bad (Bad in the funny way, mind you). There’s even a bit where Jeff slips up a joke, and puts the blunder into the show. During this screw-up, the entire theater is laughing. Even Guitar Guy, as Achmed calls him, is doing the best he can to lost fall to the floor. If a blunder can get people to laugh as much as an actual joke, then you definitely deserve some respect!   

4) The Grinch (Original Animated Edition)(Link)

While I did harp on this special when I was talking about the live movie, I certainly cannot disrespect the original The Grinch film. Coming in at just a half hour, this is one of the most classic animated Christmas movies around. Boris Karloff provides an incredible amount of voice & personality to this feature, as he both narrates the story, and plays the Grinch himself. Accompanied by his loyal, kind, but slightly ditzy dog Max, the classic tale unfold right in front of you, and in the end the Grinch learns what it’s really all about. Sure, the Whos already knowing what the message of Christmas is all isn’t quite as deep as learning it, but considering the legacy that the story & movie created, I can’t judge it in the end.

3) A Twisted Christmas: Live (Link)

When one thinks of Twisted Sister, you think of songs like We’re Not Gonna Take It or I Wanna Rock. What you don’t typically think of in association with the twisted ones is Christmas music, much less a Christmas special. However, in 2006, in Las Vegas Nevada, a full-blown Christmas concert/show was put on. The music that was performed was actually well-done: they put their own spin on classic jingles, and there were classic Twisted Sister songs done as well. Everybody that was on stage were performing pretty damn well for their age, and the crowd was loving every single second of the spectacle. Dee Snider is always a hoot, and this show was not a disappointment. If you want a Christmas concert with a twist (Pun totally intended), then A Twisted Christmas: Live is a gem!

2) The Twilight Zone: Night of the Meek (Link)

Everybody has a Christmas special that they cry too. For my Mother, it’s It’s a Wonderful Life. For my Father, it’s.....well, I’m actually not sure. For me, it’s the unusually positive Night of the Meek. While I’m not the biggest Twilight Zone fan, I most definitely respect it, due in no small part how it mastered Science Fiction back in the day. Night of the Meek is one of the few times that the show went in a more.....happy direction.

The story tells of a disillusioned store Santa, filled with booze & sorrow, lamenting how Christmas has become commercial (Predicting the future, now aren’t we?). He stumbles into an alleyway, when he comes across what he thinks is a dirty sack filled with cans & other garbage. In fact, it’s a magic sack that can give out any gift that nearby people desire. This newly invigorated Santa (Played by Art Carney of The Honeymooners fame) now wander around town, giving people gifts that they desire. Even the cops who arrest him on pretense that he’s handing out stolen goods, are given their heart’s desire. At the end, Art Carney has given everything out of the sack, and as soon as it looks like he loses hope, fate throws him one last surprise. To spoil it would ruin the entire thing, but if you’ve ever seen Night of the Meek, then you know.

Oh, and if anyone was curious, the 80s Twilight Zone did a good remake of Night of the Meek. It has just as much emotion & heart as the original. Trust me!

1) A Christmas Story (Link)

An early 80s movie about Christmas in the early 1950s midwest, A Christmas Story is easily the best Christmas special that’s ever been. I’m not going to deny it: I’m rather impartial to this film. I see a lot of my younger self in Ralphie, the lead character of the movie: kind, mischievous, and ravenously desires the ultimate Christmas gift. Not only that, but if you were a kid, and you wanted a gift that badly, you had to be as good as possible. Otherwise, that gift you wanted will more than likely never ever cross your path. A Christmas Story reflects this period in our lives perfectly, as well as the ups & downs of the Holiday season. Often, it’s not just that goes through this phase: we’ve got family, friends, and even bullies who go through this with us. No other Christmas special (That I’ve seen, at least) has ever been able to replicate this, and A Christmas Story takes the number 1 spot because of this.

So these are what I consider to be the top 10 Christmas special of all time. I hope that curiosity causes you to seek out some of these titles, and enjoy them. See you later this week, when I’ll put up the final post of the year. See you soon!



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If you're curious about the 80s edition of Night of the Meek, here's a link:

Twilight Zone: Night of the Meek (80s Version)

Fair warning: It repeats halfway through.

12 & 11 (Updated on December 5, 2018/10:14 A.M./Eastern Standard Time)