We’ve definitely reached a point in human history where Christmas and pop culture are inextricably intertwined, and one of the biggest reasons is that families enjoy sitting together and watching movies both leading up to and during the holidays. As such, it should come as no surprise that Netflix has made a point of making itself a prime destination for viewers who are on the lookout for a good Christmas film.
Indeed, Netflix has reached a point where they have so many Christmas movies of their own that when Decider set forth to put together its 2024 list of the 12 best Christmas movies on the streaming service, it quickly became evident that they’ve reached a point where they don’t reall need to rely on Christmas movies from other studios! Don’t worry, though: there are still a couple in the mix from outside Netflix’s own stable of holiday flicks, including the one that kicks off our list.
A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
Description: When it comes to Christmas movies, you just can’t have enough alternate origin stories for Santa Claus, which is good, since that’s precisely what this is. Framed by an aunt telling her nieces and nephews a story on Christmas Eve after their mother has died and their father has had to leave for work, the story in question is about 13-year-old Nikolas, whose father is on a quest to find Elfhelm, the fabled village of the elves. In the process of trying to find his father, Nikolas teams with a reindeer who Nikolas names Blitzen and successfully finds Elfhelm himself, but he also finds the Elfhelm people have lost faith in humans. Fortunately, Nikolas figures out a way to help bring joy back to Elfhelm. Here’s a hint: it involves the making and delivering of toys…
Cast: Henry Lawfull, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Michiel Huisman, Maggie Smith
Rating: PG
A Castle for Christmas (2021)
Description: After her latest book is met with anger from fans over the decision to kill off the male lead, a choice made in the wake of her own divorce, best-selling author Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) decides to leave the hassle behind in favor of a trip to Scotland. Upon arriving at her father’s ancestral village of Dunbar, Sophie finds that she’s got a heck of a lot of fans in Dunbar, but more importantly, she also discovers that the Dun Dunbar castle, where her grandfather once worked as a groundskeeper, is up for sale. Upon meeting the castle’s current owner, Myles (Cary Elwes), it’s dislike at first sight, but knowing that he’s in a financial bind, he agrees to sell to Sophie with one caveat: a 90-day escrow, during which time they’ll both live in the castle. There’s zero chance that you won’t know exactly where this story is going, but thanks to the charisma of Shields and Elwes, you also won’t care.
Cast: Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes, Lee Ross, Andi Osho, Vanessa Grasse, Desiree Burch
Rating: PG
A Christmas Prince (2017)
Description: When journalist Amber Moore (Rose McIver) accepts an assignment to attend a press conference held by Prince Richard of Aldovia (Ben Lamb), set to ascend to the throne in the wake of his father’s death, Amber’s hope is that the resulting story will send her career rocketing skyward. While there, she’s mistaken for Princess Emily’s new American tutor, and she uses the error to pretend to be the tutor. Emily realizes the truth about Amber but promises not to tell, just as long as Amber writes a story about how great Richard actually is. And would it surprise you to learn that sparks fly between Amber and Richard? Not to spoil anything, but if you should check out this film and enjoy what you find, you should be aware that there have been two sequels thus far: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby.
Cast: Rose McIver, Ben Lamb, Alice Krige, Honor Kneafsey, Sarah Douglas, Emma Louise Saunders
Rating: PG
Feast of the Seven Fishes (2018)
Description: Based on Robert Tinnell’s 2005 Eisner Award nominated graphic novel, this period piece – set in 1983 – revolves around a working-class Italian-American Catholic kid named Tony (Skyler Gisondo) who brings his well-to-do, Ivy League, Protestant female friend Beth (Madison Iseman) home for his family’s traditional seafood feast on Christmas Eve. The invite is a spontaneous thing, something that only happens because of Beth’s boyfriend being a jerk to her and Tony having to deal with the awkward post-breakup relationship between himself and his ex-girlfriend, Katie. Beth’s parents are less than enthused about the idea of Beth spending Christmas Eve with Tony’s family, but she opts to attend the feast nonetheless, resulting in a good time and a great deal of family bonding.
Cast: Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman, Andrew Schulz, Addison Timlin, Josh Helman, Joe Pantoliano
Rating: N/A (TV-14)
Falling for Christmas (2022)
Description: At the time of its release, all eyes were on this film for one reason and one reason only, namely the return of Lindsay Lohan to a leading role, her first since 2013’s The Canyons. Fortunately for all the Lohan fans out there, Falling for Christmas proved to be a return to form for the onetime rom-com start. Lohan plays hotel heiress Sierra Belmont, who heads up to a mountaintop with her boyfriend, Tad, only to fall down the mountain, hitting her head on a tree. She’s found by Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet) and taken to the hospital, at which point it’s discovered that Sierra has lost her memory, but Jake is kind enough to take her to his bed and breakfast and put her up until she can remember who she is. Will she ever get her memory back? Oh, come on, you know she will. But when she does, will she stick with Tad or favor Jake instead? That’s the real question.
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, Olivia Perez, Alejandra Flores
Rating: PG
Hot Frosty (2024)
Description: The idea of a snowman magically coming to life is a trope that’s been used in more than a few films over the years, but it must be said that in the case of Hot Frosty, the filmmakers know it’s a trope, and they fully lean into it, making this far more entertaining than you might expect. Lacey Chabert stars as Kathy Barrett, a widow who owns and operates a café in Hope Springs, New York, and is struggling in the wake of her husband’s death. When Kathy’s friends give her a scarf that they say is “destined” for her, she ends up putting it on a muscularly-sculpted snowman in town, and it magically brings the snowman to life. Sure, “Jack” (Dustin Milligan) is both hot and cold, but can they possibly find happiness together? Press “play” and find out!
Cast: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Craig Robinson, Joe Lo Truglio, Katy Mixon Greer, Lauren Holly
Rating: PG
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Description: When toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker) constructs an invention that can bring toys to life, he’s reasonably convinced that it will change his life – and that of his family’s – forever. Unfortunately, after testing the invention on Diego the Matador (voiced by Ricky Martin), Diego decides that he doesn’t want to be mass-produced and convinces Jeronicus’s apprentice, Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key) to take both him and Jeronicus’ book of inventions. The end result: Gustafson is a financial success, while Jeronicus ends up in financial ruin. After 30 years, however, Jeronicus teams up with his daughter, Jessica, to create a new toy – the Buddy 3000 – that will help him resume his success as a toymaker…if, that is, he can avoid having this one stolen by Gustafson, too!
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Madalen Mills, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville, Anika Noni Rose
Rating: PG
Klaus (2019)
Description: Set in 19th century Norway, Klaus focuses on Jesper Johansen (Jason Schwartzman), the son of the Royal Postmaster General and a real slacker. In an effort to shape him up, Jesper’s dad sends him to a postman training academy, and when that doesn’t work, he sends Jesper to the town of Smeerenburg, telling him that if he doesn’t successfully set up a post office there, he’ll be cut off from the family fortune. While there, Jesper stumbles upon the house of a woodsman named Klaus (J.K. Simmons) who has a habit of secretly making and delivering toys to the youth of the town…and, yes, you can probably see where this is going, but don’t let that stop you from watching and enjoying the story play out. It’s worth mentioning in closing that Klaus holds the distinction alongside I Lost My Body of being the first animated film from Netflix – or any other streaming service, for that matter – to be nominated for an Academy Award, scoring a nod for Best Animated Feature.
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Sergio Pablos, Norm MacDonald
Rating: PG
Let It Snow (2019)
Description: While heading home by train on Christmas Eve, Julie Reyes (Isabela Merced) crosses paths with up-and-coming pop star, and although their initial meeting is an awkward one, they end up forging a friendship over lunch, and she tells him about her life, including the fact that she’s been accepted to Columbia and that her mother is deathly ill. Meanwhile, Waffle Town waitress Dorrie (Liv Hewson) is struggling with her crush on a closeted cheerleader. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on here, what with the family drama and the potential romances, but between the well-cast ensemble and the chemistry between the actors, there’s a lot here to love.
Cast: Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Odeya Rush, Liv Hewson, Mitchell Hope, Kiernan Shipka
Rating: PG-13
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Description: After the death of their firefighter father, Teddy (Judah Lewis) and Kate (Darby Camp) have developed different feelings about Christmas. Kate is still full of the Christmas spirit and still believes in Santa Claus, while Teddy is on the cusp of turning into a juvenile delinquent. On Christmas Eve, however, when their mother is called into work, Kate is certain that she’s seen Santa (Kurt Russell), and Teddy begrudgingly agrees to help her prove it. She’s right, of course, and the two kids sneak into Santa’s sleigh, leading to a situation where they accidentally startle Santa and cause him to crash. To atone for their mischief, the kids offer to help Santa with his deliveries. Do they succeed? Well, let’s just say that there’s a Christmas Chronicles Part Two and leave it at that.
Cast: Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Oliver Hudson, Kimberly Williams Paisley
Rating: PG
The Family Man (2000)
Description: When Jack (Nicolas Cage) leaves for a year-long internship in London, Kate (Tea Leoni) asks him not to go, concerned that the absence will lead to the end of their relationship. Fast-forward 13 years, and it turns out that Kate was right. It hasn’t stopped Jack from becoming a successful Wall Street executive, mind you, but after a close encounter with an apparent thug named Cash (Don Cheadle), Jack is gifted an opportunity to find out what his life would’ve been like if he’d never taken that internship. Waking up on Christmas Day, Jack is suddenly living in the New Jersey suburbs with Kate and their two kids, getting a glimpse of domesticity and wondering if he can ever make it his reality.
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek, Harve Presnell
Rating: PG-13
The Noel Diary (2022)
Description: When Jake Turner (Justin Hartley) discovers that his mother has died, he also learns that he’s inherited all of her assets, including her home in Connecticut. Heading back to the family home for the first time in two decades, Jake begins to look through his mother’s belongings and stumbles upon a diary belonging to Noel Hayden, Jake’s onetime nanny. In addition, Jake meets Rachel Campbell, a woman who’s searching for her birth mother and believes that it might just be – you guessed it – Noel Hayden. As Jake goes through the house and works through his strained relationship with his family, Rachel begins to wonder if her long-seated need to find out more about her birth mother is as important as forging a new relationship.
Cast: Justin Hartley, Barrett Doss, Essence Atkins, Bonnie Bedelia, James Remar, Aaron Costa Ganis
Rating: PG
Will Harris (@NonStopPop) has a longstanding history of doing long-form interviews with random pop culture figures for the A.V. Club, Vulture, and a variety of other outlets, including Variety. He also collaborated on Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, a book with David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. (And don’t call him Shirley.)
The post The Best Christmas Movies On Netflix: 2024 Edition appeared first on Decider.
