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[music]

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[Christmas music]

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Christmas is...

Well, it's about the best time
of the whole year.

[Tom] No matter when they take
place, modern era or period,

Christmas movies and television
specials are always about

someone who has lost
their faith in humankind,

regaining it, saved by
other people being kind

because it's Christmas.

[Chris]
Christmas is the landscape

that everybody wants to paint.

Everyone who tells stories
is attracted to

the heightened emotions
that it brings.

[Aisha] Nostalgia plays
such a huge part in Christmas

because it is part of so
many people's childhoods.

And being able to go back and
relive those feelings every year

by watching holiday movies is
just...

joy.

[Phil] A Christmas Story
is one of the best movies about

nostalgia, family and Christmas.

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingle all the way ♪

A Christmas Story,
I watch it every year

at least twice. It's. like,
the script of my life.

-Can we go now? Can we go?
-Yes, we can go now.

It brings out every childhood
wonder and hurt

that you can imagine.

[Class] Good morning,
Mrs. Sheilds.

[Renee] I can't think of another
movie that gets childhood so

perfectly, that weird sort of
age

where it's like nine years old.

Hey, listen, smartass.

[Renee] Where Ralphie swears,
uses bad words,

but he actually still
believes in Santa Claus.

Yeah, I'll ask Santa.

[Alonso] It taps into a

universal kid experience
of Christmas.

Writing essays about
the thing that you want

like a Red Ryder BB gun.

I want an official Red Ryder,
carbine action, 200-shot

range model air rifle!

[Phil] It really does capture
wanting that gift

that you know your parents
don't want you to have.

No, you'll shoot your eye out.

Ralphie is facing resistance
from all corners.

His teacher.

[Adult Ralphie]
You'll shoot your eye out?

-The department store Santa.
-You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

It's a great, simple
story mostly told from the

-kid's point of view.
-Ho, ho, ho.

It's funny and sweet, but
cinematically really original.

[screams]

God, it's hard to beat
Home Alonefor me.

McCauley Culkin,
iconic performance.

This house is so full of people,
it makes me sick.

[David] Home Alone is about
what if you've gone away

for the holidays--

What else can we be forgetting?

--and you forgot your child?

-Kevin!
-I've made my family disappear.

[David] Just the fun
and the hijinks of that film,

it is on the Mount Rushmore
of holiday movies.

I remember just thinking that
I was fully transported into,

like, this could actually happen
to me as a five-year-old.

It was terrifying, that idea,
but also, so exciting.

[Alonso] Being liberated from
family responsibilities,

but at the same time taking
on family responsibilities

to protect the home
and repel the bad guys.

It becomes basically
a Looney Tunes cartoon.

You guys give up?
Or are you thirsty for more?

At the same time,
you're also seeing his mom

desperate trying to get home.

I've been from Chicago
to Paris, to Dallas,

-to where the hell am I?
-Scranton.

[Jacqueline] Finally,
Kevin's walking alone in his

neighborhood and he realizes
that it used to be home alone

in celebration. And now it's
home alone missing his family.

And that really is what makes it
such a great Christmas movie

and not just a kid
attacking the bandits movie.

[Lorraine] Home Alone really
established John Hughes

as somebody that had the
holiday-Christmas theme down.

What we're looking for today

is the Griswald
family Christmas tree.

[Lorraine] National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation

is essentially about how being
around family makes you crazy.

[Chris] The stress of being
with your extended family,

making sure the
lights are right.

Make sure all the kids
are getting along.

Nobody could do that
the way John Hughes could.

Oh!

[Clea]
It's a very relatable movie

because there is
so much pressure

that we all put on the holidays.

[Alonso] And of course,
inChristmas Vacation,

it's just one
catastrophe after another.

-Oh, hey.
-Is he drunk?

The Best Man Holiday
is actually the second film

within the Best Man franchise.

No, no dessert yet.
Not until we do our talent show.

[Jacqueline] And that
Christmas talent show

shows just how within the
culture that movie was.

♪ Can you stand the rain

[Jacqueline] It's like,
of course you're gonna do

the New Edition classic,
Can You Stand The Rain.

[David] It was emotional.
It was funny.

It was a like a box
of holiday chocolates.

-No.
-Come on.

-No.
-Why?

Christmas comedies run
the gamut of different kinds

of stories and different tones.

-Can you help me?
-Ah, yes.

-Mary.
-Mary had a little-

-No, Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas.

[Ann] I think what people come
to a Christmas movie to find

is the humor plus the heart.

Buddy--
I think there is something

I probably should tell you.

[Kenneth] I considerElf to
be a modern Christmas classic.

I mean, even trying to
describe it makes me laugh.

[Alonso] It rides this fine
tight rope between this sweetly

magical movie about someone
who wholeheartedly

believes in
the Christmas spirit.

A lot of people down South
don't believe in Santa Claus.

What?

But it also is a movie about
this big, tall dork

in an elf costume making his way
through Manhattan

with no idea what's going on.

You look like you came
from the North Pole.

That's exactly
where I came from!

It's a very traditional package
for a Christmas movie

built around the subversive
heart of Will Ferrell.

And there's something kind of
delightful about that.

Tomorrow morning, 10:00 AM,
Santa's coming to town!

Santa!
Oh my God!

Santa here?
I know him!

He found the edge in a
very innocent character.

And to me, that's
what's so fun about it.

I know him!

The movies I grew up with, like
Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer--

that to me seemed like a hook.

Buh-bye.

Let's treat this movie like
it's a guy who grew up

in a 1960's Christmas special.

[Man] Kirby!

[Jon] And it was also
an opportunity to explore

visual effects with
forced perspective.

[Class] There's room for
everyone on the nice list.

[Jon] And stop motion,
all very old techniques.

This might be the golden
opportunity to find out

who you really are.

[Jen] I didn't like Rudolf.
It's a classic kind of

fish-out-of-water story,
but Will Ferrell just

brings so much to it.

-Come with me.
-Right.

All he wants is
to be accepted and believed.

And at the end of the movie,
we get to see all these

people who come to believe.

There is that consistent
Christmas element inElf

of change, of realization.

Merry Christmas! Ho, ho, ho!

[music]

[music]

Santa Claus in the movies is
kind of the direct

result of obviously centuries
of history, of mythology.

He is a jolly man who lives in
the North Pole, and his cheeks

are rosy, and he brings
this kind of magical place

where anything is possible.

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells

[Tim] The best of these
Christmas movies use Santa

to raise questions of faith.

And in Miracle on 34th Street,
this question of faith is

put on trial.

Before you up on the floor,
I just want to give you

a few tips on how
to be a good Santa Claus.

Go right ahead.

To have Santa Claus convince you
that he is, in fact,

Kris Kringle, you have
to go on a faith journey.

There goes Santa Claus.

Oh, don't even mention the name.

[Alonso] Young Natalie Wood,
in one of her first screen

appearances, has been raised
to be a clear-eyed realist.

No Santa Claus, no fairy tales,
no fantasies of any kind.

-Is that it?
-That's right.

This movie is reflective
of a very specific time

in American history.
This is the end of World War II.

Many people are scarred
emotionally and otherwise.

And the country's trying
to find its way again.

Oh, Christmas isn't just a day,
it's a frame of mind.

The Christmas spirit
is in trouble. It's waning.

Would you please tell her that
you're not really Santa Claus?

The idea that a child
would be raised in a world

without fantasy
is not unheard of.

Children, like everyone else,
had just lived through

this horrifying,
world-spanning conflict.

I'm sorry. She doesn't speak
English. She's Dutch.

She just came over.

This young girl is a
war refugee. She's an orphan.

-Hello. [speaking Dutch]
-[speaking Dutch]

[Tim] Kris Kringle starts
speaking in colloquial Dutch.

And Natalie Wood witnesses
this remarkable moment.

And you can see her kind of
starting to go, oh,

maybe this guy is more magical
than I'm giving him credit for.

[singing in Dutch]

[Alonso] It's one of the most
moving moments of the film,

but it's also very
specific to that era,

because there were war refugees.
And it was incumbent upon us,

the viewer, to make them
feel welcome

and to give them a
Merry Christmas, too.

They said you wanted
to see me, Mrs. Walker.

[Tim] By the end of the movie,
Edmund Gwenn as Santa Claus

changes not only little Natalie
Wood's mind, but her mother's.

He's not like anyone else.
He must be Santa.

I think perhaps
you're right, Susie.

[Ron] When I first saw it,
it landed with me

because I was at that age
where, you know,

the cat was out of the bag, but
I was nostalgic for the belief.

And I lost myself in
Miracle on 34th Street.

[music]

This idea of magic
that we've come to forget

and not believe in
and the kids still have.

I believe.

[Shane] Part of it is the
ability to believe that a lone

man can travel across the world
in one night and magically, from

a sack that fits on a sleigh,
produce gifts that he puts down

chimneys that they wouldn't
fit in every house all over

the world. And the kid goes,
I'll buy that. That sounds good.

-Hey you!
-What's--Oh! Ooh!

[David] The biggest twist
of the film, The Santa Clause,

is if you happen to find Santa,
there's a clause that says...

Yeah, right.

It's almost like a horror movie.
This guy starts to gain weight

even though he's not eating any
more. He gets white hair.

He doesn't know
what's happening to him,

but he eventually realizes he
really is Santa Claus.

-Annie, nice.
-Beep!

-Johnny, naughty.

[Lorraine] InThe Santa Clause,
the father is not

the greatest dad, but he
transforms into Santa.

And by doing that,
he actually becomes the father

he probably should
have been before.

It just took him transforming
into Santa to get there.

I love you, Dad.

Santa Claus is the
superhero of Christmas.

Santa, is there a back way
out of this place?

Of course there is, Lee.

But this is one Santa that's
going out the front door.

He protects the magic of it.

One night only.

He can be playful, and I
like that about Santa in movies.

Sometimes they're there
to pull out a flask

or get shoved down
in the middle of a chase.

-Or get their beard pulled.
-Whoo!

[Tim] So it can be silly in a
way, but it just works because

it's an acknowledgement
of the kid in all of us.

And what would you
like for Christmas?

Santa has traditionally
been depicted in film and TV

as a jolly, fat white man.

Hey man, you ain't Santa Claus.

[Aisha] Over the years,
we've had debates about

what Santa should look like,
what he can look like.

What makes you think
this isn't Santa Claus?

'Cause Santa Claus ain't Black.
He's white.

And so even though
we had The Jeffersons,

which was a revolutionary show
at its time, 34 years later,

Black-ish,
another revolutionary show

has a similar episode. And
there's still this expectation

that Santa should be white.

There's only one Santa,
but daddy wants to be

one of Santa's helpers.
Isn't that nice?

But we'll still get our presents
from the real Santa, right?

The white one?

Until we get to the point where
it's not surprising to see

a Black, or an Asian,
or a Latino Santa,

we're still gonna be
having this conversation.

-The real Santa is Chinese.
-What?

-Santa's Chinese?
-Yes.

Why do you think all the toys
he delivers say made in China?

But it's a fictional character.
Santa can be whatever you want.

-It can be a woman.
-[screams]

The movie Noelle
is a story about a person who is

eager to take the mantle is the
one that is often ignored.

Noelle is the sibling of the
soon-to-be new Santa Claus,

played by Bill Hader.

-Oh, this is heavy.
- The Book of Santa,

I've read it. I've memorized it.
I've listened to it on tape.

I just don't get it.

He wants to do
anything in this world,

except be Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas.

So do we break for lunch now?

[Clea] Anna Kendrick was a
perfect person for that movie.

She is so grounded and humble.

I think humility is a really
important quality in a Santa.

It's not just about
the presents we get,

it's about the presents we give.

The presents of love
and understanding.

[Clea] Christmas is an
opportunity to be our

best selves and figure out
what that is.

And in Noelle's case,
her potential is Santa.

[music]

Of course
she should be Santa.

[music]

[music]

[music]

[Alonso] A Christmas Carol
is the classic story written

by Charles Dickens in 1843.

A Merry Christmas to you, Uncle.
God save you.

Humbug!

And it has gone on to become the
most adapted work of literature

in the English language.

What reason have you
to be merry?

What right have you to be merry?
You're poor!

A lot of what we see as
Christmas stories are retelling

in a different way,
with different characters,

the Dickensian
A Christmas Carol.

You don't like Christmas
much, do you?

A Christmas Carol
holds the greatest archetype,

Ebenezer Scrooge. He looms as
large as Santa Claus does.

[Alonso]
Scrooge is a meaty role,

and a lot of actors
have taken it on.

Albert Finney, Alastair Sim
and George C. Scott,

Patrick Stewart,
Michael Caine, Bill Murray.

Ebenezer Scrooge
is Shakesperean in his

interpretative possibilities.

[Kenneth] Everyone wants
to take a crack at Scrooge.

It's like a great character that
you measure yourself against.

You want all day tomorrow,
I suppose?

-If it's quite convenient, sir.
-It is not convenient.

[Tim] One of the enemies
of Christmas is greed.

And Dickens is responding
to the income inequalities,

the unfairness, the hardships
of urban life in Britain

during the Industrial Age.

Two pence, five shillings,
ladies, due before Christmas.

That means today.

It's a powerful story
about regeneration,

rehabilitation and change.

It's a morality play,
and it's a redemption story,

but it's also a ghost story.

Merry Christmas, governor.
Merry Christmas.

[Alonso] There was this notion
that Christmas night

was when the veil between the
two worlds was at its thinnest.

[Lorraine] Why are we having
a ghost story at Christmas?

Well, we really like it,
and we can't stop.

We can't stop remaking it.

[Alonso] There's a 1901 version.

In 1910, the Edison Company made
their own adaptation.

Then you have Reginald Owen
playing the lead

in the 1938 version.

A Christmas Carol
is one of those stories

that can adapt to
almost anything.

And for the 90th time,
can I get some French toast?

[Pete]
They've done gender switches.

Oh, spare me.

[Pete] Animation.

Money, money!

Ebenezer Scrooge.

[Pete]
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

The Muppets did
A Christmas Carol.

♪ Every day
in every way ♪

♪ Scrooge is getting worse

-You wish to be anonymous.
-I wish to be left alone.

I would say
that Alastair Sim is

my favorite Scrooge.
And that version of

A Christmas Carol
is the greatest of all time.

Jacob Marley.

[Alonso] In the story
Scrooge's late business partner,

Jacob Marley, appears
to him on Christmas Eve.

What do you want with me?

He had died seven
years ago the same night.

[screaming]

So of course,
he's a horrible corpse.

I wear the chain
I forged in life.

[Tim] Each of these links
represents a bad deed.

And he turns to Scrooge
and he said,

you already have
chains around you.

And then Marley says,
but you have a second chance.

I have come...
for your sake, Ebenezer.

He's visited by three
time-traveling ghosts

who take him on this journey
where he looks at his life.

And he starts the process
of the reckoning.

One master passion engulfs
you... money.

[Jacqueline] When he chooses
his career over his true love,

that was a fork in the road.

He recognizes the mistake he
made because now he's alone.

You know, I think it better you
see things as they really are.

[Dana] During his journey
through time with the ghosts,

he witnesses other people who
know what it is to celebrate

-and to love each other.
-[All] Merry Christmas!

And Scrooge learns
by example how to live.

God bless us, everyone.

[David] Those three ghosts
are powerful.

It really makes you think about
your past,

your present and your future.

[bell gongs]

And whoa, if you
don't change your ways,

this is what will befall you.

Spirit of the future,
I fear you more than

any other spectre I've seen.

A crisis of conscience,
a fear that you at the end

of your life may have
no friends and no family.

And you may die alone.
That is a universal fear.

[Dana] Finally, he witnesses
this open grave

in which he will be buried,

with nobody there to mourn him.

[screaming]

[Kenneth] He doesn't know
whether he will be allowed

to come back to mortal life
to correct his past.

[screaming]

[Tim] And by the end of
the story,

Scrooge is a fundamentally
different person

because he has found
the spirit of Christmas.

Christmas time be praised!

Who's saved by Christmas?
Scrooge is.

Happy New Year!

[Pete] This dance of delight
that every Scrooge we've ever

seen goes through? Nobody ever
better than Alastair Sim.

♪ I didn't know anything,
I never did know anything ♪

♪ But now I know
that I don't know ♪

♪ All of the Christmas morning

When his heart melts,
I don't think there's a

false moment in it.

And when Scrooge goes
to his nephew's home,

where they're having
their Christmas party,

he looks very tentative.

The housekeeper doesn't
have a word of dialogue,

but she gives him
this encouraging smile.

♪ So slowly,
slowly she came ♪

And she convinces him
to come into the party.

♪ Young man, I think...

Then he gives this amazing
speech that just melts,

melts my heart
every time I watch it.

Can you forgive a pig-headed
old fool for having no eyes

to see with, no ears to hear
with all these years?

A Christmas Carolis one of the
greatest redemption stories,

not just read for
a Christmas story, any story.

The idea that no matter how
miserable a life you lead,

if the Christmas spirit
touches your heart,

you can find redemption.

[music]

[music]

Come on
and sit on Santa's lap.

And then what?

It depends whether you've
been naughty or nice.

Well, you're Santa.
Aren't you supposed to know?

[David]
Love is a magical thing.

And if you put the holidays
on top of it,

it's like a present
that's got a ribbon on it.

[Emily] We want to believe in
true love,

but we're not sure it exists.

But at Christmas we're willing
to believe

in slightly different things,
like three ghosts visiting you,

or a guy getting to see what
the world would've been like

if he hadn't been born.

Finding your true love
is kind of like that.

And at Christmas time,
it feels like that might happen.

[Tom] The Shop Around the Corner
was a gorgeous black and white.

There's that old world,
European kind of Christmas.

I think what makes
The Shop Around the Corner

such a traditional watch
at Christmastime is because

it feels like this
old-fashioned fairy tale.

[Ben] Jimmy Stewart and
Margaret Sullivan play clerks

at a gift shop, and
they hate each other.

Mr. Carlick, I don't like you.

And we know that secretly
they're pen pals who've

fallen in love.
They just don't know

that that's who
they're writing to.

"My heart was trembling as I
walked into the post office.

And there you were,
lying in box 237."

[Dana] It tells the story
of recognizing that what

you needed was right
there all along.

So this very simple setting
where the two of them work,

becomes a magical place
of transformation.

[Ben] You've Got Mail is a
pretty direct remake of

Shop Around the Corner
made 58 years later,

but instead of pen pals, they're
writing emails to each other.

[Computer] You've got mail.

[Tom] That dynamic of
searching for each other

and don't really know it.
It's a magical thing.

You can't discount the power of
coming together at Christmas.

[Dana] Seeing somebody that
you didn't see before,

and that's part of what
the holiday setting does,

is make you look around and see,
well, this was always here.

I just didn't recognize it.

I see a beautiful woman
with a good heart.

My favorite Christmas movie
is The Preacher's Wife.

I watch it every year multiple
times in the Christmas season.

I'm an angel.

The Preacher's Wifeis a remake
of The Bishop's Wife,

which starred Carey Grant
as the angel.

I was instructed to come here
in answer to your prayer.

[David] The angel realizes that
the issue with the preacher is

not the church and the finances,
it's his marriage.

But then you've got
Denzel Washington

in the long coat and the hat.
I mean, forget about it.

The angel in both movies is
actually really, really hot

and charismatic. So while there
is clearly some chemistry

between the angel and the wife,
the wife realizes what she loved

about her husband, and the
husband realizes he needs to

bring his family back together.

[Ben] Christmas stories are
often about recognition of

what's really important.
That's certainly the case here.

And it took an angel coming
down for them to realize that

they're better together.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

[Tim] Christmas is a time
of joyousness when you're

with people, but if you're
alone for one reason or another,

it magnifies your loneliness.

That's one of the themes
of The Apartment.

'Twas the
night before Christmas

and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring,

nothing.
No action.

We have tons of the happy,
joyous Christmas movies.

And there's something really
refreshing about a film like

The Apartmentthat admits the
reality is that a lot of people

are living that
moment not so great.

[Alonso] The Apartment
stars Jack Lemmon as a

mid-level manager at a giant
corporation who understands

that he might be able to get
ahead in the company if he

will let executives use his
apartment as a place for

their, um, extramarital trysts.

But I promised the guy I'd be
out of here by 8:00 positively.

What guy?

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way ♪

At the time when we're supposed
to be at our most

bouyant and joyous, it also can
be incredibly disheartening.

Are you all right?
What's the matter?

Nothing.

[Alonso] He is in love
with Shirley MacLaine,

but is chagrined to discover
that she is one of the people

who's been using his apartment.

When you've been married
to a woman for 12 years,

you just don't sit down at the
breakfast table and say,

pass the sugar,
I want a divorce.

[Ron] Christmas can put
loneliness into stark relief.

And she tries to commit suicide.

Oh my God.

[Jacqueline] It isn't
until the traumatic event

with Shirley MacLaine that
you really get that this is

happening at Christmas.

That this is probably happening
because it's Christmas.

Hold that.

[Alonso] This is a film that
teeters on the abyss of despair,

but brings it back
in a way that's believable

and realistic, and poignant.

Did you hear what I said,
Miss Kubelik?

I absolutely adore you.

Shut up and deal.

I see a real parentage between

The Apartmentand Carol.

People who are not having the
warm, family Christmas time

that they're supposed to
be having.

Caroluses Christmas as
this sort of underscoring of,

it's the season of love.
It's the season of family.

And what does that look like
when you are living in a society

that tells you,
you aren't allowed love?

You aren't allowed a family?

The movie is really
about the romance that develops

between the two of them.
Cate Blanchett being married.

Harge, what's wrong?

Carol's husband
figures out what's happening

and takes their daughter away
on Christmas Eve.

Carol is distraught, so they
run. They go on this road trip.

Christmas time, it's like you're
in this rarified air.

And finding each other
and being able to belong

with each other in this
bubble of Christmas

creates a deeper intimacy.

Just stay like that.

[Dana] They compose an alternate
family with each other,

so it's a really hopeful
Christmas movie, even though

it takes place in a world that
doesn't recognize the possibilty

of those characters' love.

Actually, I'm in love.

There are few movies
that redefine

what a Christmas movie could be.

Love Actuallyis a great
Christmas movie because

it uses the season in a way
that we all recognize.

It's really the iconic movie
that makes Christmas

about finding love.

[Hanif] Love Actually,
it's a portal back into

a past version of myself as
an 18-year-old who wanted

to be in love all the time.

-Does Natalie live here?
-No, she doesn't.

Hugh Grant is the prime minister
going door to door trying to

find the woman he loves, and
discovering that his chaffeur

can sing the second verse of
Good King Wenceslas.

♪ Deep and crisp and even

[Alonso] And then Emma Thompson

being done dirty by Alan
Rickman.

And then we, of course,
have the rock musician played

by the great Bill Nighy.

♪ Christmas is all around me

[Alonso] It's gorgeous
and it's also stupid.

It's everything, this movie.

It's gonna be a very
good Christmas.

[cheering]

[music]

[music]

[Ben] After the end of
World War II, when the country

had just seen the awfulness of
war and lost people who they

cared about in the war,
they needed to recognize

the brotherhood of mankind.
So in the 1940s,

we get some great Christmas
movies that captured the

zeitgeist of the country.

Quartermaster Jones reporting.

These are movies where Christmas
is a catalyst for

reexamining where we are.

All right, folks.
That's enough of that.

[Tim] There's something
magical about Christmas

that can heal wounds and
can lead to self-knowledge.

And of course, the best of them,
It's A Wonderful Life.

It's a story about greed and
goodness, and charity, and hope

all wrapped up into one.

I can't think of Christmas and
Christmas Eve without thinking

ofIt's A Wonderful Life.

It's my childhood. When I was
little, I would get into the

big chair with my dad,
and we would watch the movie

because it was
my dad's favorite movie.

[Ken] I remember seeing it
the first time with my family

and crying, and being shocked
and a little bit embarrassed

by the emotions.

[Ron] I don't know how
many times I've seen

It's A Wonderful Life.
I always see something new.

[Tom] It's a beautiful
black-and-white gem

that probably has gone down
in motion picture history

as the perfect screenplay
and the perfect execution

of that perfect screenplay.

Capra, Stewart...
Can you beat that?

I don't think so.

America's just been through a
long depression

and World War II. And many of
Hollywood's greatest actors

went to war. And Jimmy Stewart
was one of them.

I'm very proud to be here.
And I'm going to do my best

to be useful as a soldier
in the United States Army.

[Ben] Jimmy Stewart's a pilot.
Delivered 20 bombing missions.

Of course, he had PTSD.
He risked his own life

on those 20 missions.

And his men were at risk
whenever he sent them up.

[Tim] Stewart wondered if he
could ever return to acting,

something that seemed frivolous.

Frank Capra, who as a director
made films for the war effort,

understood this
about Jimmy Stewart.

And he went to Stewart
and he said,

this is the right role for you.

The main character
contemplates suicide.

And apparently, that was it.

[Ken] The film reflects
the darkness that the world

has emerged from, but it's
also the optimism that comes

from having seen the worst of
human beings and understanding

that good people triumphed,

and that good people
could triumph.

[Alonso]
Despite getting a handful of

Academy Award nominations,
including best picture,

it did not find
an audience in theaters.

[Ron] When it came out,

it was kind of a
shoulder shrug for people.

Maybe it was a little too close
to coming out

of the drama and the pain,
and suffering of war.

[Alonso] The film was
forgotten to the extent

that nobody bothered to renew
the copyright on it.

And so then, when it lapsed,
it went into the public domain.

And TV stations could just
show it whenever they felt

like it and not have
to pay a dime to anybody.

So that movie was on TV enough
at Christmas time,

that it became part of the
American psyche

because we watched it
over and over again.

And realized, oh, this is
actualy great.

And it becomes the defining
American Christmas movie.

[Ken] It isn't really
about Christmas per se,

but it's completely about
Christmas and its spirit.

Yeah! Extra! Read all about it!

[Ann] George Bailey is a
good man and he helps build

his entire community,

vastly improving the lives
of everybody around him.

Mr. and Mrs. Martini,
welcome home.

George Bailey's community
is an aspirational one

for the United States.
The expectation is that

everybody is gonna
get a piece of the pie.

Enter the Martini castle!

Look Mr. Potter.

Meanwhile, there's a Mr. Potter
who is a rapacious,

greedy businessman.

I will pay 50 cents
on the dollar.

Oh, you never miss a trick,
do you, Potter?

It's really a very
simple story of good and evil,

but it's still mindful of all
of the problems that happen.

[Claudia] On Christmas Eve,
George Bailey has this

unexpected financial crisis,

which derails him,
as it would anyone.

Mr. Potter conspires to ruin him
professionally and personally.

You're worth more
dead than alive.

And the bottom falls out.

And then oh my, what do you do?

It's a misappropriation
of funds.

[David] It's a sobering thought.

I can only imagine
how George Bailey felt.

How do you deal with your
children and your wife

looking at you as a hero?

-What's the matter?
-[David] As a provider.

As, you know, somebody.

And then what does
your life really mean?

[Aisha] The fact that this
happens against the backdrop

of Christmas makes that
feel so much more visceral

and feel even sadder.

[Man] How about some of
that good spaghetti?

[Ben] The most critical scene is
in the bar, where George Bailey

hits his legitimate low point.

If you're up there
and you can hear me...

show me the way.

[Claudia]
Here it is Christmas Eve,

and he's reached rock bottom.

He comes upon a bridge,
and he contemplates suicide.

[Aisha] Then an angel swoops
down to help George Bailey

realize how much he's meant
to all the people in his life.

I'm your guardian angel.

[Tim] I would argue
all good Christmas shows,

the most powerful
Christmas shows,

there's an element
of supernatural.

[Kenneth] So this angel
shows him what would have

happened to his family,
to his town,

if he had never been born.

The idealic village
of Bedford Falls

becomes Pottersville,
which is a real dystopia.

[Chris] Pottersville is
a hellscape for him,

and it sets in motion the events
that will turn him back around.

Mary!

[Ron] In a really complicated,
difficult world,

a damnable world, the choice
to engage and live matters,

and you can matter.

I wanna live again!
I wanna live again!

I wanna live again!

The central characters
in both A Christmas Carol

and It's A Wonderful Life
experience transformation.

Scrooge gets it
through redemption

and George Bailey
through recognition.

Yay! Hello, Bedford Falls!

[Rami] When you see
Jimmy Stewart running,

hello Bedford Falls,

Merry Christmas,
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

[Kenneth] He comes to
realize that he, in fact,

has had the wonderful life.

You have no idea
what's happened to me.

[Dana] He becomes grateful
for all the things

that he didn't realize he had,
and he was about to throw away.

Come in, Uncle Billy!

[Tim] Not only does George
Bailey recover himself

by getting a second chance,
others around him get a chance

to show him how much
he's meant to them.

I wouldn't have a roof
over my head if it weren't

for you, George.

And what saves him?
The spirit of Christmas.

[Ken] What the film tells you
is George Bailey is us

and his experiences are ours.

And that what we want
to create is a community

where we lift people up.

Here you are, George.
Merry Christmas.

So the ultimate question
comes down to

where do you, as an American,
wanna live?

Do you wanna live
in Bedford Falls, the town that

Jimmy Stewart is desperately
trying to keep going?

Or do you wanna live in
Pottersville, where there's

nothing in it for anybody,
except what they can get

for themselves?

And so we feel our own selves
on a kind of cusp today of

what kind of choices
are we gonna make?

I can't imagine there is
an American within the sound

of my voice that doesn't
wanna live in Bedford Falls.

[music]

[music]

[music]

Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh!

There is a period
of the wintertime that goes

from Thanksgiving to Christmas,

you want to get together
with family and friends.

Oh, would you look who's home?

[Tom] It is a little cold
outside, so everybody naturally

gathers together
inside with family.

Merry Christmas.

[Tom] They've been hanging
around each other for no reason

other than you're family
and you love each other.

So what are you guys
doing for Christmas?

We've got the entire family
flying in, 13 airport pickups,

four days of listening
to how gifted my nieces are.

At Christmastime. everyone wants
to be with their family.

Well, not everyone wants
to be with their families.

I'm vacationing in tropical
Albany this year

with Trish's family.

They got us a cot,
which is awesome.

Christmas movies can be
so resonant

with people who
aren't even Christian.

We understand holiday gathering
and the stuff that happens.

Why do you guys put
yourselves through that?

It's Christmas, right?
Don't you have to?

Christmas is the time when
we want everything to be right.

We hope everything will be
right, but it isn't always.

This is beautiful.

[Clea] I love Christmas movies.
They become traditions.

They become ways for us
to connect with each other.

And yet even with all
of the Christmas movies,

I had never seen my own
experience represented.

Do you remember this summer,
when I came out to my parents

and told them we were together,
and they took it really well?

Yeah.

Okay, well,
that wasn't entirely accurate.

Happiest Season
is the closeted version

of coming home to the
family for Christmas,

which is not
the happiest season.

-So who do they think I am?
-My roommate.

[Clea] Coming out is
such a personal thing,

and it's very complicated.

You know, there's a lot
of shame around that.

Is she not gonna
stay up here with me?

Harper, I would never ask
two grown women

to share the same bed.

[Clea] I've been on both sides
of that situation, where you're

just the friend or asking
someone to be just the friend.

Do you know
how painful it's been

to watch the person that I love
choose to hide me?

I am not hiding you!
I am hiding me!

The tension that they
play there is if I come out,

this might be the last time
I ever see my family.

I'm gay.

And I am...
in love with Abby.

I came out to my mother
on Christmas Day.

My mom just froze.
And I also froze.

And we just kinda sat there
in this unplanned, oh no,

now everything is different
forever moment. Yeah.

When I wanted to make a
Christmas movie, I knew that

I wanted to find a way to
have tolerance or acceptance.

All I want for you is to find
the same joy and happiness

that you've given me,
no matter where it comes from.

I think it resolves in a way
that is a bit of a fantasy,

as a queer person who came out
and lost most of her family.

-Where am I? Here?
-There.

It was very meaningful
to have that fantasy of

it's Christmas time,
and my family loves me.

Abby, what are you doing way
over there? Get in here.

Come on.

You know, that's uh, that's a
story that I think we, uh,

we need more of.

Christmas is
when it all kinda comes out,

because you're dealing with
everyone's expectations.

-You don't have to be nervous.
-I'm not.

[Alonso]
WithThe Family Stone

you have the guy bringing home
his fiancée to meet the family,

a situation that is fraught with
tension. Are they gonna like me?

And then it turns out,
oh no, they don't.

They don't like me at all.

She is a total phony.
She's completely uptight.

[Ann] Although they're
highly functional together,

they're not very functional
with other people.

[screams]

It's a family Christmas
where everything explodes.

It's like a bomb went off
in the middle of Christmas.

Meredith.

In addition to the comedy,
there's also the real drama

that the matriarch has been
recovering from cancer.

And they discover over this
weekend that the cancer is back.

I'm sick, honey.

[Kenneth] And we don't know
what the future holdsm

making us aware
that life is fragile

and maybe it makes sense to put
our animosities aside.

She wanted to wait, you know,
until after Christmas

to tell you kids.

[Jacqueline] What happens when
the thing that drove the family,

it begins to crumble,
they have to find a new dynamic.

And soAlmost Christmas took
whatThe Family Stone did

and sort of gave
it a chapter two.

It still doesn't even seem real.

[David] I wrote this story about
a dysfunctional family that was

coming home for the holiday.
Their mother had passed away.

And so this is the first
Christmas without her.

Danny Glover's character is
heartbroken and lonely, trying

to reconnect with the love of
his life through the joy that

she had, which was cooking the
sweet potato pie for Christmas.

Everything I write comes
from my experiences

and my great grandmother,
Annie Mae Woods,

would make sweet potato pie
every holiday.

And when she passed, my mother
said, don't worry about it.

I've got it. We'll be fine.

And so we get to Christmas Day,

and we get the pie
and it looks like it.

Everybody digging in,
and then collectively everybody

stops chewing mid-chew,

and we realized that
it wasn't in the recipe.

[crying] Hmm.

It was in the love.

The ingredient that mattered
that was missing was her love.

When I was writing it, that's
the woman that I was channeling.

It's in the magic of love.

The Invention of
Jeronicus Jangle.

[Jacqueline] Jingle Jangle
is a piece of Black joy

with this fantastical
Christmas adventure.

[David] Jingle Jangle,
I wrote it because I wanted

my son to have a story
with some people that looked

like him in this fantasy world.

This is my wonderful family.

[David] What makesJingle Jangle
a Christmas movie is what made

It's a Wonderful Life
a Christmas movie.

I'm Journey, your granddaughter.

Just like
It's A Wonderful Life,

if he can remember what he means
to his family and the value

of who he is independent
of what he has, then so can we.

Maybe we could spend Christmas
here if it's all right with you?

That would be all right with me.

He was just waiting
to open his heart up again.

It's a journey to get back
to happiness.

And at the end of the day,

that's what the holidays are
really all about.

[music]

[music]

♪ Hark the herald angels sing

♪ Glory to the newborn king

♪ Peace on earth

[Dana] The way that people used
to gather around a parlor piano

and sing together is not
something that really happens

in American life anymore,
except at Christmas.

♪ You better watch out
You better not cry ♪

[Dana] Everybody knows
the words to at least

a few Christmas songs.

It's one less little remnant of
communal life and celebration.

♪ To town

A Christmas song, more than
set decoration or prop design,

can really signify
to an audience

what time of year it is,
but more importantly,

the vibe of the story.

It's like putting
a little tinsel

around the
framing of the movie.

[music]

[Ann] Meet Me In St. Louis
takes place at the turn of

the century, but it's
released during World War II,

when so many
families are separated.

[Kenneth] There was this sense
of nostalgia, a sense of missing

what people in some ways
perceived as

the innoncence of
the pre-war years.

[Jacqueline] MGM at that
time was bringing color,

bringing music, and all of this
sort of pageantry to an America

that did not have that.

If Santa Claus brings me any
toys, I'm taking them with me.

But the film's biggest
introduction to the culture was

Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas

and the iconic performance
of it that Judy Garland gives.

♪ Have yourself a
merry little Christmas ♪

The way Judy Garland sings
the song is so beautiful,

but yet mournful. And when
you think about the era that

it came out of, coming towards
the end of World War II.

And having her sing it
in a really sad moment

within the film really adds
even more power to the lyrics.

♪ Some day soon
we all will be together ♪

[Ann] We may be together if
fates allow.

It gave the audience the
kind of permission to be sad.

[Emily] You never know when
you're gonna lose something

or lose someone,
or everything's gonna change.

But we have today, we have
this Christmas right now.

There's another one coming,
but who knows?

Joyeux Noelis based
on a true story that occurred

during World War I in 1914,
during Christmas, when

German troops, Scottish troops,
French troops laid down

their arms and listened to
these beautiful Christmas hymns.

[singing in Latin]

[Claudia] This German opera
singer sings hymns in Latin

that they all know.

Music is something that
transcends so much.

And through the power
of a Christmas carol,

it creates this moment of peace
in a very fraught situation.

[singing in Latin]

[Shane] The soldiers on both
sides of the trenches

called a truce, and they came
out of the trenches

and walked into no man's land,
then met together.

Christmas is like a tap on
the shoulder that says, really?

Is this the only way?

♪ I'm dreaming of a
white Christmas ♪

[Dana] White Christmas
is maybe the most nostalgic

Christmas song I can think of.

White Christmas was originally
written by Irving Berlin for a

movie for Holiday Innin 1942.

[Tim] For a Russian-Jewish
immigrant like Irving Berlin,

there was a deep sense of
gratitude to the United States

for welcoming him as a refugee

and also for fighting
against fascism.

[Claudia] My dad was actually
in World War II in Europe.

And I remember when we would
hear the song,

White Christmas, it
would just, created this really

nostalgic feeling for
servicemen,

the idea that they wouldn't

be home for Christmas.
But those were abnormal times.

It was a World War,
and Irving Berlin just

captured that so beautifully.

♪ I'm dreaming of a...

[Lorraine] Twelve years after
the song was introduced,

the film, White Christmas
opens with a makeshift

Christmas show during
World War II of Bing Crosby

singing to the troops.

♪ To hear sleigh bells
in the snow ♪

To be literally at the
worst place you would want

to be on the globe,
probably, at that time,

the songWhite Christmas
and the lyrics, I'm dreaming,

that longing and aspiration is
kind of the beauty of the song.

♪ And may your Christmases

[Alonso] So by the time you get
to the movie,White Christmas,

Bing Crosby singing that song on
the battlefield in World War II

is immediately taking audiences
back to those war years,

where that song
meant so much to them.

[music]

[Alonso] And then over the
course ofWhite Christmas,

we come to see that
the film is nostalgia

for World War II itself.

-General Waverly.
-Sir.

[Ken] But then all of the
contrivances of the film

evaporate in favor of what the
essential impulse is to honor

their commander who's fallen
on postwar hard times.

[Alonso] The big finale is that
the general walks in to what

he thinks is just gonna be
the Christmas show, only to be

greeted with all of his former
soldiers, who have traveled to

Vermont to be there for him.

♪ We answer to his call

[Ken] And the miracle of people
conspiring to help someone else

creates snow,

which is the realization
of your dream

of a white Christmas.

It's pretty good.

It's why we like the movies.

[Pete] Ten years ealier,
Bing Crosby was on a USO tour,

and he sang White Christmas
to those troops in real time

during the war
with his buddy, Bob Hope.

Bob Hope would travel
to sites where American men

were fighting in wars.

The Second World War,
the Korean War, the Vietnam War.

And he'd entertain them.

[Chris] Bob would have these
USO Christmas shows every year,

and then they would made into
specials that we would watch.

[Man] The Bob Hope
Christmas Special starring

The Gold Diggers, Racquel Welch.

[Ken] I grew up in a family--
we were very much opposed

to the Vietnam War.
But you know, when Bob Hope

had a special, you-you watched
it. He'd bring beautiful women,

but he would tell jokes, mostly.

I love Christmas in Vietnam.

It's so nice to see a tree
decorated instead of occupied.

[Ken] The joy you'd see on the
faces of the soldiers.

And it reminded you that it
wasn't the soldiers that you

were upset with, they were
doing the fighting and dying.

And so there's a real
poignancy in these shows.

♪ Silent night

[Ken] Whenever you are away
from home at the time that you

associate most with home,
to have somebody come and say,

hey, we're bringing
Christmas to you.

Have a big New Year. We'll see
you home. God bless you.

[Claudia] As well as Bob Hope
with the troops,

everybody seemed to want
to have a Christmas special.

And we all watched them.

♪ We wish you the merriest,
the merriest ♪

♪ The merriest

[Lorraine] Dean Martin,
Frank Sinatra,

it was an American tradition to
see your favorite entertainers

sing traditional
Christmas songs.

♪ Christmas time's coming

Christmas specials,
you know, they were a mainstay

in our household.

The Andy Williams Special
was a must see.

♪ It's the most wonderful
time of the year ♪

It's an excuse
to bring the family together

to watch something.

The specials were,
they were just fun.

And then cool pop artists
would show up.

Hello.

[Aisha] The Bing Crosby,
David Bowie duet,

there's these
two worlds colliding.

♪ A newborn king to see

[Aisha] It's kind of
become this odd, quirky moment

of Christmas lore.

♪ Our finest gifts we bring

It also encapsulates the
sheer artifice of it all.

♪ Oh holy night

[Hanif] To me, Christmas
in its base aesthetic form

is opulence, right?
I think Mariah Carey

and Dolly Parton fit right
into that mold of performers

who know how to be theatrical
in every sense of the word.

♪ I'll be home
for Christmas ♪

Well, we all have our favorites.
And then sometimes

you think, I really like this
song. I'd like to see and hear

how this person does it.

♪ Are there church bells
in twon ♪

And sometimes they
unearth a little gem.

♪ It's the most wonderful
time of the year ♪

The variety show
may seem dated, but with

Michael Bublé, Lady Gaga,
or Carrie Underwood

when Christmastime rolls around.
Mm-mm. It's completely relevant.

♪ It's music to my ears

♪ Christmas is my favorite
time of year ♪

[music]

[music]

[Lorraine] Television's a fairly
new medium in the 1960s,

and one of the first animated
Christmas specials was

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

Merry Christmas to everybody.

[Dana] As a child, you were
waiting for the announcement

in the TV Guideof when Frosty
and all of those shows

were gonna come on.

[David]
A Charlie Brown Christmas

was a tradition. It brought
the whole family together.

[Tom] When you see
Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer,

that means bang, it's Christmas!

Rudolph.

Rankin/Bass used the
stop motion so brilliantly.

There's something that
draws you into it.

But also, those are just
great, sweet stories.

Ho, ho, ho.

[Ron]
Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer,

irresistable.

[Jen] One of the things
that's instantly appealing

is everybody knows the song.

♪ Rudolf the
red-nosed reindeer ♪

[Jacqueline] The Rudolf story
is about an underdog that

we know is really the hero.

We won't let Rudolf join
in any reindeer games, right?

Anybody can appreciate
the sense of feeling left out.

But then there's
a triumphant moment.

Rudolf, with your nose
so bright,

won't you guide
my sleigh tonight?

[Lorraine] The idea that this
outcast could turn around

and save the day, and
then everybody would go,

God, we probably should've
treated him better back then.

Yeah, you know, we were wrong.
It's like, yes,

that could be me.
I could've saved the day

and you would all be sorry.

[cheering]

[Alonso] It is a celebration
of nonconformists,

which was not exactly the staple
of 1960's television.

So in a way,
Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer

was really ahead of its time.

♪ Frosty the snowman

[Ron] Frosty the Snowman,
I love it.

I'd watch that right now.
Get it going. I wanna see it.

♪ Before I melt away

All the things that happen
in the song happen to Frosty.

And then it has that
Christmas moment at the end.

He is able to come back to life.

It's like a resurrection
of Frosty.

It's just this idea of having
faith that someone that you

care about is still gonna
be able to be there for you.

[gasps]

[Lorraine]
Nightmare Before Christmas.

For my son, that is a
traditional Christmas film.

I love that Tim Burton is part
of his Christmas tradition.

Like, what could be better?

♪ What's this?
What's this? ♪

♪ There's color everywhere

[Lorraine] Just the idea
of discovering Christmas.

What is the joy of this?

♪ What's this in here?

[Tim] It wasThe Nightmare
Before Christmas stop motion

was something that I felt
was part of what the

energy of it was.

♪ What's this?

That form of animation
has always been so inspirational

to me. When you've ever been
around a stop-motion puppet

and moved it one frame
at a time, and then you see it,

and it's just--
there's something that's

quite magical about that.

♪ What is this?

[Dana] It's a movie that uses
this unsettling kind of imagery

to tell a very sweet,
heartwarming kind of

Christmas story.

And then there's the incredible
score by Danny Elfman.

Also sung by Danny Elfman and
the wonderful Catherine O'Hara.

♪ For it is plain
as anyone can see ♪

[Dana] It's a romance,
and it feels like a very

personal expression of longing
for transformation.

Hello in there.

[Tom] My favorite
Christmas story, it's

A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Time freezes when I watch it.

I think there must be something
wrong with me, Linus.

Christmas is coming,
but I'm not happy.

I love that Charles Schultz
took the cast of Peanuts and

put them in this little story.
But really what he was trying

to say was Christmas has
become too commercial.

My own dog gone commercial.
I can't stand it.

He makes a point of saying,
hey, wait a minute,

what about the true
meaning of Christmas?

Isn't there anyone who knows
what Christmas is all about?

So you have Linus
who reads this Biblical passage

about the first Christmas.

And there were in the same
country shepherds abiding

in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night.

[David] He gave the story
about the nativity,

and it was like, whoa.

And on earth, peace,
good will toward men.

And he reminded you of what
the holidays were all about.

♪ Christmas time is here

[Aisha] I love the Charlie Brown
Christmas music.

It feels both old, but new.

And when you think about a kid's
TV special, you don't expect it

to have this cool, jazzy score.

But Vince Guaraldi
made something that's

become a classic.

[Vince] One of the best
scores in the history

of filmed entertainment.
It's pure, unalloyed emotion

straight from Charles Schultz's
heart to the audience

by way of Vince Guaraldi.

You can't hear the music
and not start dancing exactly

like the characters.

[music]

And even what he does
with songs like

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,
the minute you hear it,

it puts you in
the holiday season.

♪ Hark the herald
angels sing ♪

It's magical and
it's the spirit of Christmas

part and parcel.

♪ Trim up the tree
with Christmas stuff ♪

[Claudia] How The Grinch
Stole Christmas takes

the Dr. Seuss book
and brings it to life.

[Jen] It was animated
by the great Chuck Jones.

And the Grinch is just so
emblematic of what a playful,

talented animator he was.

And they'll sing
and they'll sing.

Dr. Suess creates
an alternative universe.

Characters who seem
designed for children,

but have powerful lessons.

And in the Grinch,
he tackles the issue

of the spirit of Christmas.

[Man] The Grinch
hated Christmas,

the whole Christmas season.

[Alonso] The Grinch is the kid's
version of Ebenezer Scrooge.

He has a lot of the same greed
and his hatred of the holiday.

I must stop Christmas
from coming,

but how?

The Grinch is great because
it's mean. He's evil.

He's thinking about, I'm going
to ruin Christmas for everyone.

I know as a kid,
that really turned me on.

And You're a Mean One,
Mr. Grinchimmediately

entered the pantheon
of great holiday songs.

♪ You're a mean one,
Mr. Grinch ♪

[Lorraine] The Grinch thinks
that by taking their presents,

their decorations, their food
that he's gonna steal Christmas

from them, because he doesn't
realize that it's really

about something else.

[Chris] But when all
the stuff is gone

and Christmas still happens,
he is converted.

[Man] And the Grinch's small
heart grew three sizes that day.

My heart expands at the
same time the Grinch does

and for the same reason.
When they gather around

the non-existent tree.
And it's just beautiful.

♪ Christmas Day is here

[Ron] You know, I've always
loved Christmas and the Grinch.

And there was an opportunity
to make a feature version.

And Jim Carrey was interested
in playing the Grinch.

And it was a tremendous
challenge because I knew what

we were going to be compared
with, and I knew we kind of

couldn't compare.

But as a director,
I knew it would be fun

to create Seussian worlds.

-You're the-the-the-the-
-The-the-the-the Grinch!

[screams]

But mostly I wanted
to direct Jim Carrey.

And his hat.

[Ron] And use Jim Carrey's
genius as a physical comedian.

♪ You're a mean one,
Mr. Grinch ♪

[Ron] He was able to choreograph
his twists and turns

with the camera movement in ways
that were so precise.

Now you're doomed!

[Ken] Jim Carrey's
a fabulous Grinch.

But it's all about
the softening of hearts.

No one should be
alone on Christmas.

[Ken] He can steal
their physical Christmas,

but he can't steal Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Grinch.

[Ken] And that's the key
to all of the Christmas movies.

The best things
in life are not things.

♪ Welcome Christmas,
Christmas Day ♪

[music]

[music]

Special holiday episodes
are always stupid.

[Aisha] When you think about all
of our cultrual institutions,

nothing is too sacred
to be taken down a peg.

Because the themes of family
and togetherness are a chilling

-reminder of your own isolation?
-No, but thank you for that.

Christmas is like, sometimes
we have to put on a tie.

Sometimes we have to make
sure to be polite for people.

And the effort of that means
that we need to blow off steam a

little bit in a subversive way.

These Christmas comedies like
The Simpsonshelp us do that.

All right, children.
Let me have those letters.

I'll send them to Santa's
workshop at the North Pole.

Oh, please, there's only one
fat guy that brings us presents

and his name ain't Santa.

The very first episode
of The Simpsons

in 1989 was actually
a Christmas special.

-Ah, whoo!
-Good one, Dad.

When it debuted, it
busted up a whole lot of tropes

and it was kind of
a seismic shift.

D'oh!

The outrageous sense of humor
sort of set the stage

for the series going forward.

[bell ringing]
[Simpsons theme music]

Happy Birth--Uh!

[Jen] It became a phenomenon
very quickly because of the way

that it was pushing boundaries.

Subversive Christmas specials
on TV,

you've gotta go to South Park.

-Behold my glory.
-Holy shit, it's Jesus.

What are you doing
in South Park, Jesus?

Trey Parker and Matt Stone made
this little Christmas short.

[Phil] They made a video casette
and that made the rounds.

I mean, that went viral
before there was viral.

Tomorrow is my birthday,
yet all is not right.

Your birthday is on Christmas?
That sucks, dude.

[Jen] It was very crudely done,
and that's what

kind of got them noticed.

South Park Elementary presents
the birth of Jesus.

[breathing in labor]

Come on, Mary, push!

[John] Those guys figured out
how to make hilarity

out of sacrilege
in the most naked way.

-Mr. Hanky?
-Howdy ho!

[Jen] In its first Christmas
episode, there's a character

called Mr. Hanky
the Christmas Poo.

It's feces with a Santa hat.

Gosh, you're looking swell.

[Jen] And this was a moment
watching TV where you're like,

can they do this?

♪ Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo

There's only one Christmas movie
that I watch every Christmas,

only one.

And it's Bad Santa.

Marcus, get this kid off me
before he pisses on me, alright?

I like the stuff where
you're trying to do something

that's subversive,
that still works inside

the traditional package.

[Alonso]
You have a lead character

who is a bad-tempered alcoholic

who is only dressing as Santa as
part of an elaborate scheme

to steal from a mall.

It's like a dark, nihlistic
takedown of Christmas movies

as much as Christmas. But in the
end, it turns out to be, like,

a feel-good movie.

-Santa!
-Yeah.

You're bringing
my present early?

It's as sentimental
and well intentioned

as a classic Christmas film.

This is Christmas and the kid's
getting his fucking present.

To pull off both of those
simultaneously in the same movie

almost impossible.

[car horn honking]
[car tires screeching]

[Jacqueline] I think if you're
gonna say Christmas

and action movies, you kind of
have to say Shane Black

'cause he has made an
entire industry around it.

Hallelujah.

[Shane] I love putting
Christmas in my movies.

It gives you instant context.
You keep cutting to bits

of Christmas, and it orients you
back in the story.

[explosion]

And in Lethal Weapon,
the contrast that Christmas

gives us offers a lot
of chances of being reminded

of the potential of people.

Riggs, the Mel Gibson character,
he's mourning his dead wife.

In the loneliness and the hush
and isolation of Christmas,

he hits bottom.

If you're low, you're the lowest
around the Christmas holidays,

because you see the
trappings everywhere.

I've never forgotten the image
of looking in the window

in theChristmas Carol
and seeing the Cratchits

eating Christmas dinner.

And I've always felt somewhat,
to my chagrin, that I was always

outside the window looking in
on people who knew effortlessly

how to live life
much better than I did.

To me, Danny Glover
is the Cratchit family.

Come on in, Martin.
Come on in.

[Shane]
Of having Christmas inside,

and the guy outside is Riggs.

Danny Glover offers him that
gateway to something,

which he's been looking through
the window at for so long.

It's a soft kind of reminder
that an unexpected redemption

can be found.

My favorite Christmas movie--
Can I say Die Hard?

Okay, so there's this perpetual
question of is Die Hard

a Christmas movie?

[laughing] No! Is it?
I don't think so.

Well, hell yes, it's a--
Die Hardis a Christmas movie.

I'm on the side of not believing
Die Hardis a Christmas movie.

Die Hardis by far the greatest
Christmas movie.

I've been converted
on this point.

I will allow it if--
I will not fight this.

I don't see why
this is even a debate.

Die Hardwears its Christmas
movieness on its sleeve.

[Alonso] It is set
at a Christmas party.

It is about an estranged couple
rekindling their love

for each other at the holidays.

[Dana] There's the sweatshirt
with "Ho, ho, ho,

now I have a machine gun"
written on it in blood.

Ho, ho, ho.

Surely the goriest
Christmas card

that has ever been delivered.

[Ken] It's Christmas
in the service of just

one of the great, perfect
movies of all time.

Tell her that, um, that she
is the best thing that ever

happened to a bum like me.

The Christmas theme
is realization, redemption

and people coming together.

[Phil] Christmas is such a
cultural touchstone.

Trying to be with your family
at Christmas is a big deal.

[Ken] And of course,
good triumphs over evil.

Yippee ki-yay.

-Merry Christmas, Argyle.
-Merry Christmas.

[music]

[music]

-Happy Christmas, Harry.
-Happy Christmas, Ron.

[Kenneth] Christmas is a
touchstone.

Christmas is shorthand
to clue the audience in

of the emotional state
of the characters.

And they also wanna put you

into kind of a
Christmas frame of mind.

Christmas really doesn't have
to have a moment where somebody

comes out and explains the
meaning of Christmas.

It can be just set at that
time of year

and incorporates the trappings
of the holiday.

-What do you want for Christmas?
-Me? Oh, just you.

[Dana] You see in
The Godfather,

inGoodfellas, in a lot of
gangster movies, there's a real

tendency to have some sort of
scene celebrating Christmas.

I got the most expensive
tree they had!

The tree in Goodfellas,
it's so relevant of the era

and of the culture.

Merry Christmas.

[Ann] There's just so
much you can do through

visual storytelling. It counts
on the audience to bring our

own projections and our own
memories, and our own desires

around Christmas
to those scenes.

Hold me.

[Este] When you think about
Christmas, you think about

coziness and getting close
to people.

But inEdward Scissorhands,
you have this coziness

married with heartbreak.

And you really can't
help but feel

so sorry for Edward
in that moment.

No one wants to be alone
on the holidays.

There's a loneliness to
Christmas. And I think one of

things that people respond to in
these Christmas-adjacent movies

is they capture that loneliness.
Tangerinecertainly does.

It's Christmas Eve. We're gonna
go our separate ways because

I think that's a lot easier
than calling our family and

trying to explain why we have
to be bailed out of jail.

What family?

[Emily] Tangerine is a movie
about two trans women.

And they're sex workers, so
they're living on the fringes

of society. And telling the
story at Christmas time

is a very important part of why
that movie works.

This is about,
who is your family?

Who are you going to turn to?

Who are you going to come
to at the end of the day?

[Clea] Christmas is an
opportunity to show that even

if you don't have a
traditional family,

you can still be
surrounded by love.

[Dana] I think some of the most
moving depictions of Christmas

are people being
thrown together.

-Hey! Merry Christmas.
-Feliz Navidad!

They find a way to celebrate.
And they find a way

to create community.

There's a big difference between
Christmas movies and then the

television episodic Christmases
because these are characters we

live with throughout the year.

And then we're spending
Christmas with them too.

-Merry Christmas, Fonzi.
-Yeah, yeah. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

[Ron] You know,
I grew up watching TV.

And the Christmas episodes were
always a highlight.

So I was really thrilled the
Happy Days writers

decided to have
a Christmas episode.

In that episode, Fonzi, who's
saying he had family,

but he didn't. He was lonely.

I accept your invitation.

So the Happy Days
family envelops him,

bringing Fonzi into the
Cunningham household,

and eventually letting
him live there.

Hey God?

Thanks.

[Ron] In a lot of a ways,
the future of the show

was discovered through that
Christmas episode.

Every TV show is about a family.

Surprise!

-Whether it's a sitcom--
-Christmas is fun, right?

[Phil] A drama.

The guys in the police precinct,
they're a family.

Merry Christmas, Felix.

They're saying to you
at home, we are like you.

You are like us.

[Aisha]
OnEverybody Loves Raymond,

Raymond decides to give his
parents a toaster engraved

with their family's name on it.

Merry Christmas. We love you.

It really captures the angst
of gift giving.

I give it to them on the 23rd.
It's the 26th

and they haven't called
or stopped by.

[Phil] That was something that
came from my actual life.

I gave a toaster to
everybody, and it said,

Everybody Loves Raymondon it.

I sent it to my parents
because they liked the show,

and they supposedly like me.

So I called home,
and my father answered.

He says, your mother
wanted a coffeemaker.

Yes, they traded my gift
for a coffeemaker.

I can't believe this!

Do you know how much time
and, and thought and-and.

That was a very specific thing
relatable to my family.

I didn't know it would
be relatable to yours

or anyone else's.

Who are you people?

[Phil] Here's what you should
do when you get a gift.

I'm just saying,
thank you. The end.

♪ Silent night

In the last 10,
15 years, it's been really

refreshing to see TV series move
toward representing different

kinds of families and different
ways of celebrating holidays.

You know, I see this tree.
I see it in my living room.

I see my grandfather
rising up from the grave

and having another heart attack.

[David] Thirtysomething
was one of the first shows

that was about a character
who was wrestling with Judaism

and Christianty being melded
into the same family.

I didn't grow up
celebrating Christmas.

I grew up celebrating Hanukkah.

It's time to light
the Hanukkah candles!

For me as a kid,
Christmas for Jews was

Chinese food, uh, and movies.

♪ Hanukkah's eight
nights too long ♪

[Este] And so once
Adam Sandler came out with

Eight Crazy Nights,
made me feel not so alone.

♪ Happy Hanukkah

It's a story of Adam Sandler
during Hanukkah,

so now when I think of Hanukkah,
I think of Eight Crazy Nights.

So we got one, everybody.
We got one.

Of course, there's a lot of
people out there that don't

celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah,
but they do celebrate something

else like Kwanzaa.

Oh, you bought us
Christmas presents.

No, I didn't. These are
Kwanzaa gifts, Synclaire.

And then you have Seinfeld
with a holiday that

doesn't even actually exist.

A Festivus for the rest of us.

On Seinfeld, Festivus is
an invention of George's dad.

George, Festivus
is your heritage.

It's part of who you are.

And it's actually based
on a real thing.

One of the writers on Seinfeld,
his father invented Festivus

and they put it into the show.

The tradition of Festivus begins
with the airing of grievances.

I got a lot of problems
with you people!

His Festivus
rant is everybody's rant.

My son tells me
your company stinks!

Oh, God.

The airing of grievances,
to me, it actually is what the

holidays are all about.
I find it incredibly cathartic.

Let's rumble!

And so Festivus
for the rest of us, let's go.

It's a Festivus miracle!

[music]

[music]

Everybody's so happy about--
Don't you know it's Christmas?

[Rick] There's something about
the sacrifice of service,

I think, that really hits the
hardest around Christmas time.

Christmas is a hard holiday to
be away from your loved ones.

M A S H
in its conceit was

comedy amidst tragedy.

Come on, we've got trouble.
Somebody's been hit by a sniper.

[David] When M A S H
did a Christmas episode,

it didn't pander to the holiday.

Sorry to ruin
your holiday, folks.

Forget ours.
His is shot to hell.

You realize, oh, the violence,
the war never ends.

-Set up two units of plasma.
-What for? It's a waste of time.

-Doctor, if there's no point?
-If we can delay it long enough,

his kids won't have to
think of Christmas as the

day their daddy died.

[Ken] That episode, it showed me
as a writer that comedy

could stop being funny and
be very impactful and moving.

It's over. Let him-let him rest.

This young man dies,
and Hawkeye changes the clock,

so that it's after 12:00.

Look, he made it.

Time of death, 12:05,
December 26th.

[Ken] You got your hopes up that
he had lived,

but there was no
Christmas miracle on that day.

Gloria said she'll be over
in a few minutes.

-I'll take them. Thank you.
-Hi, Mike.

All in the Familydid politics
probably better

than any other show
from that era.

It allowed for both drama
and pathos, but also humor.

Why don't you stay and have
Christmas Eve dinner with us?

There's a knock on the door, and
it's a friend of Michael's.

He's living in Canada because
he's a Vietnam draft dodger.

Aren't you taking a big chance
coming down to the States?

Yeah, but uh, it's Christmas,
you know?

So Christmas sets the tone
for all of this.

On holidays, Pinky sometimes,
he gets feeling a little low,

you know?

And Archie has invited another
guest, his friend, Pinky.

So if he starts talking about
Steve, get him off the subject.

Make a joke about something.
Who's Steve?

Well, Steve is the only son. He
got knocked off over in Vietnam.

So you have the gold star father
and the draft dodger

at the same table.

The next question is,
what the hell you got in Canada,

you ain't got here?

So here they are
dealing with the argument

of the moment around the
Vietnam War at Christmas time.

-I'm not a deserter.
-Well, I didn't think you was.

I was just trying
to figure out--

-I'm a draft dodger.
-And you know, fireworks.

-So maybe I should go, huh?
-Are you nuts?

-Oh no, David!
-Don't let him go!

Certainly, he's gotta go!
What are you talking about?

The laughs stopped, you know? It
got really tense.

You were at that dinner table.

If my opinion is
of any importance-

Certainly, your opinion
is of importance!

A gold star father!

[Rick] It made a strong
statement about war

when television wasn't
really taking

political stands like that.

My kid hated the war, too.

But he did what
he thought he had to do.

And David here did what
he thought he had to do.

But David's alive to share
Christmas dinner with us.

And if Steve were here,
he'd wanna sit down with him.

And that's what I wanna do.

[clapping]

[Tim] What he's saying
is Christmas is truce.

Christmas is a moment when
even those who don't agree

with each other put it aside.

Merry Christmas, David.

Christmas just was the
most loaded day of the year

to set that episode because

you just have to forgive people
on that day.

Good morning, Mr. President!

[Rick] Aaron Sorkin and
I wrote the Christmas episode

In Excelsis Deofor the
first season of The West Wing.

-Yeah?
-I'm Toby Zigler.

[Rick] On the site of
the Korean War memorial,

we tied the death of a homeless
guy to a character, Toby Zigler.

That tattoo on his forearm is
Marine Battalion 2nd and 7th.

This guy was in Korea.

Somebody once told me
that the most important story

you'll ever write is your own.

My father was a Korean War vet,
and when he passed away,

he was living in a flophouse.
He was mostly homeless.

Merry Christmas.

I became aware after my father's
death and burial

that I could've had
him buried in Arlington.

And it always sort of
stuck with me.

[Jacqueline] Toby's sort of
shook by this man's death,

so he used the power
of his office to arrange

a military funeral for him.
Of course, the White House

at Christmas is a huge thing,
and we get to know the character

Mrs. Landingham, a no-nonsense
secretary to the president.

You seem a little
down this week.

Yeah, I know, Charlie.

I tend to get a little down
during the holidays.

She confesses that she
lost her twin boys in Vietnam.

So they joined up as medics,
and four months later,

they were pinned down during
a fight in Da Nang and

were killed by enemy fire.

That was Christmas Eve, 1970.

She says it
almost like a memory,

but not an emotion.

With the noises
and the shooting,

they had to be so scared.

There's a grief of what you
don't have that everyone else

has at Christmas, whether
it be a loved one or a partner.

Or a place to go where you
feel wanted.

AndWest Wing
echos that disparity.

Did you use his name to
arrange a military funeral?

[Ken] Toby went out
on a limb with his job,

but he can't help himself.
He has to do the right thing.

You shouldn't have
done that, Toby.

-I know.
-[John] That episode

of the holiday West Wing
went a little bit deeper.

It honored service and sacrifice
in a particular way.

I'd like to come along.

[Rick] There's a fraternity
among people who've lost

loved ones in war.

You have something in common
with everyone else who's ever

made that sacrifice.
My father did make a sacrifice.

And it affected the
rest of his life.

Cutting the footage
of the children singing

with the funeral was just,

I'm like, trying not to get
like, teary eyed about it, but--

[music]

Christmas is a vehicle
to try kind of toughened

and daring things, and put
together things that would

normally be in any other
circumstances, impossible.

[gun shots]
[choir singing]

The spirit of the season
demands it.

[music]

[Tom] I think all Christmas
movies are about redemption.

Perhaps from your own choices
or from cruel fate.

It's the one time of year where
we can be forgiven

for being unabashedly
sincere and sentimental.

And even a movie that is aware
of that and winks at that,

you can engage it on some level.

Santa?

[Tim] Unity, family,
togetherness, generosity,

these ideas don't get old.

-Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas.

[Tim] Watch a good Christmas
show, and it doesn't matter

when it was made.

And that's what makes the best
of these Christmas shows not

only accessible across cultures,
but across generations.

My favorite Christmas movie
is Love Actually.

-Miracle on 34th Street.

-It's a Wonderful Life

I love watching
It's a Wonderful Life.

A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Christmas Vacation.

Home Aloneis by far
my favorite Christmas movie.

This is really cliché...

Whoa.
I mean it's boring but...

-It's a Winderful Life.

Of course.

The Alastair Sim
-A Christmas Carol.

-Charlie Brown Christmas.

-Elf.

-The Family Stone.

-Love Actually.

-The Apartment.

It's probably
-Home Alone.

-Miracle on
34th Street.

And I still like to
believe in Santa Claus.

[music]