Christmas films for the not so jolly this holiday season
By Jodi Shaw
Issue date: 11/30/06 Section: Film & Music
1.Gremlins
What is a gremlin? Well, it is a furry, little creature that has the most unusual, high pitched voice and it cannot be exposed to light or fed after midnight otherwise...bad things happen. Gremlins is a fairly older movie but is still a classic around Halloween and the holiday season. The movie begins with a father bringing home a Gremlin for his teenage son after buying it from a little Chinese boy. The family first thinks this little creature is cute and friendly and they give him the name Gizmo. The father warns the son about not feeding Gizmo after midnight, putting him in bright light or spilling water on him but, we all know that one of these has to happen. After some water is accidentally split on Gizmo, little fluff balls pounce off of him and grow until many other Gremlins have emerged. However, more cute creatures may seem like a good thing but, unfortunately, the new Gremlins are destructive and later, not so furry. They continue to multiply through out the movie, destroying the little town they are in and attacking its citizens. The destruction is lead by Stripe, the worst Gremlin of all who can be identified by the bright, white strip of hair he has on his head. Sadly, for those pessimistic holiday people, this movie does have a happy ending and Christmas is not ruined.
2.The Nightmare Before Christmas
Whether you like the holidays or not, you'll love this movie by Tim Burton, if you haven't seen it already. The Nightmare Before Christmas can be seen as a rivalry film between Halloween and Christmas as main character Jack Skellington, a skeleton from Halloweentown feels that he is missing something from his life. Jack takes a walk through the trees, which all have doors on them and finds the Christmas door, of which he is vastly attracted to. Jack enters through the colourful door into the world of Christmastown to discover all the lights and colour and goes back to Halloweentown with his new discoveries. He then decides that he will become " Sandy Claws" by kidnapping the true Santa Claus in order to take over Christmastown. Sally, a sadly sewn together rag doll, who is in love with Jack, foresees his plans failing and her predictions become reality when Jack mistakenly captures the Easter Bunny instead of Santa Claus and Sally is captured by Oogie Boogie. Jack essentially causes the worlds of Halloweentown and Christmastown to clash together, mixing two worlds which should really not be mixed. Of course, by the end, Jack restores Christmas and saves Santa Claus and the people of Halloweentown finally understand the meaning of Christmas.
What is a gremlin? Well, it is a furry, little creature that has the most unusual, high pitched voice and it cannot be exposed to light or fed after midnight otherwise...bad things happen. Gremlins is a fairly older movie but is still a classic around Halloween and the holiday season. The movie begins with a father bringing home a Gremlin for his teenage son after buying it from a little Chinese boy. The family first thinks this little creature is cute and friendly and they give him the name Gizmo. The father warns the son about not feeding Gizmo after midnight, putting him in bright light or spilling water on him but, we all know that one of these has to happen. After some water is accidentally split on Gizmo, little fluff balls pounce off of him and grow until many other Gremlins have emerged. However, more cute creatures may seem like a good thing but, unfortunately, the new Gremlins are destructive and later, not so furry. They continue to multiply through out the movie, destroying the little town they are in and attacking its citizens. The destruction is lead by Stripe, the worst Gremlin of all who can be identified by the bright, white strip of hair he has on his head. Sadly, for those pessimistic holiday people, this movie does have a happy ending and Christmas is not ruined.
2.The Nightmare Before Christmas
Whether you like the holidays or not, you'll love this movie by Tim Burton, if you haven't seen it already. The Nightmare Before Christmas can be seen as a rivalry film between Halloween and Christmas as main character Jack Skellington, a skeleton from Halloweentown feels that he is missing something from his life. Jack takes a walk through the trees, which all have doors on them and finds the Christmas door, of which he is vastly attracted to. Jack enters through the colourful door into the world of Christmastown to discover all the lights and colour and goes back to Halloweentown with his new discoveries. He then decides that he will become " Sandy Claws" by kidnapping the true Santa Claus in order to take over Christmastown. Sally, a sadly sewn together rag doll, who is in love with Jack, foresees his plans failing and her predictions become reality when Jack mistakenly captures the Easter Bunny instead of Santa Claus and Sally is captured by Oogie Boogie. Jack essentially causes the worlds of Halloweentown and Christmastown to clash together, mixing two worlds which should really not be mixed. Of course, by the end, Jack restores Christmas and saves Santa Claus and the people of Halloweentown finally understand the meaning of Christmas.
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