Dann Gire’s Take on Santa Movies
Posted on December 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm
My friend Dann Gire writes about Santa Claus movies, from the naughty to the nice.
Traditional Christmas movies showcase St. Nicholas as a generically sweet, generous fellow with a belly filled with jelly and the gentle disposition of a giant stuffed panda.
Popular Santa Claus movies such as “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Santa Claus — The Movie” perpetuate the pop-culture image of a highly industrious bearded saint who dispenses Christmas spirit, delivers toys on time and treats his reindeer like family pets.
But then, there are those other Santa movies. You know the ones, featuring alternate, even subversive views of the beloved holiday icon.
Some are naughty — ranging from mildly frightening to downright homicidal. And some are nice — ranging from paternalistically caring to sweetly ineffectual.
My favorite movie Santa is still Edmund Gwenn in “Miracle on 34th Street.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDC5H2MdtEw
One of the best animated movies in the last decade is this story of a Viking boy who learns that dragons are not as scary as the people in his village believe. The variety of dragon species is endlessly entertaining in this smart, exciting, and heartwarming film. I’ve seen clips from the upcoming sequel and it looks just as awesome.
Peter MacNichol plays a young apprentice to a wizard who is sent to kill the dragon that has been devouring girls from a nearby community. The setting is at the end of the era of fantasy, as Christianity takes hold.
a dragon who would rather write poetry than fight.
Eddie Murphy provides the voice for a small dragon named Mushu in this classic Disney story based on the legend of a girl who disguised herself as a male soldier to save her people.
In this delightfully skewed fairy tale, not only is the ogre the hero, but the dragon falls in love.
When the evil fairy has to fight the gallant prince, to keep him from waking the princess, she transforms herself into a fire-breathing dragon and they have an epic battle.
Hayao Miyazaki’s story about a girl who finds an enchanted land where she meets a dragon and recognizes that he is really a boy who has been transformed.
Sean Connery provides the voice of the last dragon, who must work with a knight (Dennis Quaid) to defeat an evil king.
Louisa May Alcott’s classic story inspired by her own sisters has been filmed three times and all are great. Katharine Hepburn, June Allyson, and Winona Ryder have all played Jo, the tomboyish would-be writer.
Jane Austen was very close to her sister and wrote wonderful stories about loving and devoted sisters. While the three youngest Bennet daughters are foolish and selfish, Elizabeth and her older sister Jane are everything sisters should be. (Same with Marianne and Elinor in Austen’s 
). 
How could Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye resist the charms of the talented sisters played by Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney? 
Three Oscar-winners, Diane Keaton, Sissy Spacek, and Jessica Lange, play sisters who drive each other crazy and make each other jealous but love and support each other in this gothic melodrama by Beth Henley. 
This massive epic, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and an electrifying James Dean in his last role — poignantly at the end playing the old man he never got to be in real life. It has cattle, it has oil, it has class and race and gender issues, and the unforgettable sight of the Riatta mansion surrounded by a flat, barren landscape.
Richard Linklater’s films set in his home state include “Slacker” and “Bernie.” The most beloved of his Texas films is this story of one wild day and night when school lets out for the summer that featured a killer soundtrack of 70’s classics and early screen appearances from future stars including Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich and fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey.
This classic stars John Wayne as Texas rancher Tom Dunson, who adopts a young boy orphaned in an Indian massacre. That boy grows up to be Montgomery Clift in his first film role, already more than able to stand up to a superstar who appeared to be twice his size. Howard Hawks directs this toughest of westerns, with Joanne Dru as a woman who can take an arrow in the shoulder and keep on fighting.
Courage and honor triumph even when the battle is lost in this story of the legendary defense of a crumbling adobe mission by 185 exceptional men against an army of 7,000. Richard Widmark and John Wayne star as Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
Before “E.T.” and “Schindler’s List” and Indiana Jones and “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s feature film debut was this fact-based drama. Goldie Hawn and William Atherton star as a young couple who get in trouble with the law when they try to get their son back from foster care. 
, with a visit to the pumpkin farm, some ideas for Halloween party games and for making Halloween decorations at home, and some safety tips for trick-or-treating at night. They will also get a kick out of Richard Scarry’s The First Halloween Ever, which is Scarry, but not at all scary! 
has the beloved little monkey investigating the Legend of “No Noggin.”
is about witches who find it very funny when they turn their sister into a jack o’lantern. And speaking of jack o’lanterns, 
is sort of the Rudolph of pumpkins. The round pumpkins make fun of him for being different until a big storm comes and his unusual shape turns out to have some benefits.
and the silly fun of 
Try 
movie and series, about a young witch in training who keeps getting everything wrong. Kids will also enjoy 
, an animated version of a story by science fiction author Ray Bradbury about four kids who are trying to save the life of their friend. Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock on the original “Star Trek”) provides the voice of the mysterious resident of a haunted house, who explains the origins of Halloween and challenges them to think about how they can help their sick friend. The loyalty and courage of the kids is very touching.
, based on the popular book by Roald Dahl and 
, with children battling three witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. And of course there is the deliciously ghoulish double feature 
based on the cartoons by Charles Addams. 
has gorgeous music from Danny Elfman and stunningly imaginative visuals from Tim Burton in a story about a Halloween character who wonders what it would be like to be part of a happy holiday like Christmas. And don’t forget some old classics like 
(a classic of horror/comedy) and the omnibus ghost story films “Dead of Night” and “The House that Dripped Blood.”