With the holiday season coming to a close, many have been watching holiday movies, which means we got to bring out some of the classics! Popular movies such as Elf, The Polar Express, Home Alone, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas returned, along with some other movies that have sparked many debates over whether they really are Christmas movies, or something else. The movies like these that we will be talking about today are Die Hard and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
You may have watched these movies before, perhaps during the Christmas season, or at some other time. Debates over whether these movies are Christmas movies have been happening for years, so let’s find out what the Lynx think!
Our first movie we asked about was Die Hard, a movie starring Bruce Willis as Detective John McClane. In this movie, McClane is visiting his wife to go to a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza, when a group of criminals break in, trying to steal the millions in bearer bonds that are held there. While asking around for opinions, here is what we heard;
“It’s not a Christmas movie because there is a lot of fighting, and it’s not very Christmas like. It doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit,” says Chi Tran (‘27)
This seems to be a very common sentiment, with many others echoing the same thought. However, some people disagree with this, saying that the overall message and setting of the movie can definitely make it a Christmas movie.
Charlotte Haque (‘26) says, “I think it can be a Christmas movie because it takes place during Christmas, during a Christmas party, and they have an ending that feels a lot like a ‘Christmas Miracle’ kind of situation.”
The next movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. This movie, directed by Tim Burton, features Jack Skellington from Halloween town, in his mission to take over Christmas, after discovering Christmas Town. In the movie, he learns the true meaning of the season, and why it’s important.
While asking around, there were a lot of different opinions when asked if it was a Christmas movie or not. Allyson Tang (‘27), said “No, because it starts off as a Halloween movie, and the majority of it is based on Halloween. You wouldn’t watch it on Christmas.” She, along with many others, thought that the movie was mostly about Halloween, with Halloween themes and characters, so while there were Christmas themes as well, it really was mostly Halloween.
On the other hand, there were people who argued that it is a Christmas movie, noting the themes in the movie are some you could associate with the Holidays, such as ‘finding your true self’ or ‘the power of friendship. Many people pointed out that the general Christmas themes, as well as the setting and the music that have a lot of Christmas elements. There is a whole land dedicated to Christmas, and Jack is trying to capture the spirit of Christmas and learn lessons about what Christmas truly means, making it feel like the spirit of Christmas we know presently.
Overall, these two movies are good to watch regardless of season, and they each have different things that make them unique. Both of these movies are great, so check them out if you have never seen them, and you can come up with your own opinion.