Scr
ooges
crooges
Santa Stories
Films about Santa Claus, imagination, and the power
of believing
Elf
Will Ferrell, James Caan, Edward Asner, Zooey
Deschanel. 2003.
Buddy leaves the North Pole to find his real family after
learning he isn’t an elf.
DVD / ELF
Miracle on 34th Street
Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara, John
Payne. 1947.
Is the Macy’s Santa the real Santa?
DVD / MIR
Christmas Oddities
Uncategorizable Christmas movies
Polar Express
A Christmas Past: Vintage Holiday Film,
1901-25
This collection includes digitally remastered silent
movies directed by D.W. Griffith, Edwin S. Porter, G.W.
Blitzer, and others.
DVD / CHR
Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special
On Christmas Eve, the ghosts of Christmas past, present,
and future visit a despicable miser. He is totally changed
by the experience and becomes cheerful and
benevolent. These films are based on the holiday
classic, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
A Christmas Carol
George C. Scott. 1984.
DVD / CHR
A Christmas Carol
Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn,
Bob Hoskins. 2010.
DVD / CHR
Paul Reubens. 1988.
A Christmas episode featuring celebrity guests, including
Laurence Fishburne, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello,
Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Little Richard, Joan
Rivers, and Oprah Winfrey.
TV Series DVD / PEE
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris. 2011.
After years apart, Harold and Kumar are reunited in a
search for the perfect Christmas tree.
DVD / VER
Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, Elmo, the Grinch,
Mickey, and other Christmas stories can be found in
Children’s Services on the ground floor.
Santa Baby
Jenny McCarthy, George Wendt. 2006.
Santa’s daughter is a successful CEO who returns
home when her father falls ill and she begins to
implement her own ideas for running Christmas.
DVD / SAN
The Santa Clause
Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold. 1994.
After he accidentally kills Santa, Scott grudgingly takes
over for him.
DVD / SAN
Santa Clause 2
Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold. 2002.
Santa needs a Mrs. Claus or he loses the gig. Also, his
son makes the naughty list.
DVD / SAN
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Claus
Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold,
Wendy Crewson. 2006.
In-laws and ex-wives
visit the North Pole,
while Jack Frost tries to
steal Christmas.
DVD / SAN
Scrooge
Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns,
Hermione Baddeley. 1951.
DVD / SCR
Scrooged
Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover,
Bobcat Goldthwait. 1988.
DVD / SCR
A Christmas Film Collection at
The Urbana Free Library
Tom Hanks, Leslie Harter. 2004.
Was it a train or a dream? This movie is about believing
in the unseen.
DVD / POL
Adult Services
210 West Green Street • Urbana, Illinois 61801
217-367-4405 • urbanafreelibrary.org
11 / 12
‘Tis the Season
Films about family, friends, and the holidays
Blossoms in the Dust
Greer Garson, Walter Pigeon. 1941.
Edna Gladney founds the Texas Children’s Home and
Aid Society and advocates for abandoned and homeless
children.
DVD / BLO
A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Denholm Elliott, Mathonwy Reeves. 2005.
A grandfather shares Christmas stories and memories with
his grandson.
DVD / CHI
Christmas Cottage
Jared Padalecki, Marcia Gay Harden. 2008
Home from college for Christmas break, Thomas
Kinkade discovers that his mother is on the verge of
losing the family home. Inspired, he paints a mural of
his hometown.
DVD / CHR
A Christmas Memory
Patty Duke, Piper Laurie.
1997.
A boy is abandoned by his
parents to live in the south
with older women cousins.
Based on the Truman
Capote story.
DVD / CHR
A Christmas Story
Melinda Dillon, Darren
McGavin. 1983.
Ralphie wants an air rifle, but
everyone he asks tells him,
“you’ll shoot your eye out,
kid!”
DVD / CHR
Christmas
with the Kranks
Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis.
2004.
Skipping Christmas sounds
good to the Kranks, until their
daughter announces a
surprise visit with her new
fiancé.
DVD / CHR
Christmas Crime
A Colbert Christmas the Greatest Gift of All
Joyeux Noel
Stephen Colbert, Toby Keith, Jon Stewart. 2008.
Join the host of The Colbert Report as he celebrates the
holidays in his own unique style.
DVD / COL
Diane Kruger, Benno Ferman. 2006.
Based on a true story, three armies forge a miraculous
Christmas Eve truce in the bloody trenches of World War I.
DVD / JOY
Un Conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale)
Love Actually
Catherine Denevue. 2008.
Three young members of the Vuillard family plan a Christmastime reunion to bring peace to their damaged clan.
International Language DVD / CON
Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson. 2003.
Various, connected stories of romantic love that occur
around Christmastime.
DVD / LOV
The Family Stone
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson.
2005.
A son’s fiancé is rejected for being too stuck up by his family
of misfits.
DVD / FAM
Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo. 1989.
The Griswolds have 25,000 lights on the rooftop, an
exploding turkey on the table, and a dozen or so guests for
Christmas.
DVD / NAT
Fred Claus
Nothing Like the Holidays
Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti. 2007.
Santa bails his brother out of jail on the condition
that he work off his debt at the North Pole.
DVD / FRE
Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Peña, John Leguizamo. 2008
Could this be the last time that the Rodriguez family
gathers together for Christmas?
DVD / NOT
Holiday Affair
Shrek the Halls
Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh. 1949.
A mom is drawn to a stranger she unintentionally caused
to be fired, which upsets her suitor, but delights her son.
DVD / HOL
Holiday Inn
Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire. 1942.
Irving Berlin’s dancing musical story of old friends
competing for the attention of a woman at an inn that is
only open for the holidays.
DVD / HOL
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
Don DeForce, Ann Harding. 1947.
This Oscar-nominated film is about a hobo and his friends
who take up residence in a mansion while it’s owners are
on vacation.
DVD / IT
It’s a Wonderful Life
James Stewart,
Donna Reed. 1947.
Each person’s life touches
the lives of many others
such that when they are not
around it may leave an
awful hole.
DVD / ITS
Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy. 2007.
Shrek searches for the perfect gifts for Fiona and their
children.
DVD / SHR
The Perfect Holiday
Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union. 2007.
Three kids each want something different of the relationship
between their divorced parents. Will they get back
together?
DVD / PER
White Christmas
Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye. 1954.
A song-and-dance duo team up with a sister act to save
the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding
general.
DVD / WHI
Films about Christmas criminals and monsters
Bad Santa
Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac. 2003.
A group of thieves gets jobs at a mall as Santa and his elves
in order to rob the place after hours.
DVD / BAD
Gremlins
Zach Galligan, Judge Reinhold. 1984.
Mogwai make bad gifts for people who can’t follow
directions.
DVD / GRE
Home Alone
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci. 1990.
Kevin is forgotten at home when the family goes on vacation
and sets out to protect the house against burglars.
DVD / HOM
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor. 2000.
The live action movie version of the popular tale by Dr.
Seuss.
DVD / HOW
March of the Wooden Soldiers
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy. Music by Victor Herbert.
1934.
It’s Babes in Toyland, with Laurel and Hardy starring as
toy makers who try to prevent the evil Barnaby from
marrying Little Bo Peep.
DVD / MAR
The Nightmare before Christmas
1993.
Jack Skellington’s attempt to bring Christmas to
Halloweentown fails.
DVD / NIG
The Nutcracker
Merle Park, Rudolf Nureyev, artists of The Royal Ballet,
London. 1968.
A young girl dreams that her toy solder transforms into a
handsome prince who battles a wicked Mouse King. This
fairy tale ballet is a Christmas classic.
Music Performance DVCL / TCH
The Ref
Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey. 1994.
A burglar turns family counselor in his attempt to elude
capture.
(more on back)
DVD / REF