Fun Facts About Your Favorite Christmas Movies

Whether or not you believe Die Hard is a Christmas movie, who doesn’t love a great Christmas movie? Here are some fun facts about some of our favorite Christmas movies to start conversations and entertain your friends at your upcoming office and family parties and get-togethers.

It’s a Wonderful Life

An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

Director: Frank Capra

Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell

Few know that It’s a Wonderful Life began with a Christmas card. When Author Philip Van Doren Stern was trying unsuccessfully to sell his short story “The Greatest Gift”, he printed copies and mailed them as a 21-page long Christmas card. After being received by RKO Pictures, Producer David Hempstead purchased the rights for ten thousand dollars.

Eventually, RKO sold the movie rights to Frank Capra, who quickly recruited Jimmy Stewart to play George Bailey. And although Donna Reed had played many movie roles, this was her first starring role.

Photo Source: Paramount Pictures

Speaking of Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore (a.k.a. Mr. Potter) didn’t believe she could milk a cow, so she bet him $50 she could. Being from Dennison, Iowa, Reed won that bet.

After production, It’s a Wonderful Life was not an immediate hit with audiences. But, the copyright expired in 1974 and It’s a Wonderful Life found widespread popularity on television.

While definitely a Christmas favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life was filmed in the summertime, during a heat wave. This explains why Stewart is clearly sweating in some scenes of the film. Filming was shut down one day due to the hot temperatures.

Though It’s a Wonderful Life is a staple of many family holiday movie marathons, many of the actors hadn’t even seen it. Donna Reed’s daughter, Owen, didn’t see the film until she was thirty years old, and Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu) didn’t watch it until 1980.

Director Frank Capra and stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed have all cited It’s a Wonderful Life as their favorite movie. Capra took that praise even one step further, writing, “I thought it was the greatest film I ever made. Better yet, I thought it was the greatest film anybody ever made” in his autobiography, The Name Above the Title.

Muppet Christmas Carol

In this Christmas movie, the Muppet characters tell their own version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve.

Director: Brian Henson

Stars: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson

This was the first Muppet movie made after the passing of Jim Henson, which is why it was directed by Henson’s son, Brian.

Michael Caine accepted the starring role of Scrooge so his daughter could see him in a movie. She was seven at the time and was too young to see his other work. He later said he considers the Muppet Christmas Carol one of his favorite movies.

Originally, the three ghosts that visit Scrooge were to have been played by Miss Piggy, Scooter, and Gonzo. But the writers wanted to use the star Muppets in much broader roles in the movie than just the ghosts. While Miss Piggy plays Cratchet’s wife, and Gonzo narrates, ironically Scooter has no role in the movie at all. This is also the first Muppet movie where Kermit the Frog doesn’t play the lead role.

While still reasonably successful in box office sales, the Muppet Christmas Carol was competing with the release of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Jingle All the Way

A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. However, every store is sold out of them, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one.

Director: Brian Levant

Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman

Of course, the inspiration for this cornball caper is the intense demand and occasional violence over that “one” hot Christmas gift (like the Cabbage Patch Doll craze in the 80s.) But the release of the film coincidently paralleled the craze for Tickle Me Elmo dolls, and a Canadian store clerk was trampled when he was spotted with a case of the dolls, like a scene in the movie.

A small number of Turbo Man action figures were actually made and sold in Wal-Mart chains to promote the film. Made by Tiger Electronics, the toys had a very limited production and are now a rare collector piece.

Producer Chris Columbus originally wanted Joe Pesci to play Myron, but at 6’2”, Schwarzenegger would have towered over Pesci, who is only 5’3. So Sinbad was chosen instead.

A Christmas Story

In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

Director: Bob Clark

Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz

A Christmas Story was released to fewer than 900 theatres the week before Thanksgiving in 1983. Surprisingly the film made almost two million dollars that weekend and more over Thanksgiving. But distribution was limited because MGM had not projected that success and had not distributed the movie to more theaters. However, fandom for A Christmas Story quickly grew through videotape and cable. Now, TBS has an annual A Christmas Story marathon that has 40 million viewers watching. A Christmas Story is one of the most popular holiday movies of all time.

Despite the starring role as Ralphie, Peter Billingsley only has about ninety-three lines of dialogue. Of those, Ralphie says he wants the “Red Ryder BB Gun” 28 times. Billingsley was a regular in the variety show Real People prior to his role in A Christmas Story. He is now a producer, often working closely with Vince Vaugh and John Favreau. His movies have included The Break Up and Iron Man.

The Ovaltine Little Orphan Annie radio decoder ring that Ralphie receives is the 1940 “Speedomatic” model. By 1941, the decoders were made of paper.

The narrative style and coming-of-age theme of A Christmas Story is said to have inspired The Wonder Years television show. In the final two episodes, Peter Billingsley even appears as one of Kevin’s roommates.

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!

Christmas Vacation

The Griswold family’s plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik

Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki

Christmas Vacation was one of only two Christmas-related movies that were released in 1989. The other was John Hancock’s Prancer. Johnny Galecki (a.k.a. Rusty Griswold) starred in both.

When Clark is trapped in the attic and watching a box of old home movies, one is labeled “Christmas ’59,” paying homage to the short story, Christmas ’59, which was the inspiration for the film. Clark’s home may look familiar in those old movies because it was the set of Bewitched as well as The New Gidget.

And if you look close at the home of neighbors Todd and Margo, it’s where Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and his family lived in Lethal Weapon.

Johnny Galecki, who plays Rusty, is one of three actors that have played Rusty, including Anthony Michael Hall and Jason Lively. Juliette Lewis is one of three Audreys, including Dana Barron and Dana Hill.  Christmas Vacation is the only movie in the Vacation series in which Audrey is seemingly older than Rusty.

Most of the Christmas-tree-hunting scenes were shot in the Breckenridge, Colorado, area. The famous hill where Clark and the kids go sledding is a ski slope in that area also.

When Clark gives Mr. Shirley a Christmas gift, all the other presents on the office desk are the same, although wrapped differently.

Near the end of the movie, when the SWAT team crashes in and yells “Freeze!” Beverly D’Angelo totally improvised by grabbing Chevy Chase’s crotch to see if anyone would notice. She did the same through several re-takes of the same scene, and none of the production crew noticed until after the movie was released.

Later in the movie, Ellen Griswold apologizes to Mrs. Shirley, noting that, “This is our family’s first kidnapping.” That was not true. In the movie Vacation the family had forced the Wally World security guard to open the park for them and accompany them as they toured around Wally World.

Christmas Vacation was the last film of Mae Questel (Aunt Bethany), who was the voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl.

The Santa Clause

When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Director: John Pasquin

Stars: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd

This movie was extremely popular when it was released, and its popularity has not waned. In fact, in one week in November 1994, Tim Allen had the #1 movie at the box office (Santa Clause), the #1 rated television show (Home Improvement (1991)), and the #1 New York Times best-selling book (Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man).

Throughout the movie, elves can be spotted in nearly every scene. At one point, Scott is walking down a sidewalk and there is an elf girl behind them walking in a different direction. In another scene the same elf girl is standing behind the soccer bench while the children line up to sit on Santa’s lap.

When Scott (Santa) first gets to the North Pole toy shop, he puts on a tool belt the same way Tim Allen did in his Home Improvement TV show.

While finishing up on Christmas Day, when Santa is flying over downtown Chicago, the sun is over the west horizon.

When Scott (Santa) and Charlie are flying in the sleigh, the moon has a distinct Mickey Mouse logo on it.

When the officers are discussing the plan to capture Santa Claus, the chalkboard in the corner says donut shop with patrol car parking underneath.

Elf

After discovering he is a human, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole decides to travel to New York City to find his real father.

Director: Jon Favreau

Stars: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel

Because of all of the candy-based eating scenes, Will Ferrell suffered from headaches throughout filming. Even the cotton balls Buddy eats at the doctor office were actually undyed cotton candy. Ferrell vomited the first time they filmed the scene when Buddy eats spaghetti with candy toppings.

Most of the scenes when Buddy first arrived in New York City were filmed on the last day of shooting. Director Jon Favreau, Will Ferrell (dressed as Buddy), and a camera man were just driving around, and would jump out and ask pedestrians if they would be willing to be extras for some quick cash.

Santa’s Workshop and the elf uniforms were actually designed from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Most of the animals in the North Pole look like the stop-motion animation used in Rudolph, and the elf uniforms completely match those in the television special.

When Michael is reading Santa’s “Nice” list near the end of the movie, all the people named on Santa’s list worked on the movie.

The Christmas tree that’s far too big for the living room is a nod to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), where Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) chooses the perfect Christmas tree that is too big for his living room.

Peter Billingsley (Head Elf) also starred in another Christmas classic: A Christmas Story. Billingsley, Jon Favreau and Mary Steenburgen also all appear in Four Christmases (2008).

Home Alone

An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.

Director: Chris Columbus

Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard

A perennial favorite, this film holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Highest Box-Office Gross – Comedy.” Home Alone was the highest-grossing domestic movie of 1990 (Ghost was the worldwide highest-grossing movie that year.)

Chris Columbus was originally hired by John Hughes to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. However, Columbus and Chevy Chase did not work well together, so Columbus asked Hughes about other projects, and Home Alone was offered. Its success allowed Columbus to do more successful movies, including Mrs. Doubtfire and the first two Harry Potter films.

Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern had lukewarm feelings about the success of the movie, so they intentionally gave over-the-top performances. Their antics became a major factor in the massive success of the movie.

Macaulay Culkin actually drew the map that his character Kevin uses to set up the traps. Kevin’s mom, Kate, is a fashion designer, which explains why there are mannequins in the basement and the two sewing machines used in the traps.

The McCallister kids are all different ages in the movie, but the actors who play Buzz, Megan, Jeff, and Linnie are all the same age. Culkin is clearly the youngest, though, and was born in 1980.

The movie Kevin watches was not a real film but was specifically created for Home Alone. Called Angels with Filthy Souls, it was inspired by the James Cagney movie Angels with Dirty Faces.

To inspire a Christmas theme for the movie, the colors red and green appear quite conspicuously in almost every scene. This includes wallpaper, clothing, food containers, and furniture.

It is often speculated that Mr. Marley’s hand wound symbolizes his difficult relationship with his own son. In his first scene, when he and his son are not speaking, his hand is heavily wrapped in gauze. In the next scene he confides in Kevin the falling out they had, and he’s wearing only a bandage. While hugging his granddaughter in the last scene, his hand is completely healed.

Happy Holidays From Neil Huffman At Oxmoor

We hope you enjoyed these fun factoids about some of our favorite Christmas movies. Happy Holidays from Neil Huffman Acura at Oxmoor!

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