Holiday Movies for Kids 

By Martha Brockenbrough
MSN Cinemama

Get showtimes, tickets, interviews and more at MSN Movies

Kids! They have no idea how good they've got it! Bah humbug! Why, back in my day, networks broadcast their holiday specials once. If you missed "Rudolph," Bucky, you had a year's wait ahead before you could make fun of his red nose again.

To avoid this fate, my brothers and sisters and I developed a special system for informing each other when one of these shows was on.

We'd stand in the basement stairwell and yell "SPECIAL!" at the top of our lungs. The acoustics were good and that generally did the trick, though I still look back with bitterness at the 1978 season, when I decided to "rest my eyes" before the start of the "Peanuts" special. I missed the delightful "A Charlie Brown Christmas" entirely.

Now that you can watch what you want when you want it, it's important having someone help you identify what's "special," lest you waste your holidays in the company of Jim Carrey's "Grinch."

So here's the Cinemama's list of hits and misses:

Not So Special: "Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy"

Not everything marketed as holiday programming for kids is any good. Though I missed it when it first came on TV in 1986, and am therefore immune to the taste-blunting effects of nostalgia, "Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy" is one of the new DVDs I can't recommend except to really die-hard Henson fans.

It's out this year on DVD for the first time, featuring an assortment of Muppet-like characters on Christmas Eve. The main character, a tiger named Rugby, is worried about the new toys that'll be coming into the playroom. Will his girl have enough love for them all? He sets out on an adventure and, well, let's just say he lets a really weird toy out of the box.

The message (that love isn't a finite quantity) is a fine one for kids. Absent a really good story, though, this is a message better delivered via e-mail.

Special: "Shrek the Halls"

A distinctly more modern choice is "Shrek the Halls," first broadcast last year, and now out on DVD. Grumpy Shrek doesn't know quite how to plan a memorable Christmas with Fiona and kids. What feeble plans he has for a family celebration, Donkey and the rest of the fairy-tale creatures ruin.

As usual, some of the funniest touches are in the visual details. Shrek and his kids make candy canes out of snakes, and they hang diapers instead of stockings by the fireplace. Antonio Banderas is once again hilarious as Puss in Boots, this time consenting to become a plaything for the triplets.

The various personalities want to tell their version of "The Night Before Christmas." While it's a little formulaic, it's also the sort of thing parents and kids can watch together without wanting to barf into their eggnog. In any case, the video itself is short (just 22 minutes and a few additional featured songs), making the $19.99 suggested retail price feel a bit steep. You can probably find a better price, though, and have a holiday movie in your collection that will amuse kids for years to come.

Special: Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

While this could just as easily be a Halloween movie, it's almost more entertaining to watch around Christmas. This modern, stop-motion animation classic tells the story of one Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who discovers the secret door to Christmas Town.

He decides he'd like to play the role of Santa Claus, and he does, to dark and comic effect. Disney just released a two-disc collector's edition that even kids will appreciate (it has a 3-D Jack right in the cover). It's probably best viewed by kids 8 and up; younger kids might have nightmares of their own if they see what happens to Santa.

It retails for $32.99, or $39.99 in Blu-ray.

Special: "The Muppet Christmas Carol"

The real "Christmas Carol," starring George C. Scott, is a bit of a heavy meal for kids. "Scrooged," starring Bill Murray, has a bit of an '80s odor to it. (Bobcat Goldthwait, anyone?)

But the Dickens classic has been brought to life in a great way for kids, starring Michael Caine and Jim Henson's assorted Muppets. Henson died two years before this movie came out in 1992; his son Brian Henson directed it.

Kermit plays Bob Cratchit, and Caine stars opposite him as Ebenezer Scrooge. It's a great pairing, and watching Caine emote with a frog puppet is definitely a treat. MSRP is $19.99.

Please do not confuse "The Muppet Christmas Carol" with "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas," starring Whoopi Goldberg and David Arquette. The very words "Carson Daly as himself" should make it clear why.

Fans of the Muppets should tune in to NBC at 8 p.m. on Dec. 17 to watch the premiere of "Letters to Santa." Goldberg appears in it as a taxi driver (which seems somehow more fitting than her role as divine being in the "Very Merry Muppet Christmas" show). Nathan Lane, Uma Thurman and Jane Krakowski (of "30 Rock" and "Ally McBeal"), also have roles.

Next page: More holiday classics

See also: MSN Movies Gift Guide