‘Tis the season, so get the festivities going, decorate the tree, and unwind in the evenings with a cup of cocoa and a feel-good Christmas classic. With such iconic films as The Santa Clause and Miracle on 34th Street showcasing seasonal charm in spades, there is no shortage of timeless gems which embrace the magic of Christmas and, of course, the majesty of Santa Claus himself.
But there have also been a plethora of movies where the responsibility of saving Christmas falls on someone else’s shoulders. From unconventional heroes like The Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge to Santa’s estranged siblings and angels from heaven, there have been plenty willing to stand tall and save the day when festive cheer is in doubt.
Fred Claus – ‘Fred Claus’ (2007)
If you can’t get Santa to save Christmas then getting his brother is the next best thing. Estranged from the Claus family, Fred (Vince Vaughn) is Santa’s (Paul Giamati) long-lost brother working as a repossession agent in Chicago when he finds himself in some legal trouble and calls on his brother to bail him out.
Santa agrees but only on the condition that Fred returns to the North Pole and works off his debt. The arrangement leads the eccentric and immature Fred to revamp the way Santa’s workshop operates. More importantly, he gives the naughty and nice list a much-needed revision and saves Christmas when Santa can’t do his annual delivery run.
Noelle Kringle – ‘Noelle’ (2019)
As a quaint, quirky comedy starlet with no small amount of charm, Anna Kendrick is the perfect hero to lighten up the festive season. That proved to be the case in the 2019 Christmas comedy Noelle which saw her titular character having to rise to the occasion when her brother Nick (Bill Hader) falters in his training to become the next Santa.
Tracking down her runaway brother when he flees to Arizona and exhibiting a sincere good nature no matter what stands in her way, whatever Noelle lacks in ability she more than makes up for heart. She is eventually voted to be the next Santa and, while there are a few mishaps along the way, delivers Christmas cheer around the world.
Willie – ‘Bad Santa’ (2003)
A depressed, alcoholic conman who celebrates the festive season by working as a mall Santa only so he can rip off the stores after closing may not seem like a great holiday hero, but Bad Santa proves that even the poster boy of Santa’s naughty list can be good.
The fiendish Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) degenerate gets his shot at redemption when he meets Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), a gullible young boy who suffers at the hands of schoolyard bullies. While Willie’s methods may be flawed, he does showcase an underlying heart of gold and, if little else, makes Thurman’s life a bit more pleasant in the long run.
Clarence – ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ (1946)
While Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey is often credited as being the greatest Christmas movie hero of all time, his life story wouldn’t have been half as uplifting if it wasn’t for Clarence (Henry Travers). The angel from heaven is tasked with showing George why his life has value when he contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve.
Showing George what life for the residents of Bedford Falls would have been like had he never lived, Clarence restores George’s appreciation for life with the valuable lesson that no man is a failure who has friends. It really is Clarence who is the understated hero of It’s a Wonderful Life, and the jolly angel even earns his wings in the process.
John McClane – ‘Die Hard’ (1988)
As much a Christmas hero as he is an action hero, Die Hard‘s John McClane (Bruce Willis) steps up when the employees of Nakatomi Plaza, his estranged wife among them, are taken hostage by a terrorist group on Christmas Eve. Starting out with nothing, McClane takes out the assailants one by one and gains more resources as he goes.
With his smart aleck, everyman persona, he is able to get under Hans Gruber’s (Alan Rickman) skin and eventually outsmart the thieves and save the hostages in the process. He may not be the most traditional Christmastime hero, but if there are going to be machine guns at the festivities then we want McClane even more than we want old Saint Nick.
Dudley – ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ (1947)
Featuring Cary Grant in one of his many renowned performances, The Bishop’s Wife follows the disenfranchised Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven), losing touch with his family as he works tirelessly to secure funds to construct a new cathedral. Dudley (Grant) is the angel sent to answer the clergyman’s prayers for guidance.
With a mission to help Brougham reconnect with his family and community, the charming angel makes an immediate impact on the townsfolk, but things complicated when he falls in love with the bishop’s wife, Julia (Loretta Young). Ultimately sacrificing his own desires, Dudley completes his mission and saves Christmas for the Broughams in the process.
Buddy – ‘Elf’ (2003)
Elf is one of the few Christmas movies released this century to become an instant, go-to classic for millions of families. Will Ferrell is at his best as Buddy, a human raised as an elf at the North Pole who embarks on an adventure to New York to meet his real father.
While his journey has its ups and downs, Buddy’s true defining moment comes when Santa’s sleigh crash lands in Central Park on Christmas Eve. With so many of the people he’s had an impact on uniting to help get Santa back in the air, Buddy’s endless love for everyone proves to be both inspirational and essential to saving Christmas.
Klaus and Jesper – ‘Klaus’ (2019)
A heartfelt Christmas origin tale, Klaus isn’t so much about the saviors of Christmas as much as it is about the pioneers of it. Focusing on the unlikely partnership between Jesper Johansen (Jason Schwartzman) – the spoiled and self-centered son of the Royal Postmaster General – and Klaus (J.K. Simmons) – a reclusive widower with a house full of handmade wooden toys – Klaus is all about delivering warmth and charm to those who need it most.
By delivering the toys to the children of Smeerensberg, Klaus and Jesper forge a legend of hope and joy amid a town plagued by the everlasting feud between two powerful families. The heart-warming animated tale is one of the greatest Christmas movies from recent years with its heroic leading duo is a major reason for that.
The Grinch – ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ (2000)
Admittedly, it may not be quite as impressive to save Christmas when you’re the one who jeopardized it in the first place, but the Grinch (Jim Carrey) is a glowing example of how it’s never too late to change. The Christmas-hating grouch makes it his mission to ruin Whoville’s festive cheer by stealing all the town’s presents, decorations, and food.
With Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen) telling the town what Christmas is truly all about, the Grinch sees the error of his ways when he hears Whoville’s Christmas caroling from his mountaintop home. After a literal change of heart, the Grinch saves Cindy and steers his sled down Mount Crumpit to restore Whoville’s Christmas celebrations.
Ebenezer Scrooge – ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1951)
Ebenezer Scrooge is the quintessential Christmas hero, and Alastair Sim’s performance of the miser in 1951’s A Christmas Carol still stands as the greatest of them all. An unrelenting grouch with no semblance of sentimentality, family values, or seasonal cheer, Scrooge is cold and hostile to all around him.
But all that changes over the course of one fated Christmas Eve when Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who show him the error of his ways and the future he is doomed to should he not make amends. In a heartwarming finale, Scrooge becomes a changed man and spreads the festive cheer to all, becoming “as good a man as the old city ever knew” in the process.
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