Favourite Christmas Movies

The most popular Christmas film ever is……

Ever wondered what the most popular Christmas film ever is? We have, and now we know thanks to the Radio Times.

In a recent survey carried out with around 7000 people, the most popular film was ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’

The Frank Capra classic sees James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born.

Second on the list is Elf. Elf is a 2003 American Christmas fantasy comedy film staring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel.

The story is about one of Santa’s elves (Ferrell) who learns he is actually a human and goes to New York City to meet his biological father (Caan), spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics.

Third is The Muppet Christmas Carol. The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Jim Henson Productions and based on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol It stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Gonzo narrating the film as Dickens and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit.

At the Chronicle, we asked some of the staff, clients and columnists what their favourites are. Our top 5 is:

• Joint 1st, Muppet Christmas Carol and Home Alone
• 2nd Elf
• Joint 3rd National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Jingle all the Way
• 4th Love Actually
• Polar Express

Here’s the breakdown!

Tracy Keddie from Llanelli Bean Network:

1. Elf
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol
3. Home Alone
4. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
5. The Grinch

Jason Davies from First Choice Carpets:

1. Santa Claus: The Movie
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
3. Die Hard
4. Home Alone
5. Elf

Councillor Rob James

1. Scrooge (1970)
2. Home Alone
3. The Holiday
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
5. Nativity!

Sean Hollyman, Sean’s World writer:

1. Jingle All the Way
2. Love Actually
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
4. Home Alone
5. Christmas with the Kranks

Our Helzbach:

1. Jingle all the way
2. Love actually
3. National lampoon’s Christmas vacation
4. Muppet Christmas carol
5. Elf

Keith Evans-Hurley, Videos to DVDs Wales:

1. Muppet Christmas Carol
2. Home Alone
3. Polar Express
4. Grinch
5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

CETMA’s Izzy Khan:

1. It’s A Wonderful Life
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol
3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
4. Scrooge (1951)
5. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Wildlife Watch’s Trixie Evans:

1. Elf
2. The Polar Express
3. Scrooge (1951)
4. The Snowman
5. Santa Claus: The Movie

The top 20 from the Radio Times survey:

1. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
2. Elf (2003)
3. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
4. Love Actually (2003)
5. Home Alone (1990)
6. Die Hard (1988)
7. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
8. The Polar Express (2004)
9. White Christmas (1954)
10. Scrooge (1951)
11. A Christmas Carol (1984)
12. The Snowman (1982)
13. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
14. Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
15. The Holiday (2006)
16. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
17. The Grinch (2000)
18. Scrooged (1988)
19. Nativity! (2009)
20. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

What’s you top 5 favourite Xmas films?