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It’s the festive season, and when we’re not marathoning classic holiday specials like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas, we’re watching these potential new favourites.
Mickey Saves Christmas
Mickey Mouse and his friends need to help Santa save Christmas from whatever nonspecific threat to Christmas seems to show up in these specials. The stop-motion looks pretty good, and we’re really hoping that Donald Duck gets to play a big part.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
The MCU’s phase 4 is done with this made-for-TV holiday special. The Guardians meet Cosmo the Space Dog—yes, he’s an actual Marvel character from the comics. He’s a dog the Soviets sent into space who became telepathic and also the security chief of Knowhere. When they decide that Star Lord needs a Christmas present, they get him Kevin Bacon. Yes, you read that correctly.
Call the Midwife Christmas Special
The Brits do love their Christmas specials, and we love the yearly Christmas special we get from Call the Midwife. The midwives of Nonnatus are back and they’re here to deliver a bunch of December babies. Rhoda Mullucks will return, this time with a new pregnancy, although the Mullucks family are still dealing with the fallout of the bad medication prescribed the first time we met them, in a plotline that echoed the Thalidomide scandal. Maybe get ready for this special by marathoning the previous 11?
The Santa Clauses
Tim Allen is back, and we’re sure he’s still making Tim Allen noises. In this miniseries, he’s ready to retire from being Santa Claus and step back into real life. Unfortunately, real life isn’t as awesome as being Santa. Hijinks ensue and Scott Calvin needs to learn the meaning of Christmas all over again. Also, that dude who played Bernard the elf is back, so that’s pretty neat.
Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas
If you’re into Hallmark’s extended Christmas universe, you’ve been watching these since October. Small family businesses will be saved, small town charm will win out over big city living, and single thirtysomething women will learn to believe in Christmas magic. And as a bonus, you might be able to see stars from your favourite ’90s kids shows and various Canadian character actors on screen again.
Falling for Christmas
Lindsay Lohan is a spoiled daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate, but when a wacky mishap gives her amnesia, she needs to learn to be humble and also love Christmas in a small town. Look, if you come into this movie expecting something heartfelt and pure, you’re not going to have a good time, but if you think of it as a parody of the aforementioned Hallmark stuff, you might like it. Alternatively, break out the eggnog and take a sip every time there’s mistletoe, or the main dude wants to confess his feelings but doesn’t, or “Jingle Bells” starts playing.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
The charming children’s novel is getting an animated special on BBC. If you haven’t had the pleasure, this story is about four unlikely friends teaming up to find the titular boy’s home. A lot of Christmas shows, especially for kids, can be overly saccharine or just plain silly, but this one looks truly special.
