Best Disney+ Christmas movies and shows
Disney+ Christmas classics, revealed
There’s something deeply comforting about opening Disney+ in December. It’s the digital equivalent of pulling on an old jumper you refuse to throw away: familiar, reliable and stacked with festive crowd-pleasers. Whether you’re chasing full-blown Christmas cheer, something to stick on while you wrap presents, or just an excuse to avoid another family debate about what actually counts as a Christmas film, Disney’s streaming vault has you covered.
Amongst the animated classics that practically raised us are plenty of essential viewing this time of year. Disney+ has turned Christmas viewing into a multi-franchise affair. It’s festive, it’s nostalgic, and, crucially, it requires very little effort beyond pressing play.
So if you’re looking to outsource your Christmas spirit to the House of Mouse, here are the best Disney+ Christmas movies and shows to stream this festive season.
11. An Almost Christmas Story
This short film, at just 25 minutes long, is a Christmas delight. It’s a CGI movie but designed to look more like a traditional stop-motion film, and tells the story of a little owl who finds himself transported to the middle of New York.
He is found by a girl named Luna, who tries to help the owl find its way home. Director Alfonso Cuaron worked on the story, while it’s directed by David Lowery, who made the brilliant The Green Knight and, closer in style, Pete’s Dragon.
10. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
It is always great to get time with The Guardians, and here we are given a lovely slice of holiday warmth, thanks to a Marvel story that not only interlocks with the movies but also adds Kevin Bacon into the mix. In fact, the Footloose actor is central to the plot as he is the Christmas present Mantis and Drax give Peter Quill to cheer him up.
9. The Santa Clause
Santa Clause, geddit? That small pun - where the person who injures Santa Claus has to take his place - spawned a number of sequels, but it’s the original we like. Yes, the real Tim Allen is infuriating with his politics, but he’s great here as the Everyman whose job it is to make sure Christmas runs on time. Unsurprisingly, the director of the movie helmed Alan through many a series of Home Improvement. *Enter Tim The Toolman Taylor Grunt Sound*.
8. The Simpsons: Marge Be Not Proud (S7, E11)
The Simpsons, in its prime, made the best TV specials. While it’s best known for its TreeHouse of Horror Halloween episodes, its Christmas ones are well worth a watch, too. There are loads on Disney+, but our pick is Marge Be Not Proud, as it showcases the relationship between Bart and his mom so well. The premise is Bart gets caught trying to steal a videogame but there is so much fun, warmth and tears throughout that it’s The Simpsons at its best.
7. Pluto’s Christmas Tree
This 1953 classic is a real old-school gem. Pluto and Mickey go searching for the perfect Christmas tree. They find one, cut in down only for it to be the home for Chip’n’Dale. It’s only 7 minutes long, but there is a huge amount of warmth in this festive animated short.
6. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
If you are after a short, sweet, heartwarming tale, then this is for you. It’s three short movies laced into a Christmas cracker of a movie, all threaded together by the dulcet tones of Kelsey Grammer. Given Disney seems to have sidelined Mickey for other things, it’s great to see the character have a lot of fun here.
5. A Christmas Carol
It's a little darker than we were expecting, but Jim Carrey nails it as Scrooge in this animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Robert Zemeckis does his mo-cap best with the animation, and while it was originally meant to be seen in 3D, it's fantastic to watch in plain-old 2D.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Director Henry Selick did a wonderful job with The Nightmare Before Christmas, creating a stop-motion fantasy that’s now rightly seen as a classic. Taking the story and characters from Tim Burton and breathing life into their cold, dead bones, he masterfully showcases a tale about Jack Skellington, the master of Halloween Town, who becomes besotted with Christmas.
3. Die Hard
The ultimate non-Christmas Christmas movie, Die Hard, is a firm favourite at this time of year. The movie follows the story of off-duty New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis), who gets caught up in an LA skyscraper during a heist orchestrated by the (now infamous) Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). It's a fun one to watch with the whole family, particularly if you know the quotes. "Don't shoot the glass!
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol
“Light the lamp, not the rat, light the lamp!” Most Muppets movies are fun, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is a stunning achievement and a gold standard when it comes to Christmas watching. Michael Caine is perfect as Scrooged and has the look of a prestigious actor, wondering what the hell he’s doing with a bunch of puppets throughout. But these are no puppets, but controlled by the deft hand(s) of the Jim Henson Company, and because of this, the movie is an absolute wonder.
1. Home Alone
KEVIN! The original and the best Home Alone is a must-see for Christmas. Following the exploits of Kevin McCalister (Macaulay Culkin, an unknown actor who you probably haven't heard of), who makes his family disappear by not waking up for a flight, and his family accidentally goes without him. While he’s - looks to camera - home alone, he does battle with a pair of hapless thieves, played by the dude who did the voiceover for The Wonder Years and Joe ‘Like I’m a Clown?’ Pesci.
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