Best Christmas movies on Disney Plus

This 2018 revamp of The Nutcracker follows Clara, a Victorian child whose mysterious gift left to her by her late mother, leads her on a journey to four secret magical realms, where she must use her greatest strength to restore peace throughout the land.

Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren lead the star-studded cast in this fantasy adventure film grounded in a moving exploration of grief. Despite the film’s flaws (its poorly rendered CGI), the movie is undeniably uplifting and certainly provides us with a glimmer of Christmas joy.

This Disney film offers a new take on the Santa Claus tale with a clever premise: a divorced dad is forced to take on the role of Father Christmas after the real Santa falls off his roof – and is tasked with convincing a world of disbelievers that Santa Claus really does exist. Witty and engaging, The Santa Clause is a perfect one to watch with the family this Christmas – and it’s bound to bring a tide of Christmas cheer.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, the film begins over at the North Pole, where Kris Kringle’s daughter Noelle (Anna Kendrick) is full of Christmas spirit but wishes she had more responsibilities, like her brother Nick (Bill Hader), who is about to take over from their father at Christmas. But when an overwhelmed Nick flees with the reindeer, Noelle must find him in time for the big day.

There might be numerous cringeworthy jokes and a high level of corniness, but Anna Kendrick does a great job portraying the charming comedy queen, Noelle. In the end, the film emerges as something decidedly pleasant and uplifting, making for a perfect watch this Christmas.

This well-known Christmas comedy from screenwriter John Hughes and director Chris Columbus, which was a huge box-office smash back in 1990 when it was released, is a perfect family film.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, the Christmas classic stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McAllister, an eight-year-old who is accidentally left behind when his family rush off to the airport on a festive holiday. While enjoying his new-found freedom, Kevin soon finds himself dealing with two clueless burglars who’ve targeted the house and have no idea what this booby-trapping child has in store for them.

Culkin is brimming with confidence in this Christmas classic with laugh-out-loud moments abound – making it the perfect festive watch.

Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppet gang put their own unique twist on the Charles Dickens classic in The Muppet Christmas Carol, which stars the legendary Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge (and he’s as great in the role as you’d expect). The cold-hearted money-lender, who orders his employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) to work on Christmas Day, is taught an important lesson when he’s visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in this musical comedy extravaganza.

While the movie abounds with a number of witticisms, the film never shies away from the darker moments of the story, and is guaranteed to move its audience. And if a furry, blue Dickens (Gonzo) isn’t enough to make you want to watch this film, we don’t know what is.

It might be much of the same movie as the original, but it’s equally as enjoyable, if not more, than the first. The comedy sequel sees another great performance from Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McAllister who, after losing his family at the airport and boarding the wrong plane, finds himself sight-seeing in the Big Apple before he bumps into some old enemies – Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), the notorious Wet Bandits. Despite a slightly repetitive plot, many moments of genuine hilarity ensue.

Jim Carrey stars as Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts in this dark take on Charles Dickens’s classic.

Set in the 1800s, the spiteful and unhappy Scrooge is feeling less than festive when he receives a visit from the spirit of his late business partner and is told he’ll meet three ghosts later that night. The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future take him on a journey in the hopes of helping to shift his perspective on life.

With Colin Firth starring as Scrooge’s nephew and Robin Wright as his lost love, Fan, the adaptation stays true to Dickens’s original tale. Scary moments abound and, despite the motion-capture technique and somewhat robotic-looking faces, so do some snippets of real human emotion, too.

The last instalment in the Santa Clause franchise sees Tim Allen return as Scott Calvin – AKA Santa – as he invites his in-laws down to the North Pole for holiday festivities. However, when Scott discovers a way out of his ‘Santa Clause’, the mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short) takes the opportunity to put a big freeze over the North Pole and Scott must find a way to get his job back before Christmas is ruined for everyone.

It’s always harder to pull things off in a threequel, but The Santa Clause 3 doesn’t disappoint and is definitely worth a watch this festive season.

Many eyebrows were raised when this Home Alone reboot was announced, but at least the film makes clear that the scriptwriters are in on the joke too, when a character utters: “I don’t know why they’re always trying to remake the classics, they’re never as good as the originals.”

Home Sweet Home Alone might suffer slightly from reboot fatigue, but the movie does offer some laughs, and the cast is made up of talented comic performers such as Rob Delaney (Catastrophe), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Aisling Bea (This Way Up) – and it’s most definitely worth a watch this Christmas.

Tim Burton’s gothic imagination is brought to life in this film, which is strewn with loveable yet grotesque creations and fantastic musical sequences showcasing the ghoulish residents of the town. The classic stop-motion animation sees Pumpkin King Jack Skellington become enchanted by Christmas Town – but his attempts to emulate Santa Clause don’t quite go to plan…

Composed by Danny Elfman, the soundtrack perfectly complements the dark fantasy tale. Despite a storyline that runs slightly out of steam towards the end, the Halloween and Christmas hybrid tale is bound to give you all the spooks.

So the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special is not quite a feature-length film – but is the closest we’ll get to a Christmas movie in a galaxy far, far away. Poking fun at the infamous 1978 TV special, this Lego version sees Rey preparing for Life Day with BB-8 – but is soon hurled on a time-travelling adventure that cleverly features several nods to earlier films. Heartwarming and hilarious in equal measure, if this film doesn’t put you in festive spirits, then we don’t know what will.

While Frozen is not technically a Christmas film, the movie and its sequel feature just enough snow-covered imagery to make us think of Christmas trees and Santa’s sleigh. Frozen, of course, follows Queen Elsa of Arendelle, who flees after accidentally trapping her kingdom in an endless winter – so it’s up to her sister Anna and a few humorous sidekicks to bring her back. The resulting plot is romantic, engaging and even subversive – and certainly makes for festive fun for all the family.

In this follow-up to Disney’s 1994 Christmas comedy, which lies somewhere between adult romcom and children’s fantasy, Tim Allen returns as Scott Calvin, who’s happily been Santa for a successful eight years but now faces a new challenge – if he doesn’t get married by Christmas Eve, he’ll stop being Santa for ever. Expect plenty of humour with a heart-warming narrative and no shortage of festive cheer.

This live-action remake is a great follow-up to the original animated classic – and it’s just as heartwarming.

The director shot the live-action remake using real dogs, before augmenting the footage with CGI to anthropomorphise his cast – and it’s fair to say the results are fabulous.

In case you aren’t familiar with the plot, The Chronicles of Narnia follows four siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, as they find themselves in the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe.

Chaos and magic ensue in this heartwarming tale that’s bound to bring the whole family together over Christmas.

This bona fide Christmas classic is a real tearjerker – and it’s surely enough to win over even the coldest hearted of Scrooges with its charm. Maureen O’Hara plays Doris, a Macy’s department store worker who hires Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) to appear as Santa in the shop’s annual Thanksgiving parade.

When Kris excels at his last-minute role, he’s asked to work in the store’s Christmas grotto over the rest of the festive period, and befriends Doris’s daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). As for the reason why he’s just so good at his job in the grotto? Kris insists that he is the real Father Christmas – a claim which will eventually get him into trouble, placing him at the centre of a court case. Can he prove to a cynical bunch of New Yorkers that he is in fact the real deal?

The 1994 remake starring Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle and Matilda’s Mara Wilson as Susan is also available to stream on Disney Plus, but the original has the edge.