‘Babes in Toyland’: 1961
More than just a Mousketeer, Annette Funicello was every little girl’s icon of style and grace in the 1960s. But she’s not the only gem in this movie. Ray Bolger (Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz) plays Barnaby, an evil, creepy miser from Toyland who’s in love with Funicello. A very young Ann Gillian also makes an appearance as Bo Peep.
‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’: 1964
With the space race in high gear, we guess it made sense to mix Martians with Christmas in 1964. This wacky film features aliens, robots, Martian children and a very young Pia Zadora. Not only is this the first film to include Mrs. Claus, it gained a cult following after it was riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1988.
‘A Carol for Another Christmas’: 1964
Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, wrote this apocryphal version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to encourage worldwide cooperation and promote the United Nations. It was most likely a reaction to the Cold War and nuclear proliferation, but many viewers found the show grim and depressing.
‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: 1964
With his bright red nose and low self-esteem, Rudolph is probably the most endearing Christmas movie character ever. People love his story because it deals with bullying and embracing diversity, themes that continue to be addressed in popular culture.
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’: 1965
This beloved holiday special was intended to be a commentary on commercialism, but the thing we remember most is that sad, nearly bare Christmas tree that slumps under the weight of a single ornament. What most people don’t know is that in the late 1950s and early ’60s, aluminum Christmas trees were much more popular than real trees. A Charlie Brown Christmas totally reversed that trend and put aluminum tree makers out of business.
‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’: 1966
Our childhoods sure would have been sad without Dr. Seuss. Luckily, not only did we have his delightful books, we had this Christmas special that showed us the power of transformation. The Grinch, being the most bitter, sad and selfish of all of Dr. Seuss’s characters, completely changes for the better by the end of the story.
‘Frosty the Snowman’: 1969
Inspired by the popular Christmas song of the same name from 1950, this animated holiday special still entertains young audiences today. Because the creators wanted Frosty’s world to look like a Christmas card, they hired Mad magazine and greeting card artist Paul Coker Jr. to design Frosty and all the backgrounds.
‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’: 1970
This movie is a psychedelic Santa Claus origin story revealing that Santa was an orphan raised by hippie elves who encouraged him to make and give toys to all the children of Sombertown. Though the evil Burgermeister burns the children’s toys at first, Santa’s groovy message of peace and love eventually wins out.
‘Scrooge’: 1970
For many of us growing up, this was the only version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol we ever knew. Albert Finney starred as Scrooge, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 1971 for his performance. The movie was also nominated for four Oscars. In 1992, Scrooge was adapted into a stage musical.
‘Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny’: 1972
This strange little movie tells the story of Santa’s sleigh breaking down in Florida. Abandoned by his overheated reindeer, Santa tells the story of Thumbelina to neighborhood children before getting rescued by an ice cream bunny. Because that makes sense, right?
‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’: 1974
This stop-motion animated movie introduced us to two of our favorite holiday characters: Heat Miser and Snow Miser. The “Heat Miser Song” has been referred to many times in pop culture, including the TV show Veronica Mars.
‘Star Wars Holiday Special’: 1978
With singing, dancing and really bad costumes, this movie took the Star Wars franchise from cutting-edge, mythic storytelling to a campy vaudevillian disaster. George Lucas unsuccessfully tried to purchase all the master copies so it could never be played again, but Carrie Fisher says she has a copy and plays it at parties.
‘Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story’: 1978
Nominated for an Emmy, this Christmas movie about a lovable and clever mixed-breed dog warmed the hearts of dog lovers everywhere. Benji became so popular that in 1980, the dog-actor posed as the centerfold in Playgirl Magazine. According to Benji.com, when Joe Camp, the writer/director of the Benji movies, was asked if the spread went against the family-friendly nature of the franchise, he said, “The way we looked at it was that in addition to being ridiculously funny, Benji’s centerfold meant one less naked man on the magazine racks… because, you see, the dog playing Benji at that time was actually a girl.”
‘American Christmas Carol’: 1979
This version of A Christmas Carol is set in Depression-era America and stars Henry Winkler as Benedict Slade, a Scrooge-like character. Best known for playing Fonzie on the TV show Happy Days, Winkler seems like an odd choice to play an elderly miser, but at the time, the actor was incredibly popular with TV viewers. Ayy!
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