So what if Christmas movies can be a bit sappy? They warm our hearts, restore our faith in humanity and generally bring joy to the world. We've unwrapped the top 25 big-screen Christmas flicks of all time (sorry 'Charlie Brown' lovers, no TV specials here), all the way down to No. 1. Behold the 25 best Christmas movies ever.
25. 'The Polar Express' (2004)Sure, the performance-capture technology may have rendered the children a touch frightening to look at (at least it improved dramatically with 'Beowulf'), but there's still plenty of joy to be had in this fast-moving adaptation of the beloved children's book starring an ensemble of Tom Hankses.
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24. 'We're No Angels' (1955)This Christmas caper reteaming Humphrey Bogart with his 'Casablanca' director was the icon's rare comedy, and Bogie, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray had a ball playing escaped convicts with hearts of gold (are there any other kind?). But the 1989 remake, starring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn, was just criminal.
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23. 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992)Michael Caine is miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and Kermit the Frog is kindly Bob Cratchit in the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational take on the Dickens tale ever to star 99 percent Muppets.
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22. 'Joyeux Noel' (2006)This moving Oscar-nominated drama tells the true story of German, French and Scottish troops in WWI who called a ceasefire for Christmas Eve. If they can find peace on earth for this most special of nights, surely you can grin and bear the in-laws.
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21. 'Gremlins' (1984)If you think this flick about vicious green monsters tearing up a small town during the holidays isn't very Christmasy, thank your lucky stars they nixed plans for scenes in which Gremlins behead Billy's mom, eat his dog and chow down on McDonald's patrons (but strangely not the burgers). Merry Christmas!
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