The Best Holiday Movies on Netflix

Image via Getty/ Amy Sussman

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones

There have been several film iterations of this classic Christmas story over the years, but the newest installation of this Dr. Seuss book is definitely worth a watch. The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) has plans to ruin the cherished Christmas holiday in the town of Whoville. When the Grinch runs into Cindy Lou Who, a precocious child determined to meet Santa, he insinuates that Santa isn’t real. As we know, the Grinch eventually has a change of heart after seeing what the true meaning of Christmas is, and learns to embrace the holiday instead of despising it. The animation is bubbly and sweet, and while the main story is the same, minor tweaks and an updated soundtrack for the tale have made for a welcome twist on an old classic.  

Director: Joe Roth

Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd

After years of hosting a blowout Christmas Eve dinner each holiday season, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to “skip Christmas” and opt for saving their money to take a cruise instead. Their neighbors catch wind of their new plan to forego their traditional holiday party, and they aren’t pleased. The entire neighborhood gangs up on the Kranks in hilarious ways to try to force them to host the dinner. The comedic hijinks of the Kranks couple are based on John Grisham’s book Skipping Christmas, and this film is sure to bring hearty holiday cheer to anyone who watches.    

Director: Clay Kaytis

Starring: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis

Teddy (Judah Lewis) and Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) are a brother and sister who decide to try to videotape Santa (Kurt Russell) in the act of leaving presents at their house. When they catch Santa outside on the roof, Teddy and Kate decide to hide in Santa’s sleigh to go along for a joyride. Their plan goes amiss when Santa loses control of the sleigh and crashes, and the three of them scramble to keep Christmas from being ruined. The heartwarming adventure that brings Teddy and Kate closer together is a perfect tale about believing in the unexpected.     

Director: Sergio Pablos

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones

In the Netflix original movie Klaus, Jesper Johansson (Jason Schwartzman) is a postal carrier who barely carries out his daily duties of delivering letters. Jesper’s father is head of the postal business, and determined to teach his spoiled son a lesson when it comes to Jesper’s inherited wealth. Jesper’s father gives Jesper the task of delivering 6,000 letters in a remote fisherman’s town in order to prove his worth in the family postal business. When Jesper gets to the town and sees that none of the townspeople send mail to each other, he concocts a scheme and enlists the help of Klaus (J.K. Simmons), a mysterious toymaker, to try to get the job done. 

Director: James Yukich

Starring: Mariah Carey, Lacey Chabert, Kelsey Grammer

Mariah Carey is the Queen of Christmas, so it only makes sense she would have a musical holiday special. The singer consistently dominates music charts during the holiday season, with ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ remaining the best-selling modern Christmas song of all time, which she has also adapted into book and animated movie form. Merriest Christmas is full of musical performances, short skits, and special celebrity guests that remind us of Mariah’s legacy as a show-stopping performer and icon.  

Director: Joel Moser

Starring: Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Alison Brie

In typical fashion, BoJack Horseman savages the conventions of the typical television show, then uses them to mine a hard-won, pragmatic moral. In this special that branches the first and second season, we get to see a full episode of “Horsin’ Around,” where BoJack hits every single hacky Christmas bit in the book. Then, Will Arnett shows off his considerable ability to make you feel things for a talking horse when BoJack over-promises his adopted children that Santa could bring back their dead parents. When Santa doesn’t, BoJack confuses Santa with God, and explains that neither exists and then muddles his way to a moral about why it’s important to be good for goodness sake.

Starring: Bob Ross

Yeah, it’s not a movie. But let’s just give some due to the television personality who most closely resembles the disposition of that baby in the manger. Watching Bob Ross is what I imagine a tiny bit of opium feels like, only boundlessly more wholesome. As you watch Bob render chilly universes onto blank canvases with expert skill and plenty of whimsy, he’ll show off his foster critters like baby deer or squirrels as well as unfurl anecdotes like one about a fishing trip when he hooked a trophy marlin then released it back into the sea. Complete with his afro, aw-shucks temperament and kinetic method of brush-cleaning, every second of these tutorials on how to make cold worlds will make you feel warmer towards everyone and everything, and there’s nothing truer to Christmas than that.

Director: Bradley Walsh

Starring: Kat Graham, Quincy Brown, Ethan Peck

This new Netflix original movie follows aspiring photographer Abby (Kat Graham), who feels stuck in a boring cycle of taking passport photos and school pictures instead of exploring her creative depth. When she’s gifted an advent calendar that her late grandmother wanted her to have, she begins to see the magic that the holiday season can bring. Encouraged by her childhood best friend Josh (Quincy Brown), Abby starts to trust in her talent. When a serendipitous Christmas tree mishap causes her to cross paths with notoriously unattainable bachelor Ty (Ethan Peck), Abby sees the difference between a new, mysterious love and one that has been around her all along.

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon

Completely transformed in his Oscar-winning costuming, Jim Carrey delivers an inspired turn as the Grinch, who chooses to live in a garbage dump on a mountain overlooking Whoville. Cast out as a child for his different appearance, the Grinch resents the Whos and their favorite holiday, Christmas, so he hatches a scheme to snag all their presents. Along the way, he makes the acquaintance of the earnest and sweet Cindy Lou Who as well as reconnects with his former love (Baranski) and his ongoing nemesis, the Mayor (Tambor). Unabashedly a kid’s movie, some parts feel overworked or cheesy, but Ron Howard’s Whoville is immersive and seeing Jim Carrey just absolutely cut loose is always worthy your time.

Director: Mike Rohl

Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Nick Sagar, Sam Palladio

The switcheroo movie plot is at it again. Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens), a rigid pastry chef from Chicago, and Margaret (also Hudgens), spontaneous soon-to-be-wed Duchess of Montenaro haphazardly meet at a pastry chef competition. When they realize they look exactly alike, they make a pact to escape from their respective lives and live as the other. There’s a faulty accent, love interests, and an ending where it all unravels—in other words, the recipe for a perfect holiday flick.

Director: Jon Reiner, Brad Rothschild

Starring: Francois, the Tree Man

New York has a reputation as a fast-moving city full of people with cutthroat ambitions and no time for chit-chat. But Francois, a Christmas tree farmer and salesman, has turned the corner of Broadway and 101st from a cold cement slab into a cheerful, holiday destination for the last decade. Trekking down from Canada, the Montreal native has formed tight relationships with his workers and his customers, who bring him free food, donate ski jackets to his children and even let him shower in their apartment—as he lives in his van for the month he’s selling trees. The gregarious Francois personifies his diverse array of trees, giving them distinct personalities to make them more appealing for purchase. But the film makes clear that his customers return for reasons that have very little to do with the pines.

Director: Sofia Coppola

Starring: Bill Murray and a bunch of famous people in cameos

In his later years, Bill Murray has ascended from a comedy star to a living internet legend—a man made mythic by memes. With his sad eyes and tongue firmly in his cheek, Murray stars in this meta-special about him failing to put on a Christmas special due to a gargantuan snowstorm. As he stumbles through the night, he duets with Chris Rock, runs into a quartet of French chefs played by Phoenix and consoles demi-goddess Rashida Jones, whose wedding has been cancelled due to cold—which, what? I’d endure absolute zero to wed that woman. Anyway, Murray passes out due to copious consumption and dreams he’s accompanied by George Clooney and Miley Cyrus as they sing Christmas standards. Look. It’s a bunch of famous people essentially playing themselves as they trade corny jokes and yuletide carols. It’s a nice enough way to spend 56 minutes.

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger

Two army veterans and entertainers (Crosby, Kaye) learn that their old, beloved commanding officer has a struggling inn that threatens to close due poor business thanks to a lack of snow. After becoming smitten with two sisters (Clooney, Vera-Ellen), they realize the girls are on their way up to the inn and offer to tag along to throw the old man a show that will boost business and cheer him up. As they do in romantic comedies, sparks fly and flutter when there’s a misunderstanding between the lovers. And as is common in musicals, the duos sing out their alternately joyful and deceived feelings, never better than when Bing Crosby opens his mouth and honey flows out on the film’s title track. After schemes ensue to reorder all the crossed wires, snow begins to fall as the curtain to the happy ending.