As the terrestrial TV schedules for the festive period were confirmed yesterday, many of us would all have the first instincts.
This is, to go through it all and figure which films are on, which the best ones are, and when and where we can watch them over the Christmas break.
To save you the trouble of leafing your way through them all and trying to decide which to watch, we’ve got the best 20 films playing over the Christmas period for you (according to their IMDb score).
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To save you even further, we’ve prevented you having to do the job of my family at Christmas and hear me tell you about 20 different films, so we’ve summed up the top six options, with the full list of 20 and how to watch them at the bottom of the article.
Without further ado, here’s all your best options to watch for free on TV in the UK this festive period.
6 – Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (8.0 on IMDb)
The newest Wallace and Gromit film will screen on BBC One, before being added to iPlayer in the UK, and later Netflix for the rest of the world.
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The newest instalment in the classic Aardman series will see the return of Feathers McGraw, the iconically silent and villainous penguin from the Wallace and Gromit short The Wrong Trousers.
DiscussingFilm, noted Wallace and Gromit superfans, posted to their Twitter alongside their five star review to say: “this film is so f*cking incredible that I’ll never stop talking about it, I’ve watched it 3 times already I can’t stop.”
If that’s not an endorsement I don’t know what is.
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – BBC One – Christmas Day – 6.10pm
5 – Inside Out (8.1 on IMDb)
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The best films for Christmas are often not the classically Christmassy films, but ones that you just associate with that cosy feeling of watching a film with your family.
Where my family’s are The Mummy and Star Wars, for many it will be Inside Out, one of the best kid’s films to have released in the last ten years.
The film grossed over $850 million, and this year’s sequel went even further, raking in $1.7 billion, so expect a third on the way.
With an 8.1 on IMDb and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, if you’re after a cozy family watch this Christmas that will leave you in tears, this is the perfect choice.
Inside Out – BBC One - Boxing Day – 9.55am.
4 – The Snowman (8.2 on IMDb)
Did anyone else just feel a core childhood memory unlock seeing a picture of this film?
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A short film from 1982, it is based on a picture book of the same name and was made for Channel 4.
The British Film Institute named it 71st in their top 100 TV programmes ever and in a Channel 4 poll of the Greatest TV Christmas Moments ever, it came third.
The film is now a British institution, and so thankfully it will be being aired once again this year.
The Snowman – Channel 4 – Christmas Eve – 3pm
3 – Toy Story 3 (8.3 on IMDb)
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It says a lot about the third Toy Story and the stellar regard it is held in that I was, honestly? Quite surprised it ‘only’ had an 8.3 on IMDb.
By any metric the film is beloved, whether it be a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a rare Best Picture nomination at The Oscars, or the misty teary-eyed look people of a certain age get when you ask them about the ending to this film.
One of the consensus greatest films and endings of all time, it was so good that people revolted at the mere idea of Pixar doing one sequel after this film, let alone the fifth in the series they’ve now announced is on the way.
Toy Story 3 – BBC One – Christmas Day – 11.20am
2 – Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (8.4 on IMDb)
Just as I previously said that The Mummy and Star Wars were films that just feel Christmassy to me because I always watch them with my family, Raiders falls under that category for numerous families.
The film is a classic, and a perfect festive flick to stick on with a warm mug of hot chocolate.
Simply put: What’s more Christmassy than punching a Nazi in the face?
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark – Channel 4 – 8.25pm
1 – It’s a Wonderful Life (8.6 on IMDb)
The best Christmas film of all time is a hotly debated topic. Which is stupid.
Because it’s this: This is the best Christmas film of all time.
The movie shockingly actually received a negative reaction upon release, with critics slamming it and the film being underwhelming at the box office.
Nearly 80 years on though it is widely agreed to be one of the best films ever made, and you can sit down with your family to relearn the power of Christmas (and a community fighting against greedy capitalists) via It’s A Wonderful Life.
It’s A Wonderful Life – ITV – 2.30pm
The full list of the 20 best films available to watch for free over the festive period:
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Toy Story 3
- The Snowman
- Inside Out
- Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- Shrek
- The Goonies
- Home Alone
- Zulu
- Temple of Doom
- Downton Abbey: A New Era
- Paddington
- The Stick Man
- The Snowman and the Snowdog
- Notting Hill
- Moana
- Ron's Gone Wrong
- Home Alone 2
- Italian Job
Read here to see when all the above films will be on TV over Christmas.
Topics: Christmas, Entertainment, Film, TV, TV and Film, UK News
Michael Slavin