A Christmas movie: what makes one? It may be simple to describe, but as the argument over whether certain movies should be included in this category demonstrates, it could be more complex. Does the movie happen to be set during the holidays? Or does it also need to explain the holiday, what it means to spend time with loved ones while thinking back on the past year and what lies ahead? In all honesty, though, you can usually tell a Christmas movie when you see one, and every December is when families and people gather to watch the best Christmas movies.
The movies we’re watching today reflect how, over time, Christmas has evolved to mean different things to different people. Holiday movies have a way of bringing out the very best in many people. We’ve included family-friendly favourites, romantic holiday movies, well-known animated masterpieces, must-sees for youngsters, and, if you like it, even some unusual Christmas films. Check out our top 10 Christmas movies on Netflix Malaysia to brighten your nights as you get ready for another holiday, complete with love and pleasure.
When is the best time to watch a Christmas movie?
It can vary depending on the individual. Most families choose to watch a Christmas movie on the night of the 24th of December, Christmas Eve. Some people even prefer to watch Christmas movies on Christmas day as a fun activity with loved ones.
How do you choose a Christmas movie to watch on Netflix?
Netflix has made it relatively easy for people to search for and choose a Christmas movie they will enjoy by categorising Christmas movies into specific genres such as kid-friendly, romantic comedy, animated movies, and many more. This categorisation will help individuals narrow their options and choose the best Christmas movie to fit their requirements.
10 Best Christmas Movies on Netflix Malaysia 2022
1. The Holiday
Directed by: Nancy Meyers
Starring: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Rufus Sewell and Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns
Release date: 8 December 2006
Genre: Romance comedy
Running time: 136 minutes
IMDB Score: 6.9/10
Synopsis: In 2006, Nancy Meyers wrote, produced, and directed the romantic comedy The Holiday. Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz play Iris and Amanda, two lovelorn ladies from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who organise a home exchange to avoid heartbreak over the Christmas and holiday season. The film was co-produced by Bruce A. Block and shot in England and California. Graham and Miles, the movie’s primary male characters, were portrayed by Jude Law and Jack Black, with important supporting roles played by Eli Wallach, Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, and Rufus Sewell.
2. Klaus
Directed by: Sergio Pablos
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Sergio Pablos, Norm Macdonald, J.K. Simmons, Joan Cusack, Rashida Jones, Ayden Soria, Finn Carr, Ambra Angiolini
Release date: 8 November 2019
Genre: Animated
Running time: 97 minutes
IMDB Score: 8.1/10
Synopsis: In his directorial debut, Sergio Pablos wrote and directed Klaus, a 2019 Spanish-American animated Christmas movie. It was made by his firm Sergio Pablos Animation Studios, and was made available on Netflix. The tale centres on a postman assigned to a remote island hamlet in the Far North who befriends a recluse toymaker as part of an alternative origin myth for Santa Claus apart from the genuine Saint Nicholas of Myra.
3. Elf
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart
Release date: 7 November 2003
Genre: Christmas comedy
Running time: 97 minutes
IMDB Score: 7.0/10
Synopsis: Buddy, a human, is raised at the North Pole among elves. He leaves for New York to look for his biological father after learning that he is not an elf. A 2003 American holiday comedy called Elf was written by David Berenbaum and directed by Jon Favreau. Elf, which had a $33 million budget when it was released in the United States on November 7, 2003, was a huge critical and financial success. Both audiences and critics enjoyed Ferrell’s portrayal of Buddy the Elf, with many citing it as one of his greatest.
4. A Christmas Prince
Directed by: Alex Zamm
Starring: Rose McIver, Ben Lamb, Tom Knight, Sarah Douglas, Daniel Fathers, Alice Krige, Tahirah Sharif
Release date: 17 November 2017
Genre: Christmas romantic comedy
Running time: 92 minutes
IMDB Score: 5.8/10
Synopsis: A Christmas Prince is a 2017 American holiday romance comedy film written by Karen Schaler and Nathan Atkins and directed by Alex Zamm. The story follows a young journalist who is sent abroad in the weeks before Christmas to go undercover and get the truth about a playboy prince who will become king. In 2018, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding was released which serves as a direct sequel, followed by A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby in 2019.
5. Falling for Christmas
Directed by: Janeen Damian
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, Olivia Perez, Alejandra Flores, Sean J. Dillingham, Chase Ramsey, Aliana Lohan
Release date: 10 November 2022
Genre: Romance
Running time: 93 minutes
IMDB Score: 5.2/10
Synopsis: Actress Lindsay Lohan plays a pampered heiress who loses her memory in a skiing accident and ends up in the care of a lodge owner widower at Christmas in the 2022 American holiday romance comedy Falling for Christmas. Using a screenplay by Ron Oliver and Jeff Bonnett as her source material, Janeen Damian makes her directing debut with this movie. Additionally, playing supporting parts are Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, and Olivia Perez. Following a string of professional disappointments while overcoming her addiction and legal difficulties, it was Lohan’s first performance in a significant production in more than ten years.
6. Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon, Anthony Hopkins
Release date: 17 November 2000
Genre: Fantasy comedy
Running time: 105 minutes
IMDB Score: 6.2/10
Synopsis: Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, is a holiday fantasy comedy film that Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Jeffrey Price wrote the screenplay. Based on the same-titled children’s book written by Dr Seuss in 1957. Following the animated TV special of the same name from 1966, which served as the book’s second adaptation, this was the first Dr Seuss novel to be turned into a full-length feature film. Jim Carrey plays the title character in the movie, which also stars Jeffrey Tambor and Christine Baranski in supporting parts and is narrated by Anthony Hopkins.
7. It’s A Wonderful Life
Directed by: Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Karolyn Grimes, Donna Reed, Virginia Patton, Jimmy Hawkins, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi
Release date: 7 January 1947
Genre: Fantasy drama
Running time: 131 minutes
IMDB Score: 8.6/10
Synopsis: Frank Capra produced and directed the 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. It is based on the 1943 self-published short story and booklet The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern, which takes inspiration loosely from Charles Dickens’s novella, A Christmas Carol. Actor James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who has sacrificed his personal goals to benefit others in his society. On Christmas Eve, George Bailey has suicidal thoughts; however, Clarence Odbody, his guardian angel, steps in to save him. Clarence shows George the people he has impacted and what the world might look like without him. It’s A Wonderful Life is a Christmas movie classic that is showing on Netflix for a limited time.
8. Arthur Christmas
Directed by: Sarah Smith
Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria
Release date: 23 November 2011
Genre: Computer-animated Christmas science fantasy comedy
Running time: 97 minutes
IMDB Score: 7.1/10
Synopsis: The movie, set on Christmas Eve, centres on Arthur Claus, Santa Claus’s clumsy but well-intentioned son, who learns that his father’s advanced spacecraft has failed to deliver one girl’s gift. He sets out on a mission to deliver the girl’s gift, joined only by his irascible and free-spirited grandfather, an eager young Christmas elf fascinated with wrapping presents for kids, and a team of reindeer. Barry Cook and Sarah Smith collaborate to co-direct Arthur Christmas. Co-producing the movie with Sony Pictures Animation is Aardman Animations.
9. The Polar Express
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Josh Hutcherson, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Darrian O Driscoll, Meagan Moore, Tinashe, Peter Scolari, Hayden McFarland, Jimmy Bennett, Matthew Hall, Eddie Deezen, Jimmy Pinchak, Michael Jeter
Release date: 13 October 2004
Genre: Computer-animated fantasy adventure
Running time: 100 minutes
IMDB Score: 6.6/10
Synopsis: Based off of Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 children’s book of the same name, The Polar Express is a computer-animated fantasy adventure film that Robert Zemeckis co-wrote, directed, and served as one of the executive producers of. The movie includes live-action and motion-capture CGI animations of human characters. It tells the story of a little child who, on Christmas Eve, witnesses a mystery train stop outside his window and receives an invitation to board from the conductor. The North Pole is the destination of the train. The boy makes a trip to see Santa Claus as he prepares for Christmas with many young children.
10. Scrooge A Christmas Carol
Directed by: Stephen Donnelly
Starring: Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Jonathan Pryce, Johnny Flynn, James Cosmo, Trevor Dion Nicholas
Release date: 2 December 2022
Genre: Computer-animated musical fantasy
Running time: 97 minutes
IMDB Score: 6.2/10
Synopsis: The ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge’s old business partner, Jacob Marley, as well as the spirits of Christmases past, present, and future pay him a visit on Christmas Eve in the hopes that he may see the folly of his ways. The screenplay for the 2022 computer-animated musical fantasy film Scrooge: A Christmas Carol was written by Stephen Donnelly and Leslie Bricusse, and it was adapted from the 1970 film called Scrooge, for which Bricusse also authored the screenplay and the lyrics.
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