8 Non-Christmas Christmas Movies

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A while ago I did a list of non-Christmas Christmas movie list on Hubpages and I thought let’s do that again but here with different movies. So you can check out the other list HERE which is a bit more in step with other lists like this. Do look at it, it’s all I want for Christmas.    

So here are eight other movies that are less commonly on other people’s lists. No shade to other lists on other sites.  These movies have a winter setting or have a scene at Christmas and they have a familial tone.   

Many films have the winter-y or snowy setting and a familial  tones like Fanaa or Star Wars but I would not call those non-christmas Christmas movies, even though Star Wars movies have been coming out around Christmas (except Solo) so there is that added touch but all the same there not among the list.

So here are eight movies. I’m going try to avoid spoilers. These are ranked in no order.   

Emmanuelle Beart as Manon in Manon des Sources picture image
Emmanuelle Beart as Manon in Manon des Sources

Manon de Sources –  I think I have talked about this movie a little bit before. But towards the end of the film there are some scenes at Christmas,  at least one scene at Christmas. However would say the the family angle some more into play here. Also if you want to want this movie you must watch Jean de Florette first because Manon des Source is the second part. But I highly recommend this movie.  

Lady and the Tramp

Lady and the Tramp – This movie has a Christmas bookend as it starts and end at Christmas. But I don’t think I have to say too much about this one, it being a Disney classic however I will say that this film does have a strong message of family. 

Belle and the Beast 

Beauty and the Beast – This one might just be superfluously here but I don’t care, it’s snowy and magical, so It counts. 

Anya journey to the past Anastasia picture image
Anya

Anastasia – Again you have snow imagery  and a strong message of family togetherness. Plus Once Upon a December could be played in a Holiday rotation and wouldn’t feel out of place. 

Gin, Miyuki and Hana 

Tokyo Godfathers – I wouldn’t say that this was my favorite Satoshi Kon movie, (that would be Paprika.) It is one those movies that is a Christmas movie but it seldom makes any of the list, so it’s here. 

The film is set on Christmas eve and is the story about three homeless people finding a baby. It has a non-traditional take on family.  

David Bowie as Maj. Jack 'Strafer' Celliers in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence picture image
David Bowie as Maj. Jack ‘Strafer’ Celliers in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence- I haven’t seen this movie is quite a long time and I don’t really remember it super well but I recall liking it. So this a war-time Drama starting David Bowie as a POW. The last scene of this movie takes place at Christmas. 

Daniel Emilfork as Krank dressed as Santa The City of Lost Children picture image
Daniel Emilfork as Krank dressed as Santa

City of Lost Children – I reviewed this movie  not too long ago. It has some Christmas imagery and it weird but there is also the family connection as the main character tries to save his brother, the weird family the mad scientist makes and the orphans. It has all the making of a Christmas classic oddly enough.

Dr Zhivago

Dr Zhivago – I will admit I haven’t seen this movie but I have always wanted to but the run-time is intimidating.  Then again I have seen Lawrence of of Arabia which is longer so that is on me, one day.  Anyway like most of the movies listed here this one again is about family and has a pivotal scene set at Christmas. 

Do you have a favorite non-Christmas movie? If so what is it?  One of my favorites is on my Hubpages list . Can you guess it??? 

Live Action Fairy Tale Disappointments

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This are movies that I was disappointed in and in a few cases just missed the worst list. These are in no particular order.  Also only did five of them.

Jang Dong-gun as Kunlun & Cecilia Cheung as Qingcheng The Promise picture image review

Jang Dong-gun as Kunlun & Cecilia Cheung as Qingcheng

The Promise –  This one just nearly missed the worst list. A few things kept it off, one being it was its own thing so it didn’t  oppose a source material, at least to my knowledge, the visuals in parts were very nice and I gave it the benefit of the doubt that the Chinese version was better. However, I wished the plot focused more on the lead female like Netflix suggested it did and not a fast runner fighting an evil duke that has a thing for feathers. Overall this one way really confusing and disappointing.

Vincent Cassel as the Beast and Léa Seydoux as Belle La Belle et la Bete 2014 picture image

Vincent Cassel as the Beast and Léa Seydoux as Belle

La Belle et la Bete (2014) – This movie I really wanted to like but the film-makers really messed most of this up. They gave the Beast a backstory that confused things and they went too far with trying to make it epic. I’m not saying that Fairy Tales movies can’t be epic but film makers need to stop doing it because you can’t pull if off. But more than that they didn’t even bother to have  Belle and Beast fall in love which should have been a crime. This movie is lucky that they were so many other terrible  movies or it would been on the worst list. The costumes were nice though.

Moira Shearer as Vicky having to choice between love and dancing The Red Shoes picture image

Moira Shearer as Vicky having to choice between love and dancing

The Red Shoes – This movie is yet another movie that people like and I was more disappointed in. If they had spent the time to establish Vicky’s love of dance, the romance,  and why she really had to make the choice between dancing and love it would have been better. The plot was just too rushed and unexplained. The Ballet part of the great though, so it’s slightly forgivable that the rushed the boring icky movie parts. I just want to note that shot  which is the picture shows  is really great.

Rutger Hauer as Navarre with Isabeau in Hawk form Ladyhawke picture image

Rutger Hauer as Navarre with Isabeau in Hawk form

Ladyhawke – I really wanted to like this movie but it was just too boring, too bland, too tonal confused  and too fill of 80’s cheesiness.   It’s a weird yet bad combination.

Lily James as Ella and Richard Madden as Prince Kit Cinderella 2015 picture image

Lily James as Ella and Richard Madden as Prince Kit

Cinderella (2015) – Again I really wanted to like this movie, the casting spoke to me and it had lovely costumes but it wasn’t enough. The choices they made just confused the plot and Ella was less proactive than her 1950 counterpart. I don’t need or really want a super hero military leader Cinderella but girl just spins and twirls. Also the pacing of this one was really bad, it felt so much longer than it needed to be.

Honorable Mention

The Snow Queen (2002) – Just because it was super long, the acting was bad and the weird to heck plot. But I didn’t have any excpetations of it so that helped.

Christmas Women Movies

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Christmas maybe technically over but I’m going to mention two more movies that are sort of Christmas related.

Number 1; Little Women (1994)

I know this isn’t the best adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s book but I enjoy this movie and it has a Christmas feel as it does have scenes that take place at Christmas. But it’s one though films that I prefer to watch at Christmas.

Number 2; 8 Women

8 women is a French movie that takes around Christmas but ti is not Christmas-y it’s about murder. It stars 8 of France’s leading actresses including Catherine Deneuve. But it’s a great movie and they sing it in.

From Vaudeville to Toll Booth

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You may not know this but around the turn of 19th century, Quasimodo decided to move out of   Notre Dame to pursue his dream of being on the stage. He joined the ranks of Vaudeville where he became a star.

Quasimodo as a Vaudeville Star picture image

Quasimodo as a Vaudeville Star

In 1922 he got wind that Universal was doing a movie version of Hunchback and he decided to leave the stage and take the plunge into “moving picture” but he lost the role of Quasimodo to Lon Chaney because his movement were to subtle for the screen and he was just too “nice” in his depiction of himself.

After that he tried to return to the stage but he never reached the same level of stardom and when vaudeville cease to be Quasimodo once again tried the silver screen. He got a few bit roles here and there but sadly all of his films are considered lost. After 1936 Quasimodo went out the public eye. Recently however he was spotted working at a Toll Booth somewhere in New Jersey. Keep a look out for him, you may see him one day.

Quaimodo at work in a Toll Booth image image

Quaimodo at work in a Toll Booth

How does Esmeralda have green eyes?

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Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image red dress

Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Today’s question is “How does Esmeralda have green eyes?” I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Esmeralda in question is Disney Esmeralda, since she’s the only one with green eyes.

Also a Disclaimer, I have read the book, many many times. In the Book, Esmeralda has Black eyes. This question is about Disney Esmeralda, the book does not enter into this question except with regards to her name with her name.

Esmeralda and Djali Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda and Djail Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Since this question is “How” which means “by what means” and since she is a cartoon this question is very simple; it’s green ink. But allow me to make yet another massive assumption, this question is actually a “why” question meaning “what reason for.”  So let’s answer this new question, Why does Disney’s Esmeralda have green eyes?

Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

I think the reason was to link the character to the name. In the book Esmeralda got her name because of an amulet she wears which is a pouch that has a paste emerald on it. It’s worth mentioning that Esmeralda in the book is rarely called “Esmeralda” it’s either “La Esmeralda” or something linked to her being a gypsy or a dancer. So the name is a title in someway. Now the in the disney movie, Esmeralda is a proper name and was given to her based on her eye color.

Esmeralda singing God Help the Outcast Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda singing God Help the Outcast Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Now let’s ask one more question, is it possible for Esmeralda to even have this eye color. Well yes and no. No is the sense that this shade of green is not a natural eye color but it’s a Disney film so to hell with logic and the law of nature. And yes, given that the Romani (Gypsies) came out of Northern India, it’s possible, albeit quite rare. After all some of India’s top actresses have green or blue eyes like Rani Mukherjee (Golden- green) and Aiswariya Rai (blue).*

Rani Mukherjee posingpicture image

Rani Mukherjee posing

Aishwarya Rai umrao jaan Blue eye

Aishwarya Rai as Umrao Jaan

I mean without getting to a whole anthropological, genealogical, and tracking human migration patterns over the centuries discussion, let’s just say that this type of color is possible for a Romani and therefore it’s not impossible for Esmeralda. Though it inaccurate to the book where she has dark brown eyes but creative license and what not.

Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre dame picture image

Esmeralda reaching out to Quasimodo Disney Hunchback of Notre dame

Please Note – This answer was not meant to be 100% serious, so relax. It was more about ink color and character design than about Genes and Hereditary patterns.

*Movie Recommendations with Rani Mukherjee and Aiswariya Rai (I’m a Bollywood fan ^_^)
Rani Mukherjee- Black, Paheli,Dil Bole Hadippa
Aiswariya Rai- Devdas , Umrao Jaan, Jodhaa Akbar
This movie has both actress through Rai is just a cameo. But It’s a funny movie.
Bunty Aur Babli