'A Rugrats Chanukah'

A Rugrats Chanukah is a treat sweeter than gold-wrapped chocolate gelt and brighter than a radiant menorah.

This endearing, vibrantly animated film features the Rugrats gang in a retelling of the classic Chanukah story.

Valiant Tommy Pickles stars as Judah the Maccabee. Judah bravely leads his fellow Jews in a righteous rebellion against the Greek king "Antonica" who is trying to inflict his Greek culture onto all people, including our very own, very Jewish Rugrats.

Antonica prohibits the Jews from studying the holy Torah, raids their synagogues and forces them to worship an idol that has an astounding resemblance to Cynthia, the favorite doll of the very un-angelic Angelica.

"A Maccababy's gotta do what a Maccababy's gotta do!" Tommy fearlessly proclaims before commanding his fellow Maccabees to a Jewish victory.

Triumphant, Tommy and team reclaim the Temple to find that there is only enough oil to keep the menorah alight for one day. But it takes eight days to create new oil . . . What are our heroic Maccababies to do?

Well, they don't say "A Great Miracle Happened There" on Chanukah for nothing.

A great miracle happens!

The oil phenomenally blazes bright for eight days, until the spanking new oil is primed for burning.

While the Rugrats are acting out the historical Festival of Lights, a perilous drama unfolds in the present, far from the troubles of the Maccabees.

Grandpa Boris learns that his arch nemesis Schlomo will be playing Boris' regular role of the Greek king at the synagogue's annual Chanukah pageant.

Can the keepah-wearing Rugrats end the enduring, nail-biter of a battle between Boris and Schlomo, stop the "Meanie of Chanukah" (a.k.a. Schlomo), discover the true meaning of Chanukah and manage to stay out of trouble?

Doubtful. These are the Rugrats -- they thrive on trouble.

So sit back with a plate piled high with potato latkes, spin a dreidel, light a menorah and watch a tale of Chanukah chaos and comedy, created as only those zany Rugrats can.

-- Reviewed by Caralyn Green

'Miracle on 34th Street'

Like overpowering eggnog and homemade candy cane cookies, Miracle on 34th Street (1947) just makes you feel that holiday cheer. I can't imagine Christmas without it. Careful not to settle for the re-make -- if you're looking at a box that says Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, put it down.

The classic begins with Macy's Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) hiring jolly old Kriss Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) to play himself in the New York City department store. Besides taking Christmas lists, Kringle's job becomes showing Doris and her disbelieving daughter Susan (a young Natalie Wood) that he -- and everything he stands for -- is real.

When he's brought to trial for lunacy by a scheming psychologist, Doris's neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) argues his case and proves to the New York Supreme Court that there really is a reason to have faith in everything good.

By the end, even Susan knows the jolly one's for real. And so do you.

Like most beloved holiday movies, Miracle on 34th Street is wrapped in the sentimental schmootz that's nausea inducing in any other season. Before Christmas, though, it's the perfect end to a crazed day of last minute shopping and card-writing.

Make some hot chocolate with red and green marshmallows and have the Kleenex ready.

-- Reviewed by Beth Allison

'A Christmas Story'

A list of classic Christmas movies wouldn't be complete without the timeless tale of Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB Gun. Released nearly two decades ago, A Christmas Story is the holiday film we all grew up watching and wondering each time if our young hero would overcome his mom, dad, teachers, and even Santa Claus in his attempt to get his dream gift.

Along the way Ralphie has many adventures including run-ins with bullies, friends who get their tongues stuck to poles, and uttering the forbidden F-word.

Part of the movie's endurance as a holiday classic is most definitely due to its endearing characters.

Besides Ralphie there are his parents, The Old Man obsessed with his new lamp in the shape of a woman's leg and Mother, the woman who won't let anyone near the kitchen while cooking her ill-fated Christmas dinner.

Scut Farcus is the movie's bully, constantly picking on little Ralphie throughout the film with the help of his tiny henchman, Grover.

Most memorable, however, is the character of Santa Claus, who surprisingly shoots down Ralphie's hopes of getting a BB gun by telling him, "You'll shoot your eye out!"

Being a traditional holiday film, however, the hero triumphs in the end, finally getting his gun for Christmas. What happens next, though, is more than predictable, yet lovable nonetheless.

If you haven't seen it, make sure you check out A Christmas Story this holiday season. If you happen to come across its less-than-stellar direct-to-video sequel, It Runs in the Family, burn it.

-- Reviewed by Jason Cox

'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

"Just because I cannot see it, doesn't mean I can't believe it."

As sung by Jack Skellington, the bony protagonist of The Nightmare Before Christmas, this line suggests the film's central question: What is the nature of Christmas? What elements help shape this holiday that millions of people celebrate worldwide? Is it in the wreaths, the garlands, the pretty lights, the presents? Is it about Santa Claus, the baby Jesus, Bing Crosby? If it isn't something that we can see, then how can we determine whether or not Christmas is indeed real?

Jack, frustrated by the mundanity of blood-curdling screams, decides to redirect his efforts toward manufacturing a pseudo-Christmas with the aid of his fellow Halloweentown residents (vampires, mummies, witches, etc). The notion that Christmas can be stolen is nothing new (see Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas), but the twist here is that rather than destroying Christmas for everyone, Jack merely wants to repossess it like a commodity. This suggests that the demons and ghouls of Halloweentown could represent . . . corporate America perhaps?

Regardless of the film's allegorical content, one can certainly watch it on a mere aesthetic level. The claymation is utterly astonishing to behold, yielding gothic vistas the likes of which a live-action art director or cinematographer could only dream of capturing. And the music? Danny Elfman's original score is, in my opinion, far superior than anything else Disney has produced (Nightmare was a product of Touchstone Pictures, a branch of Disney). Viewers will find themselves laughing at the grisly lyrics and then humming them later; few Christmas movies are even remotely as morbidly, splendidly entertaining.

-- Reviewed by Nicholas Norcia