Image: Hughes Entertainment
About This Quiz
When you think of the best Christmas movies ever, there's no doubt "It's a Wonderful Life," "Home Alone" and "A Christmas Carol" are near the top of the list, but when you start to think of others near the top of that list, like "A Christmas Story," "Gremlins" and "A Christmas Carol," you might realize a pattern. They're all from the 1980s.
The 1983 hit "A Christmas Story" is practically the de facto American Christmas movie. It's nearly impossible to turn on a TV during Christmastime and not see that leg lamp or hear about Ralphie shooting his eye out. If you're looking for cult classics, look no further than "Gremlins." Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted, remixed and remade dozens of times, but popular consensus says the best adaptation was made in 1984. Add that to the fact we got to see the Griswolds go on their most epic vacation, Bill Murray was at the top of his game, John Cusack was doing his romantic comedy thing, Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson were starring in epic non-Christmas Christmas movies and everybody from the Muppets to the Disney crew got in on the celebrations. The '80s is an awesome decade for Christmas flicks.
Can you name these '80s Christmas movies based on a screenshot?
"Lethal Weapon"
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"Babes in Toyland"
"Die Hard"
Here's another non-Christmas movie that takes place during Christmas. Bruce Willis plays an NYC police officer who takes it upon himself to catch a bunch of terrorists who have taken over an office Christmas party.
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"Scrooged"
"Prancer"
"A Christmas Story"
All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun, but everybody thinks he'll shoot his eye out if he gets one. He almost does shoot his eye out, but luckily for him, the bb hits his eye glasses instead.
"Gremlins"
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"A Smoky Mountain Christmas"
"The Snowman"
"Yogi's First Christmas"
Yogi bear gets quite the excitement for his first-ever Christmas. Once his family awakens from hibernation, they find they have to defeat a couple of villains who want to ruin Christmas for everyone. It all goes down at Jellystone Lodge.
"A Christmas Carol"
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"A Smoky Mountain Christmas"
One of the world's most famous country singers, Dolly Parton, plays a famous country singer who escapes the bright lights of Los Angeles to spend a relaxing Christmas in the Great Smoky Mountains. This musical fantasy was made for TV and released in 1986.
"A Very Brady Christmas"
"The Night They Saved Christmas"
"The Snowman"
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"The Christmas Star"
"Trading Places"
When two finance tycoons decide to run a social experiment, Eddie Murphy goes from street crook to Wall Street hotshot in a very short time. This movie is one of Murphy's best films and one of the best Christmas movies of the '80s.
"The Little Troll Prince"
"Don't Open till Christmas"
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"One Magic Christmas"
"A Very Brady Christmas"
The biggest family on TV came together in this TV special to celebrate a distinctly Brady Christmas. As usual, the gang has to get over their internal squabbling before they can have a happy Christmas celebration.
"Prancer"
"Gremlins"
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"Gremlins"
"Die Hard"
"Rocky IV"
Of all the movies in the Rocky franchise, "Rocky IV" is in the top half of the list. Rocky wants to get revenge on Ivan Drago in this installment of the franchise. The bout with the 260-pound Soviet fighter is scheduled for Christmas Day.
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
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"Plains, Trains & Automobiles"
This is a Thanksgiving movie on the surface and a Christmas movie at heart. When two strangers get along to help each other during the holiday, the Christmas messages of love and family shine through.
"A Christmas Without Snow"
"The Christmas Toy"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special"
When a group of Earthling kids gets stuck on Eternia, it's up to superhero twins He-Man and She-Ra to save the day. Horde Prime and Skeletor face off against the twins and the magic of Christmas in this TV special.
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"A Christmas Carol"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"One Magic Christmas"
"A Christmas Carol"
"A Christmas Carol" is recognized around the globe as one of the best Christmas stories of all time, and no matter how many times it's adapted to the screen, this 1984 TV special starring George C. Scott as Scrooge continues to be one of the better ones.
"The Snowman"
"The Christmas Toy"
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"A Garfield Christmas Special"
The epic comic strip cat created by Jim Davis in the '70s made his way to the TV screen for this holiday special. Garfield creator Jim Davis actually wrote the script for this special and said it was partially based on his own life.
"The Snowman"
"Babes in Toyland"
"A Christmas Without Snow"
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"The Little Troll Prince"
The little troll prince gets in trouble with his elders for being nice, polite and way too well-behaved. He finally finds his way into a human household where he learns that being nice, polite and well-behaved are good things.
"A Very Brady Christmas"
"Christmas Evil"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"Rudolph"
"The Snowman"
"Prancer"
What do you do when one of Santa's reindeer winds up in your yard with a broken leg? If you're little Jessica Riggs, you take care of it while hiding it from all the adults. When her father finds it, however, she has to come up with a new plan.
"The Christmas Star"
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"A Christmas Carol"
"The Snowman"
"Lethal Weapon"
"One Magic Christmas"
It's easy to give up when everything is going wrong, and this mother learns that first hand. Just when she's on the edge and giving up on her family, Santa decides to send her an angel to get her through the holidays.
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"A Muppet Family Christmas"
There are some TV families that are like second families to most families in the country, and the Muppets are one of those families. This epic TV special features the entire gang, and even some of the "Sesame Street" crew make an appearance.
"Mickey's Christmas Carol"
"A Walt Disney Christmas"
"Christmas Evil"
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"To All a Goodnight"
"A Very Brady Christmas"
"Trading Places"
"A Hobo's Christmas"
There's no such thing as a Christmas movie without overall themes of love and forgiveness, and few movies illustrate those themes better than this TV special. When a father leaves his family and doesn't return for 25 years, everybody's love and forgiveness gets tested.
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"Christmas Evil"
"A Christmas Carol"
"Lethal Weapon"
"Scrooged"
The Charles Dickens classic has been remade and spun a million different ways, and this '80s flick starring Bill Murray is one of the better ones. Murray plays a stingy, evil TV network president who couldn't care less about the Christmas spirit.
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"A Walt Disney Christmas"
You can hear Walt Disney himself voicing Mickey Mouse in this Christmas anthology from Disney. These six shorts are also known as "A Disney Christmas Gift," and the short movie features, Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy and more.
"The Snowman"
"A Christmas Without Snow"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"Babes in Toyland"
"The Snowman"
David Bowie voices the main character in this film about a boy who builds a magical snowman. The snowman is able to fly to the North Pole so the kid can meet Father Christmas in this TV special. This short film runs less than 30 minutes.
"Prancer"
"The Christmas Toy"
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"Santa Claus: The Movie"
"Ernest Saves Christmas"
The fictional Ernest character was created by an advertising agency to star in commercials in the 1980s. He eventually went on to star in several films, including "Ernest Saves Christmas," where he helps Santa find a replacement.
"Christmas Evil"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"A Christmas Story"
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"
"Gremlins"
"The Sure Thing"
There's nothing like winter break in college because it's about a month long. It's long enough to drive 3,000 miles across the country just to meet up with a girl who may or may not like you. John Cusack stars in this romantic comedy about a college student who does just that.
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"One Magic Christmas"
"Die Hard"
"Christmas Evil"
"Lethal Weapon"
Christmas in Los Angeles averages about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so it never really feels like Christmas, but this is a perfect look at an LA Christmas. Gibson and Glover have to learn how to get along in this non-Christmas Christmastime classic.
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"Gremlins"
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
We watched the Griswolds go on a road trip vacation and then a European vacation before we were blessed with this attempt at the perfect Christmas vacation. The Christmas vacation is considered by many to be the best of the National Lampoon vacation movies.
"Prancer"
"A Smoky Mountain Christmas"
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"Christmas Comes to Willow Creek"
This film centers around Willow Creek, Alaska and the local production facility that employs a healthy number of residents. When it closes down, everything seems doomed, until the magic of Christmas sweeps in.
"One Magic Christmas"
"The Snowman"
"Scrooged"
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"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"
"One Magic Christmas"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"The Christmas Toy"
The best Christmas movies have magical themes, and nothing is more magical than all of your Christmas toys coming to life. In this film, the toys can't get caught by humans or else they get frozen forever.
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"Trading Places"
"Better Off Dead"
Nothing is worse than getting dumped, except getting dumped right before the holidays. John Cusack would rather be dead than deal with reality until he meets a French exchange student that gives him new found hope in life.
"Trancers"
"The Sure Thing"
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"Less Than Zero"
Before "The Rules of Attraction" and "American Psycho," Bret Easton Ellis penned this novel while still in college, making him a star. Robert Downey Jr., Jami Gertz and James Spader all star in the film. An unknown Brad Pitt also makes an appearance as an extra.
"The Little Troll Prince"
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence"
"The Christmas Toy"
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"Don't Open till Christmas"
"Babes in Toyland"
"Gremlins"
You never know what you're going to get when you go shopping in antique stores in Chinatown, but you won't find a mogwai for sale in real life. And if you do, just remember to keep it away from light and water, and never let it eat after midnight.
"Prancer"
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"Christmas Evil"
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"
If you thought a Japanese war film about a prisoner of war and his Japanese translator couldn't have anything to do with Christmas, this one might change your mind. Bowie plays a P.O.W. who gets the Christmas gift of a lifetime in this film.
"One Magic Christmas"
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"The Snowman"
"Mickey's Christmas Carol"
There are so many remakes of "A Christmas Carol" it's hard to keep count, but you know Disney had to get in on the mix. Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and all their friends play their parts in this short retelling of the classic.
"A Christmas Carol"
"Scrooged"
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"A Very Brady Christmas"
"The Princess Bride"
You may not think of "The Princess Bride" as a Christmas movie, but there's no denying the revolves a grandfather giving his grandson a book as a present during wintertime while a Santa Claus decoration is hanging on the wall. Add that to the themes of love, family and miracles and you have a perfect movie to watch at Christmas time.
"Christmas Evil"
"One Magic Christmas"
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"The Night They Saved Christmas"
Santa has to employ the help of an unwitting wife and her children to convince her oil-exec husband to stop oil exploration in the Arctic in this film. Luckily for the entire world, it worked, and everybody lives happily ever after.
"One Magic Christmas"
"Christmas Evil"
"The Snowman"
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"A Very Brady Christmas"
"One Magic Christmas"
"The Christmas Toy"
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"
Mickey Rooney stars in this holiday film as a Manhattan cop who visits his grandson in California one Christmas. His grandson has never seen snow, let alone snow on Christmas, and grandpa goes out of his way to change that.
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"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"Christmas Evil"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
A couple of '50s Hollywood legends star in this TV movie about a family plotting a Christmas celebration during WWII. Courtney Cox stars as a family member in one of her first films. The film went on to win an Emmy for art direction.
"One Magic Christmas"
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"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"A Christmas Without Snow"
It's all crashing down for a recently divorced mom who decides to join a choir and get her life on track. That doesn't help much, as the choir is pretty demanding, and she comes very close to celebrating a Christmas without snow.
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"
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"Gremlins"
"The Christmas Toy"
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
This is why you shouldn't tell little kids that Santa doesn't exist. Even worse, you should never tell little kids that Santa Claus is a serial killer. A boy grows up in the most unusual of circumstances in this unusual Christmas flick.
"Christmas Evil"
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"The Christmas Star"
"The Christmas Toy"
"Santa Claus: The Movie"
You can't let money-hungry business executives get anywhere near Santa's toy shop, and one innocent elf learns that lesson the hard way in this British-American fantasy film. Luckily, Santa is powerful enough to save the world and save Christmas.
"To All A Goodnight"
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"A Smoky Mountain Christmas"
"The Christmas Gift"
"Roots: The Gift"
Alex Haley's "Roots" series was one of the most influential in television. The third installment of the series follows a free black man who helps slaves escape to the underground railroad. It's set during Christmas in 1775.
"One Magic Christmas"
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"Scrooged"
"Prancer"
"The Christmas Gift"
An ambitious architect is sent to a magical town in Colorado to survey it for his bosses. When he gets there, he realizes everyone believes in Santa and the town has a mysterious magical charm to it. He has to decide whether his work is really that important.
"A Smoky Mountain Christmas"
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"Trancers"
"Christmas Evil"
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you told a child that Santa Claus didn't exist? Well, if you watch this movie, you don't have to wonder anymore. This horror-thriller was originally called "You Better Watch Out."
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"The Snowman"
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You Got:
/40
