New Family-Friendly Christmas Movie Classics

When we think of Movie Classics, we think early Hollywood. But there are several newer family-friendly movies that should become Christmas Classics.

Most Biblical New Family-Friendly Christmas Movie Classic:
The Nativity Story, 2006. The Nativity Story has no big stars, which makes it easier to imagine them as the characters they play. Keisha Castle-Hughes and Oscar Isaac are Mary and Joseph.

Value: For those who believe the Bible for its spiritual content about the birth of Jesus and/or at least its historical value, this gives a realistic portrayal of the ancient Hebrew culture. It is gritty and yet beautiful; the travel scenes are dirty and unglamorous.

The movie explores the dilemma between Joseph and Mary when they discover she is pregnant, since unwed pregnant women could be stoned to death or exiled in those days. The revelation that she is actually carrying God’s child, the Light of the World, spurs them on. The rest of the movie centers on their hard road to Bethlehem for the census, with a fresh look at how Joseph and Mary’s love might have grown during the grueling trip. Age Group: All.

A Family-Friendly Christmas Movie Re-Make that Should be Released Now:
Miracle on 34th Street, the 1994 re-make. This re-make of the 1947 original classic should have been made for 2009. In 1994, it was still appropriate in the Hollywood mainstream to explore the possibility that God does exist and is worth talking about. Elizabeth Perkins plays a store P.R. person looking for an appropriate Santa; Dylan McDermott the neighbor who loves her, and Richard Attenborough the “real” Santa and matchmaker.

Value: The courtroom scene commentary about “In God We Trust” on the dollar bill is still in the movie, just like in the original… if we can’t prove Santa isn’t real, then we can’t prove God isn’t real either. The movie illustrates that, like Santa, God can be a great source of hope in our world and shouldn’t be discounted. Age Group: All.

A TV Family-Friendly Christmas Movie that should have played the Big Screen:
The Christmas Shoes, 2002. Rob Lowe and Kimberly Williams-Paisley portray the characters from the popular song about a little boy who wants to buy red shoes as a Christmas gift for his dying mother.

Value: Lowe is a work-consumed man whose heart turns tender toward the real meaning of life, and he gives the boy the money. Get your Kleenex. Age Group: All.

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