Top Five Christmas Movies – 411 From 406 (Episode 75)

[00:27] Chewie: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is the 4-1-1 from 406. My name is Chewie, and I’m joined once again by my brother from another mother, Mr. Pip. How are you, sir?

[00:34] Pip: I’m great, man. To be honest with you, I’m in the mood right now. I’ve got some Christmas cheer going on here. This is going to be the first official Christmas episode of the 411 from 406, right?

[00:54] Chewie: I think so. I don’t think we’ve ever done a holiday-themed episode like this. This is going to be fun.

Catching Up / Disney Thanksgiving

[01:17] Chewie: Before we get into that, we’ve got some catching up. What have you been up to?

[01:22] Pip: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Eat, drink, be merry — the unofficial kickoff to the holidays. This year was different: I spent Thanksgiving in Disney World in Florida.

If you’ve never been, you just walk and walk and walk. I think the least we walked was 12 miles a day. It was amazing. My in-laws took us down: my family, my in-laws, my brother-in-law and his family — 12 of us. We stayed on property and spent all day in the parks. Four parks in four days: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom… and the crown jewel for me was Hollywood Studios. I got to go to Star Wars Land.

[02:15] Chewie: I’m so jealous. I feel like you cheated on me. The first time I should have seen a life-size Millennium Falcon was with you. Nobody else appreciated it as much as I would have.

[02:41] Pip: I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I took a video walking around the corner into Star Wars World — and seeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time. I knew it was there. I knew it was coming. Didn’t matter. I felt like a little kid. They did such an incredible job. Every character, every building, every trash can — you’re immersed.

[03:41] Chewie: Did you build yourself a lightsaber?

[03:47] Pip: I did. (Shows it.) Purple.

They have this experience called Savi’s Workshop where you choose the type of saber and they bring you the parts. You pick the hilt pieces, end caps, igniter — everything — and you assemble it. It was awesome.

[04:39] Chewie: Tell me about the rides. I’ve heard amazing things.

[04:45] Pip: Rise of the Resistance is the big one. Even the line has story. The idea is you get caught by the First Order and the ride is your escape. You go through interrogation rooms… then you walk into a hangar and you’re in a star destroyer with troops lined up, space outside — it feels real.

Then Smugglers Run: you’re actually in the Millennium Falcon. You go into the cockpit. My wife and one son were pilots, my other two sons were gunners, and I was an engineer. You flip switches, shoot, steer — and you get points based on how well you do.

As a mid-40s guy who grew up loving Star Wars, that day was everything.

[08:08] Pip: We also saw the Indiana Jones stunt spectacular — showing how they do the stunts, the whip, the boulder, explosions. And my new favorite coaster: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT. It’s like Space Mountain on steroids. So good.

Trailer Talk: Indiana Jones / Transformers / Guardians

[10:04] Chewie: Have you seen the new trailer for Indiana Jones 5 — Dial of Destiny?

[10:18] Pip: I have. I’m pumped… but reserving excitement because Crystal Skull wasn’t what we wanted. The trailer looks like it’s all Harrison Ford. I liked it — but he looks really old, and believability is going to be tough. Still, seeing him in the jacket again… as long as I have fun, I don’t care. Just don’t [bleep] it up.

[13:39] Chewie: If Short Round isn’t in this movie, we riot. There’s no reason Ke Huy Quan shouldn’t be in it.

[14:29] Chewie: Do you think they kill Indy?

[14:41] Pip: No. They won’t. They’ll probably let it rest, then reboot it later in an obnoxious way. But I’m in. Opening night.

[16:00] Pip: John Williams is doing the score one last time, too.

[16:23] Chewie: Transformers trailer — did you see it?

[16:29] Pip: Yeah. I’m not a huge fan beyond the first one, but this looked interesting. Glad to see Peter Cullen back. Bumblebee was more cartoony and I think that’s a better direction.

[17:40] Chewie: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 trailer also dropped. Interesting use of Spacehog’s “In the Meantime” — mixed darker like modern trailers do.

A Christmas Story Christmas

[19:00] Pip: We watched A Christmas Story Christmas. My wife’s favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story — we even had a dog named Ralphie. The sequel was good. Most of the original cast is back. We enjoyed it, my wife loved it.

Topic: Top 5 Christmas Movies

[20:58] Pip: Tonight: our all-time favorite Christmas movies.

[21:23] Chewie: We need to talk about Die Hard.

[21:28] Pip: I’m disqualifying Die Hard from my list. I removed action movies set at Christmas — Die Hard, Batman Returns, Iron Man 3, Lethal Weapon, Rocky 4. My list is “true” Christmas movies.

[23:07] Chewie: Over/under on overlap: 2.5?

[23:18] Pip: I’ll take the under.

[23:41] Chewie: I’ve got the over.

Chewie #5 – Elf (2003)

[24:00] Chewie: Number five: Elf (2003), directed by Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner, Bob Newhart. Buddy the elf grows up at the North Pole and goes to NYC to find his father. Classic fish-out-of-water comedy. Hilarious, and in my regular rotation.

[26:02] Pip: Great pick. Might be my favorite Will Ferrell solo movie. “You sit on a throne of lies” gets quoted a lot here.

Pip #5 – A Christmas Story (1983)

[27:22] Pip: Number five: A Christmas Story. Iconic. Red Ryder BB gun, the leg lamp, tongue on the flagpole. Filmed in Cleveland, set in a fictional Indiana town. The sequel was good, but missing Melinda Dillon (Ralphie’s mom) was a bummer.

[30:32] Chewie: It has to be iconic nationally — it runs 24 hours on Christmas Day.

Chewie #4 – The Muppet Christmas Carol

[32:46] Chewie: Number four: The Muppet Christmas Carol. Michael Caine as Scrooge. It’s replayable, warm, and it just feels like Christmas.

[34:30] Pip: I’ve seen it, but don’t remember it. The Muppets aren’t a big thing in my house — so much modern content now. Still love that you bring it back every year.

Pip #4 – 8-Bit Christmas (2021)

[36:07] Pip: Number four: 8-Bit Christmas (2021). Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn. His daughter wants a phone; flashbacks to him as a kid wanting a Nintendo. A lot of heart. Worth watching.

[38:28] Chewie: I remember the trailer — I never watched it. I will. Sounds like something I can watch with the kids.

Sidebar: “The Gift You Wanted Most”

[39:39] Chewie: Do you remember the one gift you wanted most?

[40:07] Pip: A couple… but later in life, my parents surprised me with a Fender Strat. That’s a core memory.

[41:25] Chewie: Mine: a big Transformers toy — Trypticon. Still have it.

[42:52] Chewie: The one you wanted but didn’t get?

[43:05] Chewie: I always wanted a USS Flagg. And I wanted die-cast Voltron — I bought it years later.

[43:42] Pip: I always wanted a GI Joe base — especially the Cobra Terrordrome. Never got it.

Chewie #3 – Christmas Vacation (1989)

[45:08] Chewie: Number three: Christmas Vacation. Written by John Hughes. Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid. Most quotable movie on my list. It holds up and gets better as you get older — especially as a father.

[47:03] Pip: The cast is stacked — Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Watching as an adult: you relate to Clark in ways you never expected.

Pip #3 – Gremlins (1984)

[49:39] Pip: Number three: Gremlins. Joe Dante, Spielberg produced, Jerry Goldsmith score. Scared the [bleep] out of me as a kid. Great Christmas horror vibe. Howie Mandel voices Gizmo.

[52:18] Chewie: I put Gremlins in the “set at Christmas” bucket like Die Hard — but it’s still great. Might show it to my older boys.

Chewie #2 – Love Actually (2003)

[55:52] Chewie: Number two: Love Actually. Huge cast: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson. It’s anthology-ish, all about relationships, and I love it. My wife likes it less than I do.

[57:37] Pip: I’ve never seen it, but I know it’s on the pedestal for a lot of people. I’ll watch it with my wife — she loves it.

Pip #2 – Scrooged (1988)

[1:00:05] Pip: Number two: Scrooged. Richard Donner. Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait. Modern Christmas Carol. Bill Murray as a heel is so fun. I love it every year.

Chewie #1 – Scrooged (1988)

[1:02:46] Chewie: Scrooged is my number one. Bill Murray as Frank Cross is iconic. The speech at the end gets me every time — Christmas is in everyone, every day. The opening “nightmare ad” is hilarious. It’s Bill Murray at his best.

[1:03:21] Pip: I didn’t know Scrooged was his first movie after a four-year break from acting after Ghostbusters.

Pip #1 – Christmas Vacation (1989)

[1:06:46] Pip: Number one forever: Christmas Vacation. Rotten Tomatoes ranking it low is criminal. It’s one of the funniest movies, Christmas-related or not. Staple every year while wrapping presents.

Honorable Mentions

[1:11:55] Pip: Honorable mention: Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983). Scrooge McDuck as Scrooge, Mickey as Bob Cratchit. It’s only 26 minutes, but it’s a yearly tradition — “Dad’s Christmas movie.”

[1:14:37] Chewie: Honorable mention: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). Classic short. Boris Karloff narrates. It’s perfect to put on and feel like Christmas.

Wrap-up / Holiday Plans

[1:17:25] Chewie: Big holiday plans?

[1:18:14] Pip: Staying home. Kids have finals, basketball. We’ll blink and it’ll be 2023.

[1:19:37] Chewie: This will be episode 75. Episode 100 is coming.

[1:20:09] Chewie: This has been an awesome conversation. My name is Chewie, joined by Mr. Pip. Happy holidays, everybody.

[1:20:21] Both: Congratulations. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah. See you guys.