The same Christmas movies are on television this time every year… A Christmas Story, Elf, It’s A Wonderful Life, Jingle All The Way, and so on. Even though we’ll never tire of these films, we thought we could spice up your viewing experience a bit by offering some interesting and little known tidbits about your favorite holiday classics. (These fun facts are mostly from Mental Floss’ 25 Facts About Famous Christmas Movies.) Enjoy!
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
- In the film, the Dodge pickup truck tailgating Clark Griswold’s family station wagon is the same one Kurt Russel used in the film Overboard.
- The Griswold’s neighbor’s house is one and the same with Murtaugh’s house in the Lethal Weapon series…in case it looked familiar to you.
- If you’ve ever noticed during the scene where Uncle Louis and Aunt Bethany arrive, the camera shakes a bit. That’s because there was a minor earthquake during filming, and the producers just left the scene in!
Elf
- Supposedly, the concept of this film was first introduced in 1993 during which time Jim Carrey was lined up for the lead role, not Will Farrell. Would have been a different film entirely we think!
- As you probably noticed, Will Ferrell enters Gimbels Department Store, but Macys in fact put Gimbels out of business in 1987. So in the film, the Gimbels is in fact the Macys on 34th Street in Manhattan but with computer alterations.
- Buddy’s elf friend Ming Ming from the opening scenes of the film is in actuality Peter Billingsely or Ralphie from A Christmas Story! This is probably because Peter Billingsley and director Jon Favreau are friends.
Home Alone
- Christmas movies are known for alluding to other holiday classic films. If you recall, a scene in Home Alone references It’s A Wonderful Life when the family is watching television in their Paris hotel room.
- The scene in the end of the film when Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern finally catch up with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci bit Kevin’s finger a bit harder than he’d intended leaving Culkin with a permanent scar.
- When Daniel Stern had to endure the scene with the tarantula crawling on his face, he said he’d only do it on the condition it was done in one take. His scream was added in afterwards, since a real scream would have scared the spider away.
A Christmas Story
- Apparently, Jack Nicholson wanted the role of Ralphie’s father yet director Bob Clark didn’t want to pay Nicholson’s high salary. Clark was very happy with Darrin McGavin’s performance, and rightly so. Could you imagine such a sentimental film with Jack Nicholson in that role?
- We all know well the tongue-freezing scene. But have you ever wondered if it was possible for your tongue to become stuck on a piece of cold medal? Well you don’t have to experiment yourself to find out — Mythbusters has done this already and found out yes, it is possible!
It’s A Wonderful Life
- If George Bailey looks particularly sweaty during the scene on the bridge between him and Clarence, that’s because he was in real life. THe day that scene was filmed it was 90 degrees outside! But it works to the film’s advantage, since the ‘sweat’ can be interpreted as part of his nervous breakdown or as snow melting onto his face.
- Considering the popularity of the film today, It’s A Wonderful Life received mixed reviews and was considered a box office flop back in December 1946 when it was released.
What’s your favorite holiday film?
Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.