The big day is approaching and our guide to the best Christmas movies on Disney Plus is here to help you plan your festive viewing. Disney Plus is probably the first streaming service that springs to mind when you start wondering about settling in with a Christmas classic. But where do you start? That's where this list comes in. We've combed through all the festive films the streamer has to offer to bring you our 10 top choices of what to stream this holiday season.
Christmas films are more varied than you might expect – check out our guide to the best Christmas horror movies if you want proof of that! For this list, though, we've assembled 10 bona fide classics: think Mickey Mouse, Muppets, Kevin McCallister, and more. Everything below is available in the US and the UK, too, so you can get streaming from either side of the pond.
10. Godmothered
Year: 2020
Director: Sharon Maguire
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
Eleanor (Jillian Bell) is a Godmother in training, but when her school is on the brink of being shut down, she ventures into the real world to help who she thinks is a young girl named Mackenzie. In fact, Mackenzie is a grown woman, played by Isla Fisher. More magical mishaps than you can shake a wand at ensue, but the stakes are high – if Eleanor can't ace her time as a fairy godmother, she'll be stripped of her powers.
9. Noelle
Year: 2019
Director: Marc Lawrence
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
Noelle Kringle (Anna Kendrick) is the daughter of Father Christmas himself, and this year, her brother Nick (Bill Hader) is stepping into Santa's shoes after their father's death. The problem is, Nick's not doing a great job in training, so Noelle convinces him to take a weekend off. But Nick doesn't come back on time, and Noelle has to set off to find him before the big day – with an adorable little reindeer along for the ride. This one's one of the newest entries on our list of the best Christmas movies on Disney Plus.
8.Mickey's Christmas Carol
Year: 1983
Director: Burny Mattinson
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
A Christmas Carol truly is the quintessential Christmas tale, so it's no surprise it's on our list twice. This time, Mickey Mouse and his pals bring the story to life in that classic Disney animation style. Fittingly, Scrooge McDuck takes on the miserly role of Scrooge, with Mickey as Bob Cratchit, and Goofy as Jacob Marley. Continuing the perfect cartoon casting is Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past, while Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, and other familiar faces also make appearances.
7. The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special
Year: 2022
Director: James Gunn
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
This delightful special fits neatly between the second and third Guardians movies. With Star-Lord depressed following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) sets out to find a present to cheer him up – cue a madcap adventure that involves kidnapping Kevin Bacon. Yes, it's only 42 minutes long, but the Guardians Holiday Special has everything a good Christmas film should have: laughter, tears, and a reminder of the importance of family and friends. That it does all that while maintaining the anarchic spirit of Gunn's movies is a minor Christmas miracle.
6. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Adamson
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
For some fantasy escapism this Christmas, there's no other choice than one of the greatest fantasy movies, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In this film, the four Pevensie siblings stumble across a hidden world called Narnia, entered through the back of a wardrobe. Narnia is in the grip of the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton), who has brought about an endless winter without Christmas. The siblings, together with Aslan the lion, must end her reign.
5. The Santa Clause
Year: 1994
Director: John Pasquin
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, who, one Christmas Eve, comes across the real Santa Claus on his roof. Unfortunately, the meeting is not a happy one – Santa ends up dead (yes, really), but since the world needs Father Christmas, Scott must take his place. After filling in for St. Nick on Christmas Eve, Scott learns that he's now Santa for real thanks to the Santa Clause technicality. He has one year to get ready, and then he's back to the North Pole. If you love The Santa Clause, all the sequels are available on Disney Plus, too.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Year: 1993
Director: Henry Selick
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
If Halloween is your favorite time of year but you're still keen to get into the festive spirit, then look no further than The Nightmare Before Christmas. The flick follows Jack Skellington, one of the greatest Tim Burton characters of all time, as he stumbles into Christmas Town and decides to bring the new season home to Halloween Town. As you might expect, mixing two polar opposite holidays doesn't go so smoothly, and soon Santa and Christmas both are in trouble. This stop motion animation comes from producer Burton and director Henry Selick, with music from Danny Elfman.
3. Frozen
Year: 2013
Director: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
Forget Let It Snow, it's time to Let It Go with Frozen, the modern day fairytale all about sisterhood. Elsa and Anna used to be inseparable, until Elsa's magical ice powers almost caused disaster. But after years of ice-olation Elsa's powers reveal themselves in a big way, and Anna sets off on a journey to bring her sister (and summer) home. There's enough catchy tunes and sentient snowmen to thaw even the most frozen of hearts in this film.
Read our Frozen review for more.
2. Home Alone
Year: 1990
Director: Chris Columbus
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
That's right, one of the best Christmas movies of all time is available to stream on Disney Plus. Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin, a young child left (wait for it) home alone by his family after a mixup leaves them jetting off on holiday without him. Having a big house all to yourself is probably every kid's dream, but things are complicated by Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), two burglars with the McCallister house in their sights. They're unprepared for Kevin's ingenious way of protecting his home, though – a series of outlandish booby traps. Festive, slapstick fun (and the sequels are streaming, too).
1. The Muppet Christmas Carol
Year: 1992
Director: Brian Henson
Available on: Disney Plus US/UK
This adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic brings in the Muppets to play Bob Cratchit and co., while Michael Caine is the tightfisted Ebenezer Scrooge. He's a fairly coldhearted fellow until he gets a wake-up call thanks to visits from three Christmas Ghosts, who show him the error of his ways. The Muppet Christmas Carol is much-beloved for good reason – for a funny, heartwarming musical all about the true meaning of Christmas, there's no better movie.
Read our The Muppet Christmas Carol review for more.
For even more binge-able Chrimbo content, check out our roundup of the best Christmas movies that aren't really Christmas movies, or if you're looking to put a little more fright into your festivities, see our list of the best Christmas horror movies.
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