Best Animated Christmas Movies To Watch This Holiday Season

There's a plethora of movies for the holiday season, that is a fact, and for 2022, here are the best animated Christmas films to enjoy with your family and friends to bond over and binge over some popcorn and hot cocoa, with where to watch each of it!

Best Animated Christmas Movies To Watch This 2022 Holiday Season

Credit: MGM

While there are a lot of animated Christmas movies all around, we trimmed down the best of the classics and the new ones for you and your whole family to enjoy. From TV movies to actual movies released in theaters and streaming platforms, here are the ten of some of the best animated Christmas movies to watch this holiday season.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Credit: Lee Mendelson Film Productions

The classics are what started it all for the animated Christmas movies and making it on the list of the best is A Charlie Brown Christmas, as the television special film brings Christmas right to the small screens with the characters from Peanuts. Making it even more special, it is their first ever TV special.

A Charlie Brown Christmas follows Charlie Brown who feels down despite the joyous holiday season and Lucy suggests that he take on the direction of a Christmas play in their neighborhood to uplift his Christmas spirit. However, the show was mocked and ignored by his peers because he chose a real Christmas tree as the centerpiece.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a highly acclaimed animated Christmas movie that it was given an Emmy Award and the highly coveted Peabody Award. It became so iconic that very Christmas season, A Charlie Brown Christmas gets an annual presentation in the US.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is available to stream on AppleTV+.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: Klaus

Credit: Netflix

Netflix remains to be one of the streaming platforms known to produce their original movies and for Christmas, they released a Spanish-American animated Christmas movie in 2019 with Klaus. From the title itself, you already know it's about Christmas.

Klaus is an animated movie following the story of Jesper who just arrived in Smeerensburg to be their new postman and there, he realized how people dislike each other that they do not even exchange letters. Their local toymaker is Klaus and they try to bring back the holiday spirit back in town.

Klaus hold a lot of accolades under its belt with a Best Animated Film award from the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, and it is the first animated film of Netflix to ever be nominated in the Academy Awards for the Best Animated Feature.

Klaus is available to stream on Netflix.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Credit: MGM

Over the years, there were many iterations of the Grinch. Created by Dr. Seuss, the fictional character is based on the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and throughout the history of film, many actors portrayed the iconic yellow-green mean guy who destroys the holidays.

Imagine, it’s the most wonderful time of the year and someone could hate on it? How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966 is an animated television movie that tells the story of the Grinch trying to ruin Christmas in Whoville, a town below the mountain where he lives.

Among the best Christmas animated movies, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) is one of the Christmas classics to watch with the whole family, one that the kids would surely love.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) is available on Peacock.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Credit: Rankin/Bass Productions

Going back to the classics, one of the best animated Christmas movies is actually dating back to when animation was just starting and it is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a classic Christmas character in the 1964 stop-animation film based on the song of Johnny Marks released in 1949.

Featuring one of the most iconic symbols of Christmas with the titular character, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the stop motion animated TV movie made by the same producer as that of The Year Without Santa Claus and it is considered as one of the classic holiday animated movies fit for the whole family.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer follows the new fawn of the lead reindeer of Santa named Rudolph but he surprised everyone as he is born with a glowing red nose which he tried to cover over the years with mud or a fake nose for the sake of fitting in but as time passes, he learns to embrace what makes him unique.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: The Polar Express

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

A music fantasy movie based on the book of the same name, The Polar Express is a Christmas film following a young boy who saw a mysterious train on Christmas eve and it is going to North Pole. The conductor invited him to join them along with all the other kids aboard and they go to Santa Claus for the holidays.

While there are contrary opinions on The Polar Express being scary or whatsoever, it remains to be one of the best animated Christmas films. It may depend on the perspective of the viewer, too, whether to take in those opinions against The Polar Express.

The Polar Express remains to be a classic animated Christmas movie starring Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Daryl Sabara, Jimmy Benett, and Eddie Deezen. The Polar Express is available to stream on HBO Max.

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Best Animated Christmas Movies: A Christmas Carol

Credit: Disney

If there's one famous title for Christmas, the 1843 novella of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, will surely be on top of the list and in 2009, an animated adaptation of it was released starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, and Bob Hoskins.

Similar and true to the novella it is based on, A Christmas Carol follows Scrooge, a man who hates Christmas and refuses to participate in it, gets visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, to make him realize the true meaning of the holidays.

A Christmas Carol is available to stream on Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime Video.

Best Animated Christmas Movies The Nightmare Before Christmas

Credit: Buena Vista Pictures

The 1993 film of Tum Burton basically has Christmas in its title and it remains a classic animated Christmas movie for all to watch this holiday season! The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, and he gets to Christmas Town where he tries to take over the holiday spirit of the place.

While it is quite a Halloween movie, the very fact that Jack Skellington is ruining Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas actually ends with a showing of what Christmas really means and this even leads to Jack realizing his dreams.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is available to stream on Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You

Credit: Universal Pictures

Based on one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time sang by the same singer in the title, Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You is an animated Christmas movie released in 2017 based on the titular song, and the book that the iconic singer wrote herself.

Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You follows the story of a young girl, Mariah, herself, as she wishes for a puppy for her Christmas present. Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You is available to stream online on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock TV, Vudu, RedBox, and AppleTV via Roku.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol

Credit: Sony Pictures

Another adaptation of Charles Dicken's 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol follows Grouchy Smurf who treats everyone badly because he doesn't want to celebrate Christmas, much like Scrooge in the novella.

In the same fashion as that of the novella, in The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, Grouchy Smurf gets a visit from the ghosts of Christmas, in Smurfs form, with the Smurfs of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, to make him appreciate Christmas once more.

The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol is available to stream on RedBok, and AppleTV via Roku.

Best Animated Christmas Movies: Frozen

Credit: Disney

While technically, Frozen isn't really a Christmas movie, it's feel and vibes exudes Christmas especially with Elsa, being the ice queen, sending the whole place with snow, something that usually happens during the Christmas season.

There's also a short from Frozen with Olaf's Frozen Adventure and Olaf goes on an adventure to find out about the Christmas traditions of the townspeople to assist Anna and Elsa during the holiday season in celebration of Christmas at Arendelle.

Frozen, Frozen 2, and Olaf's Frozen Adventure are all available to stream on Disney Plus.

What's the best animated Christmas movie for you? Is your pick on the list? Let us know in the comments!