The 12 Best Christmas Movies on Disney+ in 2021

Description: Clocking in at just 26 minutes, this animated featurette is the perfect family-friendly short film to introduce young kids to the incredible holiday classic story of A Christmas Carol. Watch beloved Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck take on the roles of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, portraying the story through the new lens of Scrooge McDuck, who loves money and detests holiday merriment, pushing away everyone from employees to the poor to family members in favor of making and counting his fat stacks of cash, not caring whose Christmas he’s ruining in the process. All of that changes when Scrooge starts encountering various ghosts that just might have the power to change his heart and the way he thinks about Christmas for the better (and for good).

Cast: Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith, Hannes Schroll, Eddie Carroll, Will Ryan, Clarence Nash, Patricia Parris

Rated: G

Watch Mickey's Christmas Carol on Disney+

Description: Ah, yes, nothing says Christmas like a child single-handedly putting two unhinged adults behind bars. This laugh-out-loud holiday classic is a must-see for any lover of Christmas movies, as 8 year-old Kevin McCallister is accidentally left home alone for the holidays while the rest of his family is traveling. By the time they notice Kevin is missing, the kid is already in the throes of protecting his home from burglars Harry and Marv, who seemingly have no qualms about hurting a child. Luckily, he has no qualms about hurting them, either, and that’s evident as the kid delivers one painful prank or trick after another, which honestly no mere mortal should be able to survive. Home Alone is so beloved because in addition to being ridiculous and comedic, it’s a movie with a lot of heart. Make sure you and your family have it queued up for a good time this holiday season. (Note: Disney+ is also home to a few other movies in the Home Alone Cinematic Universe, including Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Home Alone 3, and the brand new for 2021 Home Sweet Home Alone.)

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O’Hara, Roberts Blossom

Rated: PG

Watch Home Alone on Disney+

Description: If you loved Mickey’s Christmas Carol, then you’re really gonna enjoy The Muppet Christmas Carol. That’s right, two “Christmas Carols” on one list, but before you go thinking we’re crazy (or even worse, lazy) for doing that, hear me out: while both movies are based on the same source material, what you’re getting is ultimately a totally different viewing experience. First of all, this film is almost exactly an entire hour longer than the other one. Secondly, instead of Mickey and co. as the characters from Dickens’ tale, it’s the frickin’ Muppets. Thirdly, Ebenezer Scrooge is played by real-life man, THE Michael Caine. So yeah, this one is different, and it’s a whole new boatload of hilarity and fun that you’ll adore no matter how many other versions of A Christmas Carol you’ve seen before.

Cast: Michael Caine, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, David Rudman, Jessica Fox, Steven Mackintosh

Rated: G

Watch The Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney+

Description: If you have trouble choosing a favorite holiday between Halloween and Christmas, then you’ll love this Tim Burton-created and Academy Award-nominated stop-motion musical fantasy film that let’s you have the best of both worlds. Jack Skellington (super cool name, by the way) is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who becomes obsessed with creating his own version of Christmas for his hometown after accidentally stumbling upon Christmas Town, which is his first introduction to the holiday and concept of Christmas. Jack goes to great lengths to make Christmas happen for Halloween Town and its residents, culminating in a slightly dark and massively delightful combination of the two beloved holidays that make this movie the hit it still is today.

Cast: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Frank Welker, Danny Elfman

Rated: PG

Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas on Disney+

Description: This may not be among the movies that initially pop into your brain when you think of “Christmas classics,” but it sure should be! After all, as most holiday hits do, it takes place in that glorious timeframe around Christmas and New Years where everything feels just a little bit more magical, and love is in the air. We get a sense of that magic and potential for romance from the very start of this charming film, wherein lonely Chicago Transit Authority fare token collector Lucy Moderatz is quietly in love with a good looking commuter from afar. That distance is suddenly crossed when Lucy saves the man, Peter Callaghan, from getting hit by a train when he is pushed onto the tracks. From there, a misunderstanding at the hospital, where a nurse mistakenly tells Peter’s worried family that Lucy is his fiancé, leads to a whirlwind of a holiday that gets all the more complicated with the appearance of Peter’s younger brother Jack, who finds himself falling for Lucy more and more each day. Get ready for love triangles, fake dating, and holiday cheer — what more could you want from a Christmas movie?!

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden, Glynis Johns, Jason Bernard, Ally Walker

Rated: PG

Watch While You Were Sleeping on Disney+

Description: Okay, please tell me I’m not the only person who has ever looked at a snowglobe and thought “it’d be cool to get inside that thing.” But hey, even if you’ve never thought that, there’s a good chance you will after watching Snowglobe, in which Christmas fanatic Angela Moreno is transported into a magical snowglobe world where everyone, no matter who or how old they are, adores Christmas just as much as she does. Not only does Angela soon find that she’s able to enter and exit this snowglobe world as she chooses, but she also realizes that she isn’t the only one who can, as some of the globe’s inhabitants follow her out into the real world, cueing wacky hijinks and an entertaining blend of holiday whimsy and our daily reality that makes for an enjoyable Christmas viewing experience.

Cast: Christina Milian, Josh Cooke, Matt Keeslar, Kailin See, Christine Willes, Lorraine Bracco, Luciana Carro, Ennis Esmer, Ron Canada

Rated: NR

Watch Snowglobe on Disney+

Description: Get ready for a spin-off of the beloved children’s Golden Retriever led film franchise, Air Bud, but with a holiday twist! Air Bud, that dog (ha), went and had five pups of his own, and they take center stage in this holiday movie that starts with them getting accidentally trapped in an ice cream truck that transports them from their home in Fernfield, Washington all the way to Ferntiuktuk, Alaska. There, they meet sled dogs, view the Northern Lights, and enter a race, all while trying to find a way back home. While not specifically about Christmas, this movie still counts as a holiday hit thanks to the themes of winter wonderlands, family-friendly adventures, and adorable puppies (who are obviously perfect for any season or holiday), so dog lovers should make sure to give this one a gander.

Cast: Skyler Gisondo, Jimmy Bennett, Josh Flitter, Henry Hodges, Liliana Mumy, Tom Everett Scott, Molly Shannon, Kris Kristofferson, Jim Belushi, Paul Rae, Lothaire Bluteau, Whoopi Goldberg, Dylan Sprouse, Richard Karn

Rated: G

Watch Snow Buddies on Disney+

Description: 22 minutes is all our snowman king (sorry, Frosty) Olaf needs to light up our screens and our lives this Christmas. The Frozen-famous talking snow fella joins forces with Kristoff’s trusty reindeer, Sven, to look for Christmas traditions to help out Elsa and Anna, who realize they don’t have any of their own to celebrate the holidays. Olaf learns around traditions that involve Christmas as well as Hanukkah and Winter Solstice, but of course, it isn’t all smooth sailing, and the well-meaning snowman and his horned pal run into some trouble along the way, making for a silly and joyous Christmas short film that your whole family will enjoy.

Cast: Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Chris WIlliams, John de Lancie

Rated: G

Watch Olaf's Frozen Adventure on Disney+

Description: Perhaps you have heard of the popular Christmastime ballet, The Nutcracker, or have read E. T. A. Hoffmann’s 1816 short story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King?” Well, combine the two and you’ve found the influences and inspirations for this out-of-this-world fantasy adventure in which young and motherless girl Clara is gifted an egg-shaped box from her late mom, which acts as a catalyst to an incredible journey to the Fourth Realm, where a war is raging and Clara is a princess with the potential to finally restore peace once and for all. See this ageless holiday hit as you’ve never experienced it before.

Cast: Mackenzie Foy, Jayden Fowora-Knight, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Eugenio Derbez, Richard E. Grant, Misty Copeland, Matthew Macfadyen, Anna Madeley, Jack Whitehall

Rated: PG

Watch The Nutcracker and the Four Realms on Disney+

Description: Amazing cast? Check. Santa lore? Check. Family drama? Check. Put these things together and you have… well, obviously the recipe for a super, Santa-licious Christmas movie, but also, more specifically, for Noelle, a movie about the pressure to take over the family business, that business being becoming frickin’ Santa Claus. Okay, so Santa Claus dies (RIP, big man) and it’s up to his son, Nick Kringle, to have over as Santa number 23. Nick, though, is having some trouble completing his required training, while his younger sister Noelle tries her best to support him, all while growing accustomed to her own new duties of spreading and ensuring Christmas spirit. But when Nick gets cold feet and skips town, it’s up to Noelle to hold her family together and salvage Christmas before it’s too late.

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, Shirley MacLaine, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, Jay Brazeau, Ron Funches

Rated: G

Watch Noelle on Disney+

Description: We don’t need to be your fairy godmother to make your wish for a great Christmas movie-watching experience come true. Consider it done, just by feasting your eyes on Godmothered, the story of the Motherland’s youngest fairy godmother, Eleanor Fay Bloomingbottom, who though devoted to her craft, is not a very talented or skilled fairy. Wanting to prove her worth before the fairy godmother school shuts down and forces the students to become tooth fairies, Eleanor embarks on a quest to help 10-year-old Mackenzie Walsh, whose letter asking for help had been ignored. But by the time Eleanor gets to Mackenzie, she has become a miserable 40-year-old single mom of two, who needs help raising her daughters and finding the joy in life again. Determined to follow through with helping Mackenzie, Eleanor is ready to do whatever it takes to rejuvenate both the godmother school AND her charge’s life, all in time for Christmas.

Cast: Jillian Bell, Isla Fisher, Jane Curtin, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Santiago Cabrera, Utkarsh Ambudkar, June Squibb, Jillian Shea Spaeder, Willa Skye

Rated: PG

Watch Godmothered on Disney+

Description: Before Olivia Rodrigo became the next generation of Taylor Swift, she was High School the Musical: The Musical: The Series‘s Nini Salazar-Roberts. She leads the cast in the series’ fabulously fun holiday special, where they reminisce over holiday traditions, family photos, New Year’s resolutions, and their best AND most embarrassing holiday memories. In addition to all that awesomeness, the talented cast will be singing their favorite Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holiday-related songs, making for a nonstop feel-good special full of heart and good ol’ fashioned holiday cheer.

Cast: Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Kate Reinders, Mark St. Cyr, Joe Serafini

Rated: G

Watch High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special on Disney+