Three years ago, the 24 days leading up to Christmas, Strangers and Aliens presented 24 Christmas movies that aren’t Christmas movies, but really kind of are, for various reasons. And now, we’re doing it again! Here’s 24 more Christmas movies that are set around Christmas or use Christmas to set tone or set up a theme . . . but weren’t made to be Christmas movies…

#33 — Swiss Family Robinson

What it’s supposed to be: Based on a novel that’s based on a different novel, this is one of Disney’s big budget live action family movies, telling the story of a family who is shipwrecked and must deal with wild animals, the elements, pirates, and their own family dynamics.

Why it’s a Christmas movie: The two older sons of the family set out to map out the edge of the island they are trapped on. Along the way, they find pirates, the crew of a ship the pirates have taken, and a cabin boy who has escaped. They get away from the pirates and let the cabin boy come with them. Their journey back home is dangerous and harrowing . . . and they find out the cabin boy is actually the captain’s daughter. They arrive back to their tree house just in time for Christmas. The family has been re-united and the captain’s daughter is destined to become one of the Robinson boys’ wife . . . but not before a giant battle with pirates later on that rivals the resourcefulness and fun of the Ewoks’ battle against the stormtroopers.

Thoughts: This is a VERY fun movie, and a wonderful family movie, and when I was cleaning a bookshelf up in my room recently and I found it I remembered: it’s TOTALLY a Strange Christmas Movie! It is a classic from Disney’s live action library for many reasons, but it became a classic for my family when I was growing up because we rented it often as one of the “free” VHS rentals from the library.

From the danger of the storm that shipwrecks the family, to rescuing the dogs and pigs from the ship, to the cabin boy who’s clearly a girl to everyone except the people in the movie, to the wild animal racing with a monkey riding a dog and a boy riding an ostrich, to the pirate battle, it hits so many different tones as the family fights with each other, fights for each other, and fights to stay together and stay alive.

Is It Naughty or Nice? It’s hard not to like this movie, really. A classic family movie with genuine emotion and excitement.

Santa Ben’s Verdict: 

Nice

Your verdict? Let me know below in the comments!

Next: The Day Mars Invaded Earth

Previous: The Mothman Prophecies

You can follow this series of posts by clicking here: Strange Christmas Movies

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