TORONTO -- What鈥檚 the difference between modern day Christmas movies and the classics of old?
To answer that question, it may be worth revisiting the tale of 鈥淗ow the Grinch Stole Christmas,鈥� according to York University instructor Gillian Helfield.
Originally released as a 30-minute cartoon in 1966, the story of a grumpy hermit hell-bent on ruining Christmas for the residents of Whoville, was turned into a feature film in 2000 and then made into animated movie in 2018.
Helfield, who teaches the class 鈥淗ollywood: Old and New,鈥� said the full-length movies chose to delve further into the Grinch鈥檚 backstory to explain his desire to destroy the holiday.
She added that this strategy is an effective way of making the tale suitable for a full-length movie, while also differentiating it from the original.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e also very interested in people鈥檚 back stories,鈥� she said in a recent phone interview with CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚 think the whole idea of telling your story and telling your truth has become very important.鈥�
Other Christmas movies have similarly delved into backstories of popular Christmas characters, including Santa Claus (鈥淪anta Claus: The Movie鈥� and 鈥淭he Santa Clause鈥�), Mrs. Claus (鈥淢rs. Santa Claus鈥�) and Santa鈥檚 elves (鈥淓lf.鈥�)
In the past few years, made-for-TV Christmas movies, such as those on the Hallmark Channel, have exploded in popularity. Helfield suggests these films 鈥� which often centre around characters falling in love over the holidays -- could be the next phase of holiday films.
鈥淭hey capitalize on the whole association we have with Christmas and romance,鈥� she said.
FEWER RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS
Besides new approaches to storytelling, Christmas movies these days have generally moved away from depictions of religion, Helfield said.
鈥淭he films have become more secular,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e moved away from the original religious or spiritual Christian base and they鈥檙e no longer about those Christian values per se.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life,鈥� released in 1946, tells the tale of a man who had been contemplating taking his own life until the intervention of a guardian angel on Christmas Eve.
鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥� is another example, Helfield said. Originally released in 1947, the film centres around the court case of an older man who prosecutors believe is mentally unstable because he believes he鈥檚 Santa Claus.
Both these classics can be compared to some of the more modern classics, such as 鈥淗ome Alone,鈥� 鈥淒ie Hard鈥� and even 鈥淏atman Returns,鈥� which take place during Christmas, but don鈥檛 necessarily follow the religious traditions of the holiday.
Helfield suggests modern movies have made this transition as a way of appealing to more people, specifically to those who don鈥檛 celebrate Christmas.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a greater awareness of other people鈥檚 traditions, so I think we don鈥檛 want to exclude anybody,鈥� she said.
Helfield added the symbols in classic Christmas movies have religious undertones, which have been replaced with more secular symbols in modern times: such as polar bears, fireplaces and large family dinners.
鈥淚f you look at a lot of the Hollywood classics, a lot of them have angels, or have people who are visited by spirits and as a result are kind of reborn in some way,鈥� she said.
Modern movies have also gone more secular when it comes to their soundtracks, where 鈥淟et it Snow鈥� and 鈥淲inter Wonderland鈥� have become popular options.
鈥淲inter Wonderland,鈥� written by Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith, has been credited in dozens of movies and TV shows since its release in 1934, most recently in the 2019 superhero movie 鈥淪hazam!鈥�
