10 Underrated Christmas Movies You Need To See

3. The Life And Adventures Of Santa Clause

Carol 2015
Universal Studios Home Video

The first Christmas movie this author ever truly fell in love with was the 2000s' adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Life And Adventures Of Santa Clause.

L. Frank Baum's vision of the origins of Santa Clause are... weird, to say the least. Somewhere between his own Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, and The Lord Of The Rings, and this movie captures everything that sentence entails: a fantastical world on the fringes of our own finds a child abandoned at the edge of a great wood known as the Forest of Berzee.

This child is entrusted by Ak, the master woodsman, to a fairy named Nesille. Unsurprisingly, this child - Nicholas - grows up to a strapping young man who wants nothing more than to see the outside world. But when he gets his wish and sees the suffering of humanity in its then feudal world, he decides that he cannot live a proper life until he has helped his fellow man, starting with the children of the world. However, some members of this fantastical world would really rather prefer humanity mind its place.

From tender intimate moments, to great fantasy battles, this movie gives you everything you want in truly great fantasy. Sure the early 2000s animation can be janky at times, but if you want a great original vision of Santa Clause, look no further.

Contributor
Contributor

John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?