10 Underrated Christmas Movies You Need To See

2. Tokyo Godfathers

Carol 2015
Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan

The final film of the truly legendary Satoshi Kon was also by far his greatest.

While not quite the recognized classic among mainstream audiences as it deserves, Tokyo Godfathers is big in the anime community for both being the last film of the aforementioned Kon, but also for being a modern classic Christmas film.

Three homeless people - a beer swilling old man, a displaced trans woman, and a runaway teenage girl, find a baby abandoned in the garbage and decide to take care of it while they find where the baby's parents are. As their journey unfolds, they come across all sorts of oddities, ridiculous situations, and of course, the tragic pasts of that dog our heroes no matter how far or fast they run.

While the movie does get dark at points, displaying the realistically cynical view of the world that Kon was famous for, it still remembers the heart of the season and there's always a happy ending waiting at the end of this tale despite it sailing into dark waters.

A must see for anime fans or otherwise.

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?