20 Things You Didn't Know About It's A Wonderful Life

The Christmas season is well and truly upon us which means it’s time to indulge in all of our favourite festive pastimes, whether it’s embellishing your home with cheap décor, spending too much on shopping, over-indulging on mince pies and mulled wine, all whilst burning through our favourite Christmas films – the most wonderful time of the year!

And in December, when the year is drawing to a close, there’s no better time to watch It’s A Wonderful Life. A timeless classic that has continued to resonate with generation after generation, this movie is a gentle, yet important reminder of not taking the precious gift of life for granted - even though you’ll never be without your low moments, your hard work and determination will all be worth it in the end.

It’s A Wonderful Life is a character study of George Bailey, a hard-working man who has always put others before himself and has frequently put his ambitious dreams on hold for more important duties. His life situation takes a turn for an absolute worst when an $8000 loan is misplaced, leading him to attempt suicide. An angel is sent from heaven to give Mr Bailey a gift that none of us will ever experience – to see what the world would be like if he were never born.

As an almost near perfect film, it’s fascinating to learn what happened behind the scenes in order to create such a masterpiece.

The name Zuzu has a surprisingly little history to it, before AND after the film was released.

The actress who played her, Carolyn Grimes, revealed the name was inspired by Zu Zu Ginger Snaps. This was referenced at the end of the movie when George says to her at the top of the stairs “Zuzu, my little ginger snap!”.

The unusual name continued to live on after It’s A Wonderful Life was released. George realises he’s alive when finds Zuzu’s petals that he had earlier pretended to re-attach to her flower. Zuzu’s Petals is now the name of a Brooklyn flower shop as well as a Minneapolis rock band.