In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, we are looking at these movies in particular. The films that have spoken to us as a culture, have lasted long in our public consciousness, have been present for many a warm Christmas memory. These films are all under one hour in length – you can find our feature length selection in our 50 Unmissable Christmas Films list – and must be exclusively festive in nature. These are the most important, the most memorable, the most beloved, the 10 Best Christmas Short Films.

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10. Frosty the Snowman (1969)

Rankin/Bass are one of the most famous animated short producers in film history, their contributions to seasonal fare living long in the public consciousness of those in the United States and beyond since their releases more than fifty years ago. The animation of this production house was so beloved that Jon Favreau famously fought for it to be paid tribute to in his 2003 Christmas film Elf (a unique aspect of this contemporary live-action film that separates it from many of its competitors). Rankin/Bass’s legacy is one that continues to find fondness generation after generation.

Frosty the Snowman was the final animated short made for (and released on) television that Rankin/Bass released in their most popular decade, the 1960s, and the first of a few Rankin/Bass films to make this list.

Based on the song of the same name by Walter E. Rollins and Steve Nelson, this 1969 version of the seasonal tale is harmless and fun, animated with all the soft lines and wholesome glow of the best Rankin/Bass films. It tells of a snowman and a small girl being pursued by a magician for the snowman’s magic hat, and aside from a few slightly scary scenes offers all the warmth and heart of the season.

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9. Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)

This uniquely animated Christmas musical released by Fox Television and Flower Films just before the turn of the century is as star-studded as it is lovely.

Based on the 1997 children’s book of the same name by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold, which in turn was based on the misunderstanding of the lyric “all of the other reindeer” as “Olive, the other reindeer” in the Christmas song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, Olive, the Other Reindeer follows Drew Barrymore’s titular Jack Russell Terrier who travels to the north pole to help pull Santa’s sleigh when it is discovered that Blitzen is injured and unable to fly.

Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, the seasonal short is stylish and beautifully brought to life by the voice actors, with the type of story that will bring plenty of smiles to faces, especially at Christmas. There’s even a song by Blitzen’s cousin Schnitzel, voiced by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. What more could you need?

Steamboat Willie (1928)
Directors: Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney
Screenwriters: Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks
Starring: Walt Disney, Charlotte Jamquie

It all started with a rabbit. That’s right, around a year before Mickey, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who, despite starring in dozens of shorts, was unceremoniously ditched in favour of another anthropomorphic animal character Disney could retain control of because of a series of fascinating legal wrangles and rights issues with Universal. Almost a full century on, how does Disney’s game-changing breakthrough cartoon short that introduced Mickey to his public hold up?

Mickey Mouse works on a steamboat under the gruff Captain Pete. On his way down the river transporting livestock, he picks up his girlfriend Minnie Mouse and puts on an unusual impromptu musical performance involving all of the farm animals on the boat.

Steamboat Willie is proclaimed proudly in the opening credits as a “A Mickey Mouse sound cartoon”, setting out Disney’s character branding and chief selling point from the off. Technically this isn’t Mickey’s first appearance, as Plane Crazy was made and previewed first, but Steamboat Willie was the first Disney cartoon to see a wide release and essentially helped put Disney (appropriately sometimes today known as the “House of Mouse”) on the map.

About the only major studio to keep the tradition of a short film preceding the main feature alive during cinema exhibition is Pixar, which has of course become a subsidiary of Disney. As a reference to its past, for the longest time an image of Mickey whistling from this short was the production logo for Disney Animation Studios, but when cinema hit mass popularity with the invention of synchronised sound in the late 1920s, it was standard practice for every studio to produce short subjects and B-movies in support of their main events.

Clearly revolutionary for its time, capitalising on the incoming synchronised sound revolution caused by the release of The Jazz Singer, Steamboat Willie introduces increasingly elaborate musicality during its 8-minute runtime. This really emphasises Disney’s talent as a businessman, his ability to spot the next big thing to capitalise on, as well as his need to step back from animation, giving way to cartoonists like Iwerks for the good of the company. 

No matter how cartoony and unrealistic this short is, to the modern eye it’s difficult not to notice how much (admittedly creative) animal cruelty is employed by Mickey just to make music. He turns the tail of a goat who has swallowed sheet music to use it as a gramophone, he strikes at a cow’s teeth to improvise a xylophone, and he pulls on suckling piglets’ tails to make them squeal to add another musical layer. You can’t help but think of the classic Monty Python sketch where Terry Jones is hitting a row of mice with a hammer to produce a musical scale and is forcibly dragged off midway through by his shocked onlookers. 

We should probably reference the links to minstrel shows here. Taking a minstrel musical standard (“Turkey in the Straw”, which had a much more offensive original title that won’t be repeated here) and using hallmarks of the morally dubious entertainment style in Mickey’s appearance, from his white gloves to his exaggerated body language, can’t be ignored given early cinema’s links to vaudeville and sideshow attractions, but nor is this a call to “cancel” Mickey. 

You have to acknowledge that Steamboat Willie is 95 years old, and looks it. Ub Iwerks was the master of the stretch-squash cartoon with a slightly surreal, mischievous edge, but the burgeoning Disney Studio had a way to go before their moving drawings transitioned from curiosities to magic. Sometimes the animation looks cheap and rushed, and is mostly held together by sheer exuberance and the clever matching of cartoony ideas to the building musical accompaniment.

Steamboat Willie is a fascinating artefact of film history and remains a pretty enjoyable way of spending just under ten minutes of your time. It’s certainly not polished and overall quality-wise it’s solidly in the middle of the Mickey Mouse canon, but a first step is always an important one, and the ideas tried out here cleared the way for many years of escapist amusement for audiences of all ages.

Score: 18/24

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Number 30: Hercules becomes a God –Hercules (1997)

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Number 29: Higitus Figitus. Merlin works his magic – The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Number 28: The Evil Queens evil plan – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 27: Pink Elephants on Parade – Dumbo (1941)

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Number 26: Copper saves Todd – The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Number 25: Ohana means family – Lilo and Stich (2002)

Number 24: Mulan gets ready for war – Mulan (1998)

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Number 23: Ray is united with Evangeline –Princess and the Frog (2009)

Number 22: Pocahontas meets John Smith –Pocahontas (1995)

Number 21: Under the Sea – The Little Mermaid (1989)

Number 20: Alice goes down the rabbit hole – Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Number 19: True love’s kiss – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 18: 101! – 101 Dalmations (1961)

Number 17: Aladdin wishes Genie to be free – Aladdin (1992)

Number 16: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo – Cinderella (1950)

Number 15: Steamboat Willie – Steamboat Willie (1928)

Number 14: Everybody wants to be a cat – The Aristocats (1970)

Number 13 – I’m a real boy – Pinnochio (1940)

Number 12: The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book (1967)

Number 11: Bambi goes ice skating – Bambi (1942)

Number 10: Let It go – Frozen (2013)

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Number 9 – The Circle of Life – The Lion King (1994)

Number 8: Ariel gives up her voice – The Little Mermaid (1989)

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Number 7: The Floating Lights – Tangled (2010)

Number 6: Off to Neverland – Peter Pan (1953)

Number 5: Maleficent crashes the party – Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Number 4: Bella Notte – Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Number 3: Mickey’s dancing brooms – Fantasia (1940)

Number 2: Long Live The King – The Lion King (1994)

Number 1: The Dance – Beauty and the Beast (1991)

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