6. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe (2005)

Perhaps one of the longest-lasting family-friendly fantasy franchises ever to exist, The Chronicles of Narnia has been delighting children for decades. The first film in the franchise, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, has worked its way into Christmas rotation for a handful of reasons: it’s filled with snowy landscapes and even features an appearance from Saint Nick himself. This has led to the film being considered a Christmas movie, but once you dig a little deeper, it’s clearly nothing of the sort.

For starters, the very brief allusions to and inclusion of Christmas as a plot device makes no sense whatsoever. The majority of the story takes place in a world in which Christ presumably never existed at all (they all worship a lion), so exactly how they ever came to celebrate Christmas is a mystery. However, most importantly, the plot itself concerns the Pevensie children toppling the tyranny of the White Witch and restoring peace and order to Narnia. The final battle between the forces of good and evil is about as far from Christmassy as you could get in a family film.

Regardless, the abundance of snow and the generally wintery aesthetic combined with the family-friendly (bar two disturbing scenes) nature of the movie have led to it being considered a Christmas movie. It’s not easy to argue against the idea when the film actually features Santa Claus, but there’s really nothing else that even hints at the more traditional aspects of Christmas cinema. Though the snow is beautiful and the power of family wins out, there’s really nothing that makes The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a genuine Christmas movie.

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