Netflix 2016 Christmas: 5 of the best family movies to bond over for the holidays
The holidays are a time to be with close friends and family, away from the daily grind of work and responsibilities. Netflix Australia provides an avenue for individuals to bond with those they love most in a carefree and fuss-free environment.
This season, Netflix Australia has a wide range of Christmas-themed movies to choose from, most of which are family-friendly. Furthermore, these are movies that are likely to appeal to every generation and are easy to access. What will make the evenings even more relaxing is that there is a long list of available choices, some of the best of which are listed below.
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“The Polar Express” (2004)
In this 3D animated musical, which is based on the 1985 children’s book of the same name, Tom Hanks voices a majority of the characters, including the Hero Boy, the conductor, Scrooge and Santa Claus himself. The Hero Boy goes on an adventure after finding a train called the Polar Express, which is bound for the North Pole. On his journey, he meets magical characters and is tested by various circumstances.
Watch “The Polar Express” trailer
“A Russell Peters Christmas” (2011)
Comedian Russell Peters attempts to break the standard Christmas day down with this special. As Peters himself describes in the opening monologue, the performance is “kinda corny and sentimental.” Nevertheless, the 45 minutes is spent in good humour as he is joined by Pamela Anderson, Michael Buble, Jon Lovitz, Scott Thomson, Faizon Love, the Bach Children’s Chorus, Goapele, Peters' own mother and Ted Lange.
Watch “Russell Peters | Almost Famous” trailer
“Pete’s Christmas” (2013)
Starring Zachary Gordon, Molly Parker and Rick Roberts, a teenage boy finds himself reliving the same horrible Christmas day where everything seems to go wrong. Once he realises what is happening, he decides to do his best to make the day work for himself. He then figures out that he needs to do much more for his life to continue.
Watch “Pete’s Christmas”” trailer
“BoJack Horseman Christmas Special: Sabrina’s Christmas Wish” (2014)
One for the older children, “BoJack Horseman Christmas Special” centers on two protagonists BoJack (Will Arnett) and Todd (Aaron Paul) watching a Christmas special of BoJack’s old sitcom, “Horsin’ Around.” What follows are hilarious parodies of sitcoms from the 80s.
Watch the “BoJack Horseman” trailer
“A Very Murray Christmas” (2015)
One of Netflix’s originals, “A Very Murray Christmas” features the ensemble cast of Bill Murray, George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Dimitri Dimitrov, Michael Cera, Chris Rock, David Johansen, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Lewis, Rashida Jones, and Miley Cyrus. It begins with Murray being forced to proceed with his own Christmas special despite a snowstorm that caused his guests and plenty of his crew to cancel. Financially obligated to proceed with the performance, he finds Rock and makes him perform “Do You Wanna Hear What I Hear?” After which, a power outage forcibly cancels the performance and Murray goes on an adventure and meets a string of colourful characters who join him in song.
Watch the “A Very Murray Christmas” trailer
