13 mind-blowing facts about your favourite Christmas movies

6 December 2017 at 10:56 am

There’s a popular theory online that Elvis Presley – who died in 1977 – appears as an extra in 1990’s ‘Home Alone’. He’s apparently the bearded guy stood behind Kevin’s mother while she berates the airline staff. What do you think?

The 12-second belch in ‘Elf’ is real and was performed by voice actor Maurice LaMarche. Will Ferrell lip-synced to the recording for the final film.

Tom Hanks plays SIX different roles in ‘The Polar Express’ through the magic of performance capture – Hero Boy, Hero Boy’s father, the Conductor, the Hobo, Santa Claus, and the Narrator.

Tim Burton didn’t direct ‘Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’, Henry Selick did. It’s a common misconception as the film is based on a poem by Burton and he helped produce the animated film.

‘Gremlins’ and ‘Ghostbusters’ were released on the same day in the UK – 7 December, 1984. What a time to be alive!

Jim Carrey’s makeup in Ron Howard’s ‘The Grinch’ was so uncomfortable the actor was taught torture resistance techniques by a Navy SEAL to help him cope with the discomfort.

Early posters for ‘Scrooged’ featured the tagline “Bill Murray is back amongst the ghosts. Only this time, there’s no-one to call” in reference to his earlier hit ‘Ghostsbusters’.

‘Bad Santa 2’ holds the record for the most profanities in a Christmas film with the unrated version using the f-word 180 times. It claimed the title of sweariest Christmas film from ‘Bad Santa’ with 173 uses of the f-bomb.

Although it made his name, Welsh singer Aled Jones didn’t actually sing ‘Walking In The Air’ in ‘The Snowman’, Peter Auty did. Aled Jones’ version, which was recorded for a toy store advert, was released three years after the film.

This festive favourite was actually a huge flop when it was first released in 1946. When the copyright expired on the film in 1975 it was played in heavy rotation on a number of TV stations and became recognised as a true classic.

Macaulay Culkin was reportedly paid $4.5m for ‘Home Alone 2: Lost In New York’ making him one of the highest-paid child stars ever. The first two ‘Home Alone’ films are the two highest-grossing Christmas films ever.

Fox was contractually obligated to offer the role of John McClane in ‘Die Hard’ to Frank Sinatra. It’s based on the book ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, a sequel to a novel that had been adapted into ‘The Detective’ starring Sinatra. Ol’ Blue Eyes turned it down because he was 73.

The house next door to the Griswolds in ‘Christmas Vacation’ is the same house that Murtagh lives in in ‘Lethal Weapon’. The whole street is part of the Warner Brothers Studios back lot.

It’s that time of year again when chocolate becomes a viable breakfast option and alcohol becomes part of your daily routine.

It’s also the only time of year it’s OK to listen to Slade un-ironically, but most excitingly, it’s the time of year we get to revisit our favourite festive films for the millionth time.

Here to help you watch your favourite Christmas movies in a whole new light is some of our favourite festive film trivia…