10 Best Cartoon Christmas Movies

The best cartoon Christmas movies of all time give both kids and adults holiday memories that last a lifetime. Whether it is the stop motion classics of Rudolph and Frosty or new efforts like the motion capture work of Robert Zemeckis, these movies present audiences with Christmas cheer to be enjoyed year after year.

1. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” – Tim Burton produced one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town but when he discovers a new portal to Christmas Town, he has Santa Claus abducted so he can bring his own special cheer to Christmas.
2. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – This is not the live-action movie but the animated film that remains one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. The Grinch, voiced by horror movie legend Boris Karloff, lives outside of Whoville and decides to do everything he can to ruin Christmas.
3. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” – Charlie Brown and the gang star in one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. Lucy lets Charlie Brown direct the Christmas pageant to cheer him up but when he tries to remove the commercialism from the holidays, he almost ruins everything.
4. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – The classic story of the reindeer with the shiny red nose remains one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. Rudolph is born with the glowing nose and, when the other reindeers find out, he is outcast until one night when Santa needs his help.
5. “Frosty the Snowman” – “Frosty the Snowman” is one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time, telling the story of a snowman that comes to life when a magical top hat is put on his head. Frosty then spends time playing with the kids until the sun threatens to ruin all their fun.
6. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” – The classic Charles Dickens’ story is retold with the Muppets in the lead roles. Ebenezer Scrooge is portrayed by Michael Caine, a selfish man who refuses to give his employees off for the holidays. Bob Cratchit is played by Kermit the Frog in this adaptation.
7. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” – This 1970 animated film is one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. Fred Astaire is the narrator of the story, where the origin of Santa Claus is explained. Mickey Rooney voices Santa Claus in the story.
8. “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” – This is the second adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens’ story on the list and one of the best cartoon Christmas movies ever made. Scrooge McDuck takes on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge while Mickey Mouse is Bob Cratchit. Goofy, Jiminy Cricket and Willie the Giant are the ghosts.
9. “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July” – This crossover is a lesser seen holiday film, one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. In this movie, Rudolph and Frosty team up when an evil wizard named Winterbolt threatens to destroy Rudolph by tricking Frosty into helping him.
10. “The Polar Express” – Robert Zemeckis continued his work in motion capture animation to make one of the best cartoon Christmas movies of all time. Tom Hanks stars in the movie, telling the story of a boy who takes the Polar Express train to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus.