Eight Holiday-Themed Films Wrapped in Technicolor

Technicolor recently celebrated 100 years in show business. That’s a lot of holiday seasons, and a lot of holiday films – or films with holiday themes – that we’ve had a hand in making for the big screen.

Here are eight worth re-watching – at home curled up on the couch or as you go about your holiday travels this season.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). Filmed in glorious Technicolor, this MGM feature starred Judy Garland, who introduced a number of standards, including the holiday favorite Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

White Christmas (1954). This Paramount Pictures winter classic was also filmed in Technicolor, and was notable for being the first movie using the new widescreen process known as VistaVision. Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, “The colors on the big screen are rich and luminous, the images are clear and sharp, and rapid movements are got without blurring. Director Michael Curtiz has made his picture look good.”

Babes in Toyland (1961). The Disney adaptation was the second filmed version of this operetta and the first to hit theatres in Technicolor. It was Walt Disney’s first foray into live-action musicals, and he was looking to achieve the “yellow brick” gold standard set by the The Wizard of Oz in 1939. Variety called it “a lavish translation to the screen…an expensive gift, brightly-wrapped and intricately packaged…[a] never-never land where the techniques of the stage, the live-action screen and the animated cartoon overlap.”

Scrooge (1970). This is an Academy Award nominated musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. It starred Albert Finney in the title role, for which he won a Golden Globe award, and was photographed by acclaimed cinematographer Oswald Morris, BSC. The U.K. production got favorable reviews, including Vincent Canby of The New York Times, who noted the attractive, spruced-up settings and even commented you could see the dirt under Scrooge’s fingernails.

Gremlins (1984). A clip of It’s a Wonderful Life appears in this film, but that’s where these two small town holiday-themed stories’ similarities end. Technicolor worked on this Warner Bros. release just as the horror/comedy genre was taking off. Roger Ebert wrote highly of the way it depicted its fairy tale villains and the mysterious part of town where a most special holiday gift is purchased. With Steven Spielberg as executive producer, the award-winning film had been cited among the best of that year.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). As the first major Muppet release following the death of creator Jim Henson, it was an honor for Technicolor to work on this holiday project dedicated to his memory. For Walt Disney Pictures, it was their widest-released film of the holiday season and their second widest release of the year.  Film critic Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune heaped praise on the production design and cinematography for its "shadowy, naturalistic lighting [that] creates a new look for a puppet film."

Eight Crazy Nights (2002). More people probably know The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler than the animated film it inspired, but where else can you learn about the miracle of Hanukkah and have a few laughs at the same time.  For Technicolor, it was a rare opportunity to work on a holiday film that was more inclusive and not the usual mainstream fare.

Iron Man 3 (2013). Like every feature directed by Shane Black, the plot of this film takes place during the holidays. Technicolor created a customized workflow to securely manage the color palette on the Marvel Studios project. This security was of utmost importance, as it was for all those working on the film, because the studio was worried that leaked footage would get into the hands of determined fans who – like kids on Christmas morning – couldn’t wait to see what they were getting. Read more about the making of Iron Man 3 here. 

Get in the holiday swing of things and press play to watch the trailers for these festive films!