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Festive Flicks — What To Watch On The Box This Christmas

Friday, 24 December 2021 06:00

By Dominic Kureen X @WriteOnDom

Christmas is hurtling towards us with a host of festive television presents to choose from.

We've tried to make your selection a little easier by listing ten yuletide season flicks and shows worth feasting upon over the next couple of weeks.

Where possible, we've rated films out of five trees!

Encanto 🎄🎄🎄🎄​
Disney Plus, available Christmas Eve


The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto.

The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift — every child except Mirabel.

However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger.
 

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas 🎄🎄🎄
BBC One, Christmas Eve (6pm) and Christmas Day (11.20am)

Shaun’s seasonal excitement is replaced by dismay when a farmhouse raid inadvertently leads to Timmy going missing.

Can Shaun get Timmy back before he becomes someone else’s present? 

Themes of friendship, loyalty, mischief and delight combine for an adventure which will appeal to all generations of the family as they enter the day of celebration.


Slumdog Millionaire 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Channel 4, Christmas Day (12.20pm)


Told through a series of flashbacks, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik, as he answers questions on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Part of a stable of young thieves after their mother dies, Jamal and his brother, Salim, survive on the streets of Mumbai.

Salim finds the life of crime agreeable, but Jamal scrapes by with small jobs until landing a spot on the game show.


Superworm 🎄🎄🎄
BBC One, Christmas Day (2.30pm)

Superworm is a comic hero with a difference, the super-long, super-strong wiggler is there saving the day for all the other garden creatures, be it saving baby toad from a major road or becoming a skipping rope to entertain some bored bees, with the help of his butterfly best friend.

When the wicked Wizard Lizard hears about Superworm’s special skills, he decides to kidnap him, while the other creatures plot a rescue mission.
 

The Larkins Christmas Special
ITV, Christmas Day (9pm)

Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan are back following a successful inaugural series of the Darling Buds of May reboot, for a Christmas special set in the heart of Kent.

Walsh previously confirmed the Christmas special has been filmed and its a snowy but heart warming must-see slice of yuletide television pie.


Crocodile Dundee 🎄🎄​​​​​​​🎄​​​​​​​🎄
Channel 4, Boxing Day (4pm)


Film that spawned the phrase "Call that a knife?... That's a knife!" follows a journalist who travels to Australia to interview an eccentric crocodile poacher.

After he rescues her from an attack — unleashing his cutlery themed banter in the process — she invites him to New York and, despite the cultural differences, they fall in love.


Death In Paradise Christmas Special
BBC One, Boxing Day (7.30pm)

This feature-length special of Death in Paradise is a Christmas Caribbean treat, with the series concluding the show's tenth anniversary celebrations.

During the 90-minute episode, viewers will see the return of the charismatic Dwayne Myers, as the story unfolds from overcast London to the warm sparkling beauty of idyllic Saint Marie.


A Very British Scandal
BBC One, Boxing Day (9pm)

This three-part series delves into the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, one of the most notorious, deceitful and brutal legal cases of the previous Century.

The Duchess, Margaret, dominated the front pages as the flames of a divorce featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid picture, were fanned by the omnipresent glare of 1960s Tabloid media.

A Very British Scandal explores the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and prodding at the topic of institutional misogyny.


The Jungle Book 🎄​​​​​​​🎄​​​​​​​🎄​​​​​​​🎄​​​​​​​
BBC One, December 30 (3.35pm)


This 2016 live action reimagination of Disney's iconic 1967 animated film, The Jungle Book, based on Rudyard Kipling's tales, follows "man cub" Mowgli, a human co-existing with animals in the jungle.

This excellent revamp deviates from the original by prodding at the the idea of animals and humans living happily in union, as opposed to the original which showed Mowgli growing up and leaving Baloo and co. to fend for themselves.
 

Doctor Who New Years’ Special
BBC One, New Years Day (7pm)

The Thirteenth Doctor and friends will deliver a special which promises to kick-start 2022. The festive special will feature guest stars Aisling Bea, Adjani Salmon and Pauline McLynn.

Sarah owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned.

Two more Doctor Who specials will air later in 2022.

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