9 Christmas Specials Based On Classic Animated Films!

Have you ever had such moments when you really want to watch something fun but aren’t in the mood for a 2-hour movie? We sure all can relate to this, especially when we’re tired after a long day of Christmas shopping, baking, and wrapping presents and aren’t ready for such a long “commitment”. In such cases, short films come to the rescue -- particularly the Holiday specials! You probably already know some classic ones, like “Frosty the Snowman”, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, etc., so we’re not going to rehash those. The specials we're talking about today are based on classic films that you have most probably grown up with. It is strange, however, that with their immense popularity, not everyone knows about Christmas specials, which are all really fun to watch. So, without further ado, let’s start!

1. "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" (2011)

Lots of people already consider the Ice Age franchise kinda Christmassy anyway, and we get it -- for starters, there’s lots of snow, which sets the right mood. But if you really want to get into the festive spirit, you should watch "A Mammoth Christmas" where Manny upsets his daughter by saying that Santa isn’t real, and she, along with Sid, Crash, and Eddie, heads over to the North Pole in order to find Santa and prove to Manny that he is real. But if you’ve watched the series, you’ll know that if Crash, Eddie, and Sid are involved in anything, you should soon expect a catastrophe. And now the friends have to clean up the mess they’ve created and help Santa with his presents! 

Stream now on Disney+.

2. "Shrek the Halls" (2007)

Even though it’s hard to imagine Shrek celebrating something as festive as Christmas, the ogre promises Fiona a special surprise. But since he doesn’t know a thing about this holiday, he buys a special book (Christmas for Village Idiots) and uses it as a guideline to create the perfect Christmas. Plans get ruined when Donkey brings along all their friends to Shrek’s house and start creating havoc. Shrek has to find out what’s the true meaning of Christmas and make up for losing his temper… again. 

3. "Donkey’s Caroling Christmas-tacular" (2010)

The Shrek series has, not one, but two holiday specials! This one is more like a really short musical -- it is only 5 minutes long but will definitely cheer you up and make you feel festive. All the friends get together for Christmas once again and start performing their own versions of famous Christmas songs. So, get ready to learn the new lyrics and sing along! 

Stream now on Netflix as part of the "DreamWorks Holiday Classics" compilation.

4. "Merry Madagascar" (2009)

When Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria try to escape Madagascar on a hot air balloon, they accidentally crash into Santa, which leaves him with amnesia. And now the gang, along with the penguins, who take the role of reindeer, has to fly all over the world and deliver the present to children in order to save Christmas. Meanwhile, Santa stays on the island and suddenly discovers that he has a talent for making toys, which upsets King Julian, as now Santa’s the center of attention instead of him.

5. "The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper" (2005)

The story of this holiday special takes place before the events of the first Madagascar movie. The four penguins were still living in a zoo, getting ready for Christmas, when Private notices a lonely polar bear named Ted and decides to go and find him a present (how sweet!). He is then mistaken as a dog toy by an elderly lady -- or, to be more precise, THE elderly lady who attacked Alex in Madagascar -- and is taken home as a gift. The rest of the team hurries to rescue their youngest friend and end up having a whole battle with the aggressive dog, who doesn’t want to give up its "toy".

6. "Kung Fu Panda Holiday" (2010)

Po is assigned to create the perfect Winter Feast at the Jade Palace, which is a huge responsibility for the Dragon Warrior. He asks his father for help, but Mr. Ping refuses, saying that he has to stay at his restaurant to feed the townsfolk who have nowhere else to go. Po then asks the Furious Five to help and manages to do everything perfectly. But soon he realizes that he would rather spend the holiday with his father than in the palace and goes back to town to make amends with his dad. 

Stream now on fuboTV.

7. "Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury" (2011)

Everyone is getting ready for Snoggletog (which is kinda the Viking version of Christmas) in a small mythical town called Berk. Stoick is decorating the village, and Astrid tries to come up with new traditions for the holiday. All of a sudden, all the dragons fly away into an unknown direction. Hiccup soon finds out that the dragons were laying eggs on a deserted island and helps them get back to the village. Everyone gets excited about the reunion with their pet dragons, while Toothless gives Hiccup the best present ever.

8. "How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming" (2019)

Just like Shrek, this franchise has also blessed its fans with two Christmas specials. This story takes place a decade after the last part, "The Hidden World", with another Snoggletog approaching. The new generation of Vikings have forgotten about the close bond they used to share with dragons, and Hiccup decides to change that by creating a performance telling their story. Meanwhile, Toothless also misses his friend and brings his family to reunite with Hiccup. This is for sure the most emotional holiday special, so make sure to have tissues around while watching it. 

Stream now on Vudu.

9. "Olaf’s Frozen Adventure" (2017)

Who’s ready to see how one of the cutest characters is trying to save the holidays? Anna and Elsa are celebrating the first Christmas after reopening their gates and get saddened by the fact that they have no holiday traditions. Overhearing this conversation, Olaf, along with Sven, travels through Arendelle and try to find traditions to borrow. When Olaf and Sven get separated by a chasm, Olaf finds himself in a forest full of wolves. And now all the residents of the Kingdom go looking for the cute snowman, wanting to bring him home for Christmas.

Stream now on Disney+.