Buzz
Whether it’s A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, or Die Hard, everyone has their own favorite Christmas classics. Then, there are the holiday films that find themselves relegated to the Island of Forgotten Christmas Movie Sequels—those that aren’t beloved because many simply aren’t even aware of them. (Though, to be fair, the quality of the films often plays a part.) Here are seven examples of these obscure follow-ups.
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure (2003)
Fourteen years after arriving at Clark Griswold’s house in a beat-up RV in 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) took the spotlight in his own holiday tale with the made-for-TV Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure. This time, Eddie and his family—including wife Catherine (Miriam Flynn, reprising her role alongside Quaid) and Ed Asner as “Uncle Nick”—end up celebrating Christmas while stranded on a tropical island. Matty Simmons, producer of the other four Vacation movies, wrote the screenplay. Since then, he has only written one other film, National Lampoon’s Pucked, starring Jon Bon Jovi. (Yes, that’s real.)
2. AND 3. Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House (2002) and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012)
You’re familiar with Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. You might also know the Macaulay Culkin-free Home Alone 3, which did get a theatrical release. But the franchise, like a zombie, kept going with two TV movies, released in 2002 and 2012. (And we might get another in 2022.) The first, Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, once again places Kevin McCallister (Mike Weinberg) in the position of defending his house—well, his dad’s girlfriend’s house, where he’s spending Christmas—from burglars. These thieves are played by French Stewart and Missi Pyle, with Stewart stepping into the role of the bumbling Marv, originally played by Daniel Stern.
Although Home Alone: The Holiday Heist introduces an entirely new set of characters, the premise remains the same: Christmas, burglars, a booby-trapped house, etc. The thieves in this version are played by Debi Mazar, My Name is Earl's Eddie Steeples, and... Malcolm McDowell?
4. A Christmas Story 2 (2012)
For years, TBS has captivated audiences with its 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story. Unfortunately, the same affection wasn’t extended to its 2012 follow-up, A Christmas Story 2, likely because most people don’t even know it exists. This direct-to-video sequel is set five years after the original, with Ralphie, now having convinced his father to get him the coveted Red Ryder air rifle, now setting his sights on a car. The two films share no cast or crew, and the biggest name in the sequel is Daniel Stern, who had already made his Christmas movie mark in (some of) the Home Alone films. Interestingly, there’s an earlier, non-holiday sequel to A Christmas Story called My Summer Story (released as It Runs in the Family in 1994), which follows Ralphie and his family during their summer adventures. That film, directed by the same team behind the original, was made 11 years later, so the cast had to be replaced. In this one, Ralphie and his family are portrayed by Kieran Culkin, Charles Grodin, and Mary Steenburgen, with Christian Culkin as Randy.
5. Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas (2014)
A year after NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! kicked off the televised musical trend, the network gave it another shot with a new rendition of Jon Favreau’s modern Christmas classic, Elf. OK, Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas isn’t exactly a sequel—it’s more of a condensed mash-up of Elf and its stage adaptation, Elf: The Musical. Oh, and did we mention it’s done in stop-motion? Jim Parsons voices the Christmas-obsessed Buddy, a human raised as an Elf at the North Pole, with the voice of (and Jedi) Mark Hamill portraying Buddy’s Scrooge-like father, Walter.
6. Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (2009)
In 2006, ABC Family aired the made-for-TV Christmas film Santa Baby, starring Jenny McCarthy as Mary, a successful businesswoman who faces the dilemma of leaving her high-powered career to return home and assist her father with his business after he falls ill. Oh, and her father happens to be Santa Claus. Santa Baby was so popular it spawned a sequel, Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe. (No, it wasn’t written by Carly Rae Jepsen.) This time, Mary has to step up and save Christmas when her father goes through a midlife crisis and a troublemaker at the North Pole attempts to incite a strike among the elves. Typical ABC Family Christmas movie, right? Labor disputes included!
7. Rudolph And Frosty’s Christmas In July (1979)
A few sequels to the classic Rankin and Bass Christmas special Frosty the Snowman have been made, two of them by Rankin and Bass themselves. The first, 1976’s Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, tells the story of Frosty’s young friends constructing him a wife named Crystal. The second, a bit more ambitious at one hour and 37 minutes, compared to the previous films' shorter runtimes of 25 and 24 minutes, is 1979’s Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. This one features an evil wizard named Winterbolt plotting to destroy the magic that makes Rudolph’s nose glow. (It’s powered by the Aurora Borealis. Just go with it.)
In Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July, you’ll also find: A circus, led by a character voiced by Ethel Merman; an evil carnival barker trying to seize control of the circus; Santa traveling by hot air balloon; a malicious reindeer named Scratcher; “Reinsnakes”; and a shocking scene where Frosty, Crystal, and their two kids melt away in the sweltering Florida sun. Merry Christmas!
This story has been updated for 2020.
