Everything from John Hughes’ airtight script to John Williams’ immortal score, to the way that future “Harry Potter” architect Chris Columbus was able to get such a natural, hilarious performance out of Macaulay Culkin and several of the other kids is still mind-boggling after all these years. And, truly, “Home Alone” is revered as a yuletide favorite for a reason – it’s that good. “Home Alone” (1990) Photo: 20th Centuryĭisney+ will undoubtedly try to sway you into watching this year’s “Home Sweet Home Alone,” a tepid retread that only succeeds in reminding you just how wonderful the original “Home Alone” really is. A true Christmas classic, through and through. Anchored by the very human performance of Michael Caine as Scrooge and a very good collection of songs by frequent Muppet collaborator Paul Williams (we’re tabling the “When Love Is Gone” discussion), “The Muppet Christmas Carol” faithfully retells the original story, with all sorts of fun Muppet asides (Gonzo and Rizzo as the narrators are a particularly fine flourish) and some nifty, new-for-the-time digital effects that maintained Jim’s commitment to technological innovation and restless creativity. The first Muppet film following the tragic death of Jim Henson (and the equally tragic death of longtime Muppet performer Richard Hunt, who died in 1992 of complications related to AIDS), there is something bittersweet about “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” which was adapted by Jerry Juhl and directed by Henson’s son Brian, two people who were directly impacted by these tragic losses. Not just a great Christmas movie, not just an excellent adaptation of Charles Dickens’ immortal “A Christmas Carol” (there are two more versions of the tale on this list alone!), not just one of the very best Muppet movies ever, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is all of the above. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992) Photo: Disney