Netflix's 'The Holiday Movies That Made Us' Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Christmas Movie Faves

On December 1, Netflix released a new TV series named The Holiday Movies That Made Us. This show unwraps the stories behind what we consider to be Christmas classics. We get a behind the scenes look at how these iconic films were made, who was involved, and just how every single piece came together to create movies we watch that are basically traditions at this point in time. 

From The Christmas Story all the way to Elf and The Polar Express, these holiday movies have stayed true to the season with time. This TV show has only released two episodes with plans to release many more. The two episodes released leave us wanting more. The Holiday Movies That Made Us is a spin off of The Toys That Made Us and The Movies That Made Us. 

In the first episode, we get a glimpse into the making of Elf. All of the strokes of good luck, random on-set mishaps, and the ingeniousness of the Elf crew are unveiled in this episode, offering up more BTS tidbits than your heart could desire (or even successfully discover on Wikipedia). Did you know that the guy in the red jumpsuit running on the street that Buddy thought was Santa was just a regular New Yorker? Yup, using the guerrilla filming method on the streets of New York meant these shots were filled with everyday Manhattaners, rather than paid extras.

This was all inspired by screenwriter Robert Berenbaum, who had a vision to make a film that pays homage to holiday specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by turning those characters into a real life scene. The episode shows interviews with Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment companies and the three brothers behind the stop animation in the beginning of the film. It also gives you a look into how this crew created the forced perspective shots making Will Ferrel appear much bigger than the characters in the North Pole.

Having watched Elf year after year growing up, learning the secrets behind some of the biggest scenes in the film made us never want to look away. Check out the first two episodes of this series on Netflix, and learn more about what really goes into our all-time favorite Christmas classics.