The Best Educational Films for this Christmas

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without hours of good old fashioned telly watching. Settling down on the sofa and putting on a festive film is a break from cooking, present prepping, school work, and the usual family squabbles. And while learning might be the last thing on anyone’s mind, you can use this time to keep topping up your knowledge – without even noticing!

MyTutor – the nations leading online tutoring service has put together a comprehensive list of top Christmas films and classics that feed directly into the school curriculum. So when you’re sitting back and letting Christmas entertainment wash over you, try chipping in with these educational gems that will wow everyone with your academic know-how.

1. Home Alone (1990)
Subject: Physics GCSE

Not a Christmas goes by without at least one – or 4 – of the Home Alone films gracing our screens. How could Macaulay Culkins’ parents leave him behind that many times?! That’s a question for another day. If you’ve seen any of the franchise, you’ll remember that our child protagonist Kevin is a master of boobie traps for escaping from baddies. And it turns out, a master of GCSE Physics.

Picture the scene in the first film when the law-defying Harry and Marv try to catch him. When they slip over a selection of toy cars that have craftily been left at the bottom of the stairs, this is very funny and it’s also an example of Newton’s 2nd Law. Here, there’s a relationship between the force applied to a body, it’s mass, and the speed it accelerates at when the force is applied. Harry and Marv step on the cars, which applies a large force compared to the mass of the car, so the cars accelerate away at high speed leaving them to crash down on their bums.

2. The Grinch (2000)
Subject: A level Psychology, A level Sociology

Is the Grinch really to blame for stealing Xmas? Sure, it was his idea to ransack Whoville and he executed his devious plan perfectly (and with style!). But the Whos– at least in this film adaptation– have not always been the most welcoming. In school, they bullied the Grinch for being different and even humiliated him during a secret Santa gift exchange.

A level Psychology students will have learned about childhood trauma in their ‘Approaches in Psychology’ module, and how these awful early life experiences left a deep scar on the Grinch’s psyche (and on his tiny heart). It’s not a huge surprise that he’s so anti-Xmas, especially the gift giving part of it. A level Sociology students will be interested in the Grinch’s deviant anti-Xmas attitude which challenges the Whos’ capitalist love for more stuff. New and shinier things, as they toss the old down the trash shoot! And really—maybe the Grinch has got a point when it comes to the unnecessary waste?

3. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Subject: GCSE Religious Studies

Here we have a Christmas film that tells us the story of… Easter! One of the key elements of Christianity in GCSE Religious Studies is the story of Jesus’ life, sacrifice and return from the dead i.e. resurrection. Based on the original story by theologian C.S. Lewis, the majestic Lion, Aslan, symbolises Jesus, who sacrifices himself to save the wayward Pevensie brother, Edmund. He gets tempted to the dark side by The White Witch (played by the chilling and glamorous Tilda Swinton), who represents– yep, you guessed it, Satan. Following a resurrection and a lot of forgiveness, the redemption of Edmund is a metaphor for the redemption of mankind as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice. We’re not sure which Bible characters exactly Mr and Mrs Beaver are meant to be.

4. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Subject: GCSE Business, A level law

Poor Kris Kringle has been arrested for an assault crime he didn’t commit. Sadly, he’s caught in the middle of an ugly squabble between Cole’s Department Store and Shopper’s Express (who frame him!). And now Kris Kringle might be sectioned when he tells police he’s the real Santa. Nightmare.

Cole’s Department Store (where Kris has had his Santa gig) has a hugely important marketing decision to make. Do they stand by their famous Santa as he faces trial, or do they distance themselves from him? Here begins the launch of a risky marketing campaign where Cole’s store decides to support Kris. Their TV ads and buttons proudly declare: ‘We believe.’ Far from alienating their customers for believing in Santa, the department store gets loads of shoppers through the door, gaining the support of tens of thousands of New Yorkers. An interesting one for GCSE business students as well as A level law pupils who are studying the Criminal Law module.

5. Happy Feet (2011)
Subject: GCSE Geography

Without wanting to put a dampener on Christmas, the story of Happy Feet illustrates the impact of climate change on the earth and its animal species. In this scene where ice comes crashing down (bringing a crane down with it), we see a consequence of global warming. The ice in our North and South Poles is melting because of the Greenhouse Effect caused by global warming. This happens when more greenhouses gases like carbon dioxide, methane and fluorocarbons are released into the earth’s atmosphere. These come from cars, power stations, homes and factories. The immediate threat to the penguins’ habitat is just one example of the impact of global warming.