December: the Holiday season when a cold chill spreads. It’s the perfect time to curl up at home with a cup of cocoa in front of the fire with a classic Christmas movie on TV. While this month is largely swept up with gift-shopping and family reunions, December also houses the anniversary of one of the most revolutionary animated films of all time, the releases of hundreds of beloved holiday films, and a survival game based around a Wham! song?
On Dec. 13, 2018, Americans witnessed “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” for the first time in theaters. The film centers around teenage boy Miles Morales, played by Shameik Moore (“The Get Down”) as he is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes his world’s… second Spider-Man? As the villain Kingpin, played by Liev Schreiber (“The French Dispatch,” “Asteroid City”), schemes to revive his wife and son by pulling them from a parallel universe, Miles is caught in a multiversal collision with other Spider-People. Miles and his rag-tag group must stop Kingpin’s plans and return the newcomers to their own universe. The film was in production for almost four years, due to the unique animation style. Instead of traditional 3D animation that aims to chase realism, as had been seen in most animated films at the time, “Into the Spider-Verse” decided it wouldn’t be bound by those same rules. Instead, the film aimed for visuals that resembled a comic book. Artists for the film would take frames from the CGI modelers, and work on top of them in 2D, leading to a layered and stylized look. “Into the Spider-Verse” pushed the boundaries of animation, and led to more studios pursuing forms of CG animation that strayed away from realism and pursued more stylized art-styles, like Disney’s “Luca,” as well as Netflix’s “Nimona,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” and award-winning TV show “Arcane.” “Into the Spider-Verse” revolutionized the way modern animation is used and the dedication behind it. Animators for the “Spider-Verse” trilogy pack dozens of details and easter eggs within the films, showing the care that was put into the films. The “Spider-Verse” franchise currently has two movies released, and a third in the works, with a 2027 release date currently scheduled.
One of the most common holiday traditions is the rewatching of holiday movies and specials. While it feels like Christmas films have been around for a very long time, the genre didn’t start fully emerging until the 1940s and 1950s. The first Christmas movie ever produced was “Santa Claus,” released in 1898. Silent films like 1910’s “A Christmas Carol” served as the blueprint for future popular Christmas films. Despite these early films, Christmas movies didn’t truly start standing out until the release of “It’s A Wonderful Life” in 1946 and “Miracle on 34th Street” in 1947. Christmas movies have since changed in tone multiple times, going from the hopeful and full-of-belief films of the 40s and 50s, to comedies like “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “Home Alone” from the 80s and 90s, to rom-coms like “The Holiday” and “Serendipity” in recent years. Christmas films have also spread to the animated genre, with films like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Klaus,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Along with holiday films, radio stations also often pop up during the month of December playing non-stop holiday tunes. While there are some that are considered classics, there are also some songs that people believe to be significantly overplayed, such as Wham!’s hit single “Last Christmas.” The song was released on Dec. 3, 1984, and was completely written, produced, and recorded by George Michael, half of the pop duo Wham! The song continues to top charts even decades after its release, finally becoming the Christmas number one song in 2023. Due to the song’s popularity, it’s played over and over again during the holiday season, and the repetition of the song has led to the development of the game “Whamageddon.” This survival-type game takes place from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24 each year, where players attempt to go without hearing the song until the game ends. If they hear it, and realize that they’ve heard it, then they’re out, and they must post to social media with the hashtag “#Whamageddon.” Covers and remixes of the song do not count as a loss.
December is home to many anniversaries of movies, tv shows, and music, but most importantly, it celebrates the release of one of the most influential animated movies of all time, a wide variety of Christmas movies spanning generations, and Christmas songs that spark survival games.
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