The debate over what constitutes a Christmas movie has gone on for years with the most popular arguments surrounding films like
Die Hard,
Gremlins, and
Lethal Weapon. But now Marvel is getting into the mix and making their case for
Iron Man 3 to be considered a "Christmas movie."
As many noted a month ago,
Iron Man 3 is actually listed when you search "Christmas" on Disney+. Interestingly, however, it doesn't appear under the recently added "Holiday Movies Collection."
Well over on the Marvel blog, the company is once and for all staking its claim that
Iron Man 3 is a worthy Christmas movie contender and not simply because it takes place during the holidays (although the setting helps). Marvel explains:
But even more so than the others, we believe Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie because the essence of the story revolves around Tony going through hardships and coming out the other side to see the wrong in his ways. That’s the spirit of Christmas.
Marvel compares the movie to Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol, explaining
"it sure feels like Killian is literally a ghost from Tony’s holiday past that’s come back to haunt him." Tony Stark is likened to Scrooge, needing a little push to "get to where he needs to be." That push comes from Pepper Potts, Harley, and Rhodey (the three ghosts?).
Tony at the beginning of the movie is much different than Tony at the end of the movie. All along we’ve seen him tinkering with new versions of the Iron Man suit, and it’s not until he’s destroyed all of them that he comes to his own conclusion: “My armor was never a distraction or a hobby. It was a cocoon. And now, I’m a changed man.”
All of this unfolding while to the track of "Jingle Bells" appropriately playing in the background.
There’s always going to be an ongoing debate about what makes a movie a true Christmas movie, and maybe you agree with our declaration that Iron Man 3 belongs in this category, maybe you don’t. But it’s hard to argue with the holiday setting, the gift-giving, the repenting for past mistakes, and Tony wanting to be better — not just for himself but the people around him, too.
Marvel clearly makes a compelling argument that
Iron Man 3 should be considered a Christmas movie. The only major thing it has going against it is that it released in May, which isn't exactly the holiday season. But
Die Hard released in July and
Gremlins in June, so if you consider those to be Christmas movies, then there is no reason why
Iron Man 3 also can't make the holiday movie list.
Do you believe
Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie?