Thanksgiving Holiday Movies

I originally thought there was just the one Thanksgiving movie: Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Turns out the RunPee fans stepped in to correct this error, and gave me a few more Thanksgiving films to consider.

The first one to add is a 30 minute TV Special that comes annually on Turkey Day. It’s the animated short film where Snoopy makes toast and popcorn to serve his Thanksgiving guests,  which turns out to be a problem for everyone… until Linus gives a little speech about the first Thanksgiving, and about…well…thankfulness. So, by now you’ve guessed it: it’s A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. And I think maybe Snoopy didn’t want to serve a turkey in the first place, seeing that his best friend is a bird. As I child I never noticed that, since food was something that came from the grocery store. But it doesn’t matter much, since Snoopy serves Woodstock a slice of turkey at the end anyway.

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Is it the best Charlie Brown Special? I’d say no — the best ones are the Halloween and Christmas Specials, but never mind. Watching these always heralded the extended October through December holiday season, and have endured through their simple and sincere sentimentality. And I think calling this racist is kind of overthinking it. It’s like admitting Lucy is a bully (which she is).  Or I don’t know. Franklin does look a little lonely on his side of the table. You tell me.

It turns out you can’t watch this for free on You Tube, but you can buy it for $2: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

There’s more. A lot more. If you love this holiday, sit back and appreciate this surprisingly bountiful list of movies about Thanksgiving:

• The Oath (this one just came out)
• Jack and Jill (Adam Sandler does Turkey Day)
• Free Birds (animated)
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving (animated)
• A Chipmunk’s Celebration (animated)
• A Winnie The Pooh Thanksgiving (animated)
• Hallmark Movies A Family Thanksgiving
• The Mouse on the Mayflower (animated)
• The Turkey Caper (animated)
• Thankskilling (yes, a horror movie where the birds strike back)
• Maybe Spider-Man…? (I’ve included a video arguing just this)
• A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (wow, we’re reaching way back now)

I think that’s plenty.

Let’s get straight to the videos then, shall we?

Here’s a scene from the Steve Martin/John Candy delicious duo from Planes, Trains and Automobiles:

Or you can buy the full show for $3 on YouTube.

Here’s the trailer for Jack and Jill:

Free Birds is actually free on You Tube, a full length film:

Garfield’s 25 minute special is free too:

The Chipmunk’s Celebration:

Winnie the Pooh gets in on the action:

The Turkey Caper:

Hallmark’s Family Film:

 The Mouse on the Mayflower:

The full ThanksKilling trailer:

If you’re feeling open to a new idea, here’s an argument why Sam Raimi’s Spiderman is the perfect Thanksgiving film:

There’s actually more movies I could list, but honestly, I’m feeling a bit full. Kind of like after the Thanksgiving feast, where you want everyone to go home so you can sleep off those tryptophans in peace.

Jill Florio

Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)