Tangled
Christmas Day, STV, 3.10pm
Rapunzel, Rapunzel lets down her hair in Disney's animated rendition of the Brothers Grimm story. The House of Mouse is an old hand at fairy tales, and Nathan Greno and Byron Howard's 2010 concoction – the studio's 50th animated film – is set in suitably olde fashioned times. But this is a thoroughly modern affair, funny, sharp, and fizzing with girl power. Mandy Moore gives voice to the lady with the long tresses, with Zachary Levi as the floppy-haired rogue who tangles with her.
Shrek Forever After
Christmas Day, BBC One, 3.10pm
According to the law of diminishing returns by which every franchise must abide, the fourth Shrek in 2010 should have been a shocker. Really, how much jolliness can any green giant spark after so many previous outings? Fortunately, DreamWorks crams in lots of new characters, including Rumpelstiltskin, and gives the old favourites (voiced by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Cameron Diaz) new tricks. A perfect post-prandial caper.
The Girl Who Played With Fire
December 27, Channel 4, 12.10am
Stieg Larsson's best-selling novels were the Swedish noirs that started a fictional crime wave that rolls to this day. The films of the books also showed that a brilliantly fashioned heroine, in this case computer hackette Lizbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), and a rattle-along story, work in any language. Rapace scowls for Sweden in this, the 2009 adaptation of the second book in the trilogy. Violent, baggy, but cues up the final part (screening December 28) a treat.
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy
Christmas Day, 5.40pm; Boxing Day, 6.55pm; December 29, 7.20pm; all Channel 4
Perhaps one of your trips to the outside world this festive season will be to see the ridiculously long but still enjoyable The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (pack as many turkey sandwiches as you can carry). This is the cinematic event that started it all in 2001, a fantasy trilogy that managed to be both technically dazzling and endlessly thrilling. Showing over three nights, embrace the chance to renew your acquaintance with Gollum, Frodo, Gandalf and all. Precious.
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