Easter is on the horizon, and that means it is time to paint the eggs and put on the Sunday best. Easter is an interesting holiday in terms of celebration. Holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and others are fun as a child and also as an adult, as the meaning of them can evolve into different levels of enjoyment. Some holidays like New Year’s Eve can become even more fun as an adult, but Easter is an odd one.
It means one thing as a child filled with baskets of gifts and candy and Easter egg hunts, but changes drastically as an adult. For those with a religious background, it can be a spiritual day full of meaning, but to the non-religious it may seem like a Sunday with nothing huge to offer.
However, Easter is a holiday that has many meanings to many people, as a symbol of rebirth and renewal either in relation to Christianity or to Spring. Life blossoms and the cold winters give way to beautiful spring that can be spent with loved ones. One activity to do is enjoy a movie with friends, families, or even solo.
Hollywood knows the value of the holiday, as Easter weekend is prime real estate for big theatrical releases, and the big Easter 2022 movie will be Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Yet if you are looking for something else, be it a film with an overtly religious tone, a secular vibe, or something enjoyable for the whole family, check out these movies to watch on Easter.
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8 The Last Temptation of Christ
Universal Pictures
Jesus has been the subject of many movies, and narrowing down one pick is always hard. Yet it is difficult to go wrong with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and in 1988 the director helmed an adaptation of the controversial book, The Last Temptation of Christ. The movie follows the life of Jesus (Willem Dafoe) and his struggle with various forms of temptation including doubt, depression, and lust. Despite a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that says it is not based on any gospel and is a fictional telling, the movie generated a great deal of infamy among its release; Scorsese received death threats for the film, and there was massive protest of the film’s release. While it may not be for everyone, even for secular audiences the film is a compelling tale looking at a figure through the lens of one of cinema’s greatest living filmmakers (who also happens to be distinctly interested in Christianity).
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Hop
Hop is certainly a more family-friendly offering that really dives deep into modern notions of Easter, namely the Easter Bunny. While plenty of films explore the lore and mythology of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny has a lot of potential. This 2011 film is about a young rabbit named E.B. (Russell Brand) who runs away from his home on Easter Island to follow his dreams to be a drummer instead of succeeding his father as the Easter Bunny, and ends up finding a human named Fred (James Marsden) to take on the mantle instead. The movie is Illumination Entertainment’s only film to feature CGI and live-action elements, and has a lot of fun playing with various Easter iconography like rabbits, chicks, and Easter eggs. Hop is playful, quick fun for the whole family.
6 Rise of the Guardians
Paramount Pictures
Billed as The Avengers of children’s icons, Rise of the Guardians focuses on a team of childhood legends: Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the Sandman, as they recruit Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to battle Pitch Black (Jude Law) from engulfing the world in darkness by destroying children’s belief in them. Though it was released in November to cash in on the holiday season and has a winter aesthetic, the film actually takes place near Easter. The Easter Bunny is the film’s guardian of hope, and his explanation that Easter is about new beginnings and new life is a perfect explanation of the holiday.
5 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Based on the highly popular book of the same name, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe follows the Pevensie children as they are transported to a magical land called Narnia through an entrance in a wardrobe, and get drawn into a conflict against the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton). The four children, known to the residents of Narnia as two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve, must join forces with the mysterious and powerful Aslan (Liam Neeson) to end the eternal winter that has covered the land and return the sun. Like a few other films on the list, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe can be considered both a Christmas and Easter movie (so much so that its theatrical release was in December, but hit DVD just in time for Easter). The film’s central backdrop sees winter making way for spring to bloom, and Aslan sacrificing himself and being reborn. Author C.S. Lewis’ religious faith was a major part of his work and his life, and he created a modern myth that could be enjoyed by those of faith and non-faith alike.
4 Superman Returns
Warner Bros. Pictures
Superman Returns acts as a sequel to Superman: The Movie and Superman II and sees Superman (Brandon Routh) return to Earth after five years away, and now must find a place in a world that has moved on from him. Aside from the renewal of the Superman franchise at the time, the film draws heavily from religious symbolism. Superman’s origin story is comparable to that of Moses, but for years various writers have imagined the figure as a Christ-like savior; throughout the film, people reference Superman as a savior. In Superman’s fight with Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) he stabs the man of steel with a shard of Kryptonite in the side (referencing the crucifixion), and Superman sacrifices his life to save the people of Earth. The film finds a familial bond, with Superman discovering he has a son with Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) named Jason, who seems to have inherited his powers. Superman recounts the lesson his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) imparted to him when he discovers Jason’s lineage, that “the son becomes the father, and the father the son,” a very Christian sentence. Superman Returns is an Easter movie down to its thematic DNA.
3 The Matrix
Released on the Easter weekend of 1999, Warner Bros. knew there was something thematically present in The Matrix. The story is about Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), a computer hacker going by the name ‘Neo," who discovers his world is a simulation in a computer created by machines who have conquered humanity.Neo is prophesied to be The One, the individual who will free humanity from the Matrix, with the help of Trinity (both Christian ideas). The Matrix is filled with symbolism and references (many of them religious), so much so that people’s various readings of it were critiqued in The Matrix Resurrections (which itself has an obvious Easter-type title). As it stands, The Matrix serves as a great alternative for audiences looking for something spiritual while also providing some mind-bending action that still manages to amaze after all these years.
2 The Sound of Music
20th Century Fox
One of the most successful movies of all time, The Sound of Music is the story of Maria (Julie Andrews), a young Austrian postulant in 1938 Salzburg, Austria, who is sent to the villa of a retired naval officer and widower Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plumber) to be governess to his seven children. After changing the family’s life she marries Captain Von Trapp and the two, along with the children, find a way to survive the loss of their homeland to the Nazis. The film is often considered an unofficial Christmas movie due to years of television broadcast, yet some networks have taken to running it at Easter, and the film’s vast green canvas makes it a perfect springtime treat.
1 Christopher Robin
The Winnie the Pooh property has always had a natural spring aesthetic, and while there are plenty of animated adventures of the character to choose from, something about Disney’s live-action take on the story in Christopher Robin seems tailor-made for Easter. The film acts as a sequel to the original The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and shows a grown-up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) who has lost his sense of imagination. He is reunited with his old friend Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings), and must return to 100 Acre Wood to find his friends and discover how to be both a better father and husband, but also to not forget who he is.
While the film’s gray London aesthetic doesn’t immediately strike the image of Easter, its sense of childlike wonder and outdoor adventure capture a kind of childlike innocence. Christopher Robin teaches audiences a lesson that can tie back to Easter as a holiday: simply being an adult does not mean one has to let go of the joy of exploration and excitement that life brings. Some elements of childhood are worth holding onto. So, sit down with the whole family and enjoy Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and the rest of the gang in a heartwarming tale.
