Bama Art House to show 'The Grinch,' 'Santa Clause,' 'The Polar Express'

Mark Hughes Cobb, Tuscaloosa News
·3 min read
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More familiar films are coming for the winter 2023 Bama Art House film series. Rather than the new indie, foreign or art films , showing on succeeding Tuesdays common to the series, there will be two holiday films showing Dec. 21, and one Dec. 22: The 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch," the 1994 "The Santa Clause" and the 2004 "The Polar Express."

When Theatre Tuscaloosa moved to its own facilities within the newly-built Shelton State Community College Martin Campus, that left the Bama Theatre open a number of weeks per year, as the company had been one of the 1938-era Bama's most frequent renters.

More: Holidays on the Plaza, Tinsel Trail return to downtown Tuscaloosa

(For the 2023-2024 season, the theater company is back in the Bama Theatre for at least some of its scheduled performance, while they wait on needed repairs to the Bean-Brown Theatre facility.)

With explosion of the multiplex concept in the '70s, business dropped precipitously for single-screen houses such as the Bama Theatre. The newly-forming Arts Council teamed with the community to renovate the Bama Theatre, beginning to adapt it to a performing-art venue in the mid-'70s. It's since been home to theater, dance, concerts, readings and more. With the loss of Theatre Tuscaloosa as a regular, the Arts Council looked to fill some of those nights by returning to showing movies, purchasing and installing modern projection equipment.

The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."
The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."

The Silver Screen series began by showing oldies, but houses were sparse until then-Bama manager booked Roberto Begnini's triple-Oscar-winner "Life is Beautiful." The series became Cinema Nouveau, offering Tuscaloosans some of the multitude of indie and art movies made worldwide they wouldn't find at the multiplex, on disc, or cable (or later, on streaming). The name later changed to the Bama Art House series, and to make the showings more of an event, put them on Tuesday nights only, in each string.

But the Arts Council decided to go nostalgic this summer with decades-past blockbusters, and then with spooky movies for Halloween. Thus Christmas movies for the first two days of winter.

Dec. 21

"Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" (2018), rated PG, one hour 25 minutes. Showing 2 p.m. at the Bama Theatre. Animated version of the Dr. Seuss tale, with the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Kenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury and Rashida Jones. Not to be confused with the 1966 TV special with Boris Karloff, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," or the 2000 Jim Carrey film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," or the 2020 live-on-TV "Dr. Seuss' the Grinch Musical." It scored a critical 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, 51% with audiences; both are considered rotten. On Metacritic it has a 51, considered mixed or average.

The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."
The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."

"The Santa Clause (1994), rated PG, one hour 37 minutes. Showing 7 p.m. Tim Allen plays a man who accidentally makes Santa fall off a roof, then magically becomes the jolly fat man himself. Also starring Judge Reinhold and Wendy Crewson, it's spun off a pair of sequels. Rotten Tomatoes figures a 73% critical score, 65% for audience. On Metacritic, it has a 57, considered mixed, or average.

Dec. 22

"The Polar Express" (2004), rated G, one hour 40 minutes. Showing at 6 p.m. Animated/digital capture, with Tom Hanks playing multiple roles. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scored 56% (rotten) with critics, 64% (fresh) with audiences. Its Metacritic score is 61, considered generally favorable.

The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."
The Bama Art House series will feature three holiday-oriented films, two on Dec. 21 -- the 2018 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch" and the 1994 "The Santa Clause" -- and one on Dec. 22, the 2014 "The Polar Express."

For this showing, patrons can also buy a Golden Ticket, for $20 per child, that include a kids' popcorn and drink, and a meet-and-greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus after the movie. Accompanying adults for children with Golden Tickets will only need to purchase a regular admission ticket.

For each showing, the doors, box office and Bama Bar and concessions open an hour before screenings. Admission is $10 general, $9 for students and seniors, and $8 for Arts Council members. Season pass punch card tickets will be on sale for $70, good for any 10 films, in any upcoming series.

The Bama Theatre is at 600 Greensboro Ave.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa's Bama Theatre to show Christmas-themed movies