Tom Hanks and more stars share their favorite Christmas movies

We polled Hanks and a few other celebrities, along with several CNN journalists, about their favorite Christmas movies. Here’s how some of their picks measured up against popular opinion.

Tom Hanks: ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

“It probably lasts about 24 minutes, but time freezes when I watch Snoopy build his doghouse with all the ornaments on it, the lights, and he wins first prize. It’s great watching those kids rehearse their Christmas play. It just hits that Christmas is drawing near when you see Snoopy and Charlie Brown,” Hanks told CNN.

Ron Howard: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

“I don’t know how many times I’ve seen ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ I find it’s one of the most fascinating stories to revisit and I never ever watched it without taking a moment to consider that central thematic question: Are you aware of the way you can affect those around you and the ripple effect of it?

Who doesn’t cry when you see Jimmy Stewart rediscover himself and his desire to live? In a really complicated, difficult, frustrating world, a damnable world, there, the choice to engage and live matters and you can matter. And it was powerful then and it’s powerful now. In fact, it’s more powerful now,” Howard said.

Bobby Flay: ‘Elf’

“My favorite holiday movie is ‘Elf.’ I think Will Ferrell is a comedic genius. My favorite scene in the movie is when he thinks he finds the greatest cup of coffee in the world,” Flay told CNN.

CNN’s Abby Phillip: ‘The Preacher’s Wife’

“My favorite Christmas movie is ‘The Preacher’s Wife.’ It is the best Christmas movie. You got Whitney Houston, you got Denzel Washington, and you have a tale of an angel almost having an affair with the preacher’s wife. I mean it doesn’t get better than that.

I watch it every year, multiple times, during the Christmas season, but I love watching it on Christmas day and I love playing the soundtrack. The soundtrack for that movie is amazing. It is such a fun Christmas movie and it’s a little spicy as Christmas movies go,” Phillips said.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: ‘Home Alone’

“The one that always makes me immediately think of Christmas is ‘Home Alone.’ It immediately takes me to Christmas. That’s the one that my three teenage girls and I will curl up on the couch and watch for sure,” Gupta said.

Dana Bash: ‘Love Actually’ (and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’)

“I can’t even think about Christmas Eve without thinking about ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and Jimmy Stewart because it’s my childhood. It’s what our family would do. We would curl up on the couch — or when I was little I would get into the big chair with my dad — and we would watch the movie because it was my dad’s favorite movie.

More recently, my favorite Christmas movie is ‘Love Actually.’ It just makes me so happy the way it ends. It’s such a positive message. It’s so funny. It’s such a classic. If “Love Actually” is on TV and I happen to click on it, I’m done, I have to finish it. It’s just the best Christmas movie,” Bash said.

Jake Tapper: ‘Die Hard’

“My favorite Christmas movie is without question ‘Die Hard.’ I know it’s controversial to say, but ‘Die Hard’ is obviously a Christmas movie. It takes place on Christmas and there are many themes throughout the movie about Christmas. His wife’s name is Holly for God’s sake.

It has all the elements you want in a Christmas movie: Homecoming, love and a lot of killing of terrorists,” Tapper said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘Miracle on 34th Street’

“My favorite Christmas movie is ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ It brings me back to my childhood because it was made when I was a child and you would see it every Christmas. It just had that innocent warmth of Christmas about it, the innocence of childhood,” Fauci told CNN.

Sara Sidner: ‘A Christmas Story’

“I watch it every year at least twice. I used to have it go 24 hours a day. ‘You’ll shoot your eye out, kid,’ is like a part of my life. It’s like the script of my life. I was a very active child and could just sort of see myself in the scenario with the bullies and the whole thing.

The narrator for that film is like the voice of God to me. It brings out every childhood wonder and hurt that you can imagine. I loved it so much that I went to Cleveland at one point and went to see the home where it was filmed,” Sidner said.

Kate Bolduan: ‘Scrooged’

“There is only one and it cannot be debated. It is hands down the best holiday movie of all time, which is “Scrooged.” Bill Murray as Frank Cross: Delightfully horrendous, cyclical, horrible human being. And then in the classic Christmas carol fashion, turns it all around. Not lost on me is that Frank Cross is a TV executive. So, there’s hope for all of us,: Bolduan said.

Ana Cabrera: ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’

“Who doesn’t love Rudolph? I just remember growing up that was the one movie we had to make sure we watched. It’s one that just sticks with you. It’s such a feel-good movie: the characters, the message, the magic. Even as an adult, it’s the one I want my kids to watch every year because I still love it as much as I did then,” Cabrera said.