Christmas movie planner:

SUNDAY

Freaky Friday (1976) U ● 6.05AM, CH4 ★★★★ In this fun-packed and influential bodyswap comedy, Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris (above) play a daughter and mother who, one strange Friday, have to live each other’s lives after their personalities switch.

Toy Story (1995) PG ● 1.50PM, BBC1 ★★★★★ Pixar’s debut full-length feature – a heart-warming and technically brilliant tale of lively, adventurous toys – hasn’t dimmed with age. The first two sequels also show this week.

Penguins Of Madagascar (2014) U ■ 3.05PM, BBC1 ★★★ Highly skilled superagent penguins Skipper (left), Private, Kowalski and Rico come beak to beak with a mad octopus in this enjoyable, whipsmart comedy spin-off from the blockbuster Madagascar franchise.

Paddington (2014) PG ● 7.15PM, CH4 ★★★★ The talking bear who first arrived in London in 1958, by train, wins our hearts all over again in this charming film. The equally beguiling sequel is on Christmas Day on RTÉ One.

Office Christmas Party (2016) 15 ◆ 9PM, RTé2 ★★★ Comedy, starring TJ Miller as a manager who plans to impress a client with an epic party – and in the process convince his CEO sister (Jennifer Aniston, right) not to make any redundancies.

Spectre (2015) 12 ◆ 9.30PM, RTé ONE ★★★★ The long-awaited new Bond film, No Time To Die, is due for release in April. Before then, here’s a chance to catch up on Daniel Craig’s previous outing, which finds 007 on the trail of a criminal mastermind.

MONDAY

Kung Fu Panda (2008) PG ● 10.30AM, BBC1 ★★★★ Vibrant comedy animation about a cute, tubby and perpetually hungry panda. Voiced by Jack Black – who else? – Po (below) transforms into a kung fu fighting hero.

The Santa Clause (1994) U ● 2.15PM, UTV ★★★ Family comedy starring Tim Allen as the dad who steps into Santa’s suit, and inadvertently lands himself the job fulltime. Cue weight gain, a beard and a whole new outlook on life.

Brave (2012) PG ● 2.55PM, BBC1 ★★★★ Perky Disney-Pixar animation with a plucky flame-haired heroine. Merida is the young Highlands clanswoman whose reluctance to get hitched unleashes some dark magic.

The Princess Bride (1987) PG ● 3.15PM, RTé2 ★★★★★ Director Rob Reiner’s endlessly quotable comic fantasy sees a stable boy set out on a heroic quest to rescue the woman he loves from an evil prince. Cary Elwes and Robin Wright star.

Three Kings (1999) 15 ◆ 11.30PM, VIRGIN TWO ★★★★ George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube (above) star in director David O Russell’s adventure as US soldiers who find a fortune in Kuwaiti bullion during the first Gulf War .

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 15 ◆ 12.25AM, BBC2 ★★★★ In John Frankenheimer’s classic conspiracy thriller, Frank Sinatra (right) plays the Korean War veteran spooked by recurring nightmares, and convinced that he has been the victim of brainwashing.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Murder On The Orient Express (1974) PG ● 11.40AM, BBC2 ★★★★ Sidney Lumet’s star-packed adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic, with Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot (above). Peter Ustinov takes over for Death On The Nile (at 1.45pm).

Frozen (2013) PG ● 3PM, BBC1 ★★★★ This glorious animated musical fairytale was another big hit for Disney – and they did it again with the recent sequel. Olaf is the hilarious snowman warming everyone’s hearts.

Home Alone (1990) PG ● 3.50PM, RTé2 ★★★★ Macaulay Culkin stars in the much-loved festive family comedy as Kevin, a boy whose family accidentally goes on holiday without him. To make matters worse, their house is targeted by a pair of burglars.

Star Wars: Episode VII –The Force Awakens (2015) 12 ◆ 6.20PM, RTé2 ★★★★ The sci-fi saga is given a new lease of life as an escaped stormtrooper (John Boyega) and a scavenger (Daisy Ridley, above), are drawn into the search for missing Jedi Luke Skywalker.

The Night Before (2015) 15 ◆ 9PM, 5STAR ★★★ Unsubtle seasonal stoner comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie as friends who – for one last hurrah – plan a really wild Christmas.

Great Expectations (2012) 12 ◆ 11.15PM, BBC2 ★★★ Director Mike Newell and screenwriter David Nicholls blow the cobwebs off the Dickens classic, with star turns from supporting players including Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and David Walliams as Uncle Pumblechook.

CHRISTMAS DAY

White Christmas (1954) U ● 9.10AM, MORE4 ★★★★★ Fire up the big day’s festivities with this toe-tapping classic. Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby are the double act meeting their match in two sisters (Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney).

Moana (2016) PG ● 12.55PM, BBC1 ★★★★ Polynesian heroine Moana (above) is not your average Disney princess. In tune with the sea, Moana sets sail on an epic and mystical quest, with guidance from demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).

Finding Dory (2016) U ■ 3.10PM, BBC1 ★★★ Nemo and dad Marlin play second fiddle to their friend, Dory, in this fun sequel. This time, it’s the turn of the forgetful fish to go in search of her family.

Oliver! (1968) U ● 3.10PM, CH5 ★★★★ Musical version of the Dickens classic, with Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Sikes and Mark Lester as the orphan who wanted more.

Spartacus (1960) PG ● 4.10PM, ITV4 ★★★★ Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this epic goes deeper than the usual thumping swordand-sandals movie. The cast – including Jean Simmons and Kirk Douglas – is superb.

Beauty And The Beast (2017) PG ● 4.45PM, RTé ONE ★★★★ Disney’s brilliant live-action remake of its own hit 1991 animation stars Emma Watson, who certainly looks the part as the fiercely independent heroine Belle.

The Young Offenders (2016) 15 ◆ 10.40PM, RTé ONE ★★★★ The hit comedy that launched the successful spin-off sitcom stars Alex Murphy and Chris Walley as Conor and Jock (above), who hope to track down a missing bale of cocaine.

ST STEPHEN’S DAY

The Boss Baby (2017) U ■ 1.50PM, BBC1 ★★★ Set in a world where babies are made and not born, this fun animation features a babe with the mind of a corporate executive (above), voiced by Alec Baldwin.

Oliver Twist (1948) U ● 2PM, VIRGIN TWO ★★★★★ Director David Lean and a cast that includes Alec Guinness, Anthony Newley and John Howard Davies breathe life into Charles Dickens’s classic tale of the runaway orphan.

Porridge (1979) PG ● 5.30PM, BBC2 ★★★ Fletch and Godber (Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale) are reluctantly caught up in a prison escape during a celebrity football match, and set about breaking back in.

Skyfall (2012) 12 ◆ 9PM, RTé2 ★★★★★ Arguably Daniel Craig’s best film as Bond to date finds 007 looking for the criminal who exposed the identities of undercover agents around the world. Javier Bardem is on charismatic form as the villain.

The Woman In Black (2012) 12 ◆ 10.55PM, CH5 ★★★★ Complementing a new Susan Hill adaptation of The Small Hand (tonight, 9pm, Ch5), here’s her creepy classic, starring Daniel Radcliffe as a quiet man unearthing a terrible secret.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) PG ● 11PM, BBC2 ★★★ Comedy drama based on the bizarre life of Mrs Jenkins (Meryl Streep, left), a tuneless socialite who loved to sing. Her partner and manager (Hugh Grant) orchestrated a long career for a woman who sang all the right notes, but in the wrong order.

The Help (2011) 12 ◆ 12.40AM, RTé ONE ★★★ A white would-be journalist returns to her home in 1960s Mississippi, where she begins a project to document the lives of black servants. Emma Stone heads the cast, but Octavia Spencer picked up the Oscar.

FRIDAY

Evil Under The Sun (1982) PG ● 11.20AM, BBC2 ★★★ Peter Ustinov’s Poirot ventures to an exclusive island resort, where there are nine suspects in the murder of an actress played by Diana Rigg.

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) U ● 11.40AM, ITV3 ★★★★★ The definitive adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s magical story is a legendary cinematic treat. Judy Garland (below) is the Kansas lass searching for a wizard after she is whisked away for a frolic along the Yellow Brick Road.

Funny Girl (1968) U ● 1.05PM, TG4 ★★★★ Barbra Streisand made an Oscar-winning film debut in this musical biopic of Fanny Brice, having played the role to great acclaim on stage. It follows Brice’s rise to stardom and turbulent love life.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) PG ● 1.25PM, BBC1 ★★★★ All of Steven Spielberg’s whip-cracking romps show over the festive season, with Harrison Ford (above) as the bold adventurer who can face all manner of danger, except snakes.

Thunderball (1965) PG ● 3.25PM, RTé2 ★★★ Sean Connery’s fourth outing as Bond finds the suave spy heading to the Bahamas. He’s on the trail of two stolen nuclear warheads which have fallen into the grubby hands of crime syndicate Spectre.

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989) PG ● 5.45PM, RTé2 ★★★★★ Harrison Ford returns as the intrepid archaeologist, who this time is looking for his missing father (a perfectly cast Sean Connery) as well as the fabled Holy Grail.

Ant-Man (2015) 12 ◆ 11PM, BBC1 ★★★★ Paul Rudd suits up and shrinks down to play Marvel’s most diminutive hero, who is, inescapably and enjoyably, played for laughs.

SATURDAY

Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016) PG ● 6PM, BBC1 ★★★ Chaotic and colourful sequel to Tim Burton’s 2010 trip to Wonderland, reuniting Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter (above) and Mia Wasikowska’s wide-eyed Alice for a mindbending race-against-time adventure.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 (2017) 12 u 8.30PM, UTV ★★★★ Enjoyable, visually spectacular sequel for Marvel’s motley mismatched heroes. Kurt Russell joins the cast as Ego, an alien with a planet-sized secret, who is the long-lost father of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord.

Baywatch (2017) 15 ◆ 9PM, CH4 ★★★ This update for the TV series is unabashedly frothy. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron are the tanned and buffed lifeguards keeping the beaches safe while indulging in a goofy rivalry.

John Wick (2014) 15 ◆ 9PM, VIRGIN TWO ★★★★ Keanu Reeves (below) made a satisfying return to action films in this exhilarating neo-noir thriller. He plays a retired assassin who is provoked into a murderous rage when Russian gangsters kill his beloved dog.

Fargo (1996) 18 ▲ 10.20PM, TG4 ★★★★ The Coen brothers combine comedy, suspense and violence for this classic comedy drama. The Oscar-winning Frances McDormand stars as the heavily pregnant police chief investigating a bizarre murder.

David Brent: Life On The Road (2016) 15 ◆ 12 MIDNIGHT, BBC2 ★★★ Ricky Gervais resurrects his character from The Office as the poor deluded soul embarks on a self-funded tour with a reluctant band and a rising rap star.