Marilyn Morsch, 4, jumps for joy before settling into her front-row seat at Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. She clutches a bag of popcorn almost as big as she is before watching a film that was first released nearly three decades before she was born: "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

Marilyn and three of her cousins, aged 4 to 10, are seeing the movie for the first time. For other theatergoers, it's a repeat viewing.

“ ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ is a touchstone for so many people, for ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens," says Kathleen David, 61, who is a puppeteer. She attended the Huntington screening, but first saw the film back when it came out in 1992. "It’s nice to introduce kids to it with the Muppets, and then later you can show them other versions that have been filmed over the years, and they already know the story because they saw the Muppets."

Movie theaters across Long Island are holding special screenings of Christmas films throughout December, presenting seasonal classics and modern winter favorites alike.

Of course, that includes Cinema Arts Centre — the not-for-profit theater screens Christmas movies every weekend in December as an annual offering, says co-director Dylan Skolnick. This year’s lineup includes "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Scrooged" and "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation."

There is "not an enormous body of work" to choose from when selecting Christmas films, Skolnick says, "so we end up playing some of the same favorites again." He adds the selections "find a nice balance of some that are sweet, and some that might be a little edgier."  

How the magic is made

Other theaters are getting into the spirit too. Several Regal locations across Long Island will be showing "Elf" in December, while AMC Raceway 10 in Westbury and AMC Stony Brook 17 will feature six Christmas titles rotating on a daily basis every week through the New Year, including "The Polar Express," "Love Actually" and "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas."

A poll released by the Siena College Research Institute in November found that for New Yorkers, "Home Alone" came out on top as their favorite Christmas movie. Cinema Arts Centre will screen the 1990 comedy at the end of the month.

From stories animated with bright colors and quirky characters, to poignant tales of love and community, what exactly are the qualifications of a "Christmas movie?"

"Simply having a movie occur at Christmas is not enough," says Rodney Hill, a professor of film in the Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University. "For me, if you have the Christmas setting combined with the emotional responses, I think that is kind of the key to defining the genre."

Sentiment, enchantment, affection, reaffirmation: These are some attributes that really bring a movie into the Christmas realm, Hill says.

"If it’s appealing to those emotions or those values and it takes place around Christmas, then I would call it a Christmas movie," he says.

There seem to be new additions to the genre every year, including dark or comedy-driven twists on classic stories, or, in the age of Hallmark movies, rom-coms themed around mistletoe matchmaking. "But the good ones still work," Hill says.

"I’ll admit: I cry like a baby every time I watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’" says Hill. "It has sentiment, without wallowing in sentimentality. It’s what makes these Christmas classics work."

That’s one of the reasons people may be naturally drawn to these films toward the end of every calendar year. It ties into the ritual of Christmas itself, Hill notes.

"It functions in a mythological way: Retelling these stories that touch a fundamental human need to connect with other people, the need to renew our faith in humanity, whatever the case may be," he says. "So I think that's the appeal for telling these stories over and over again."

We need a little Christmas

Cinema Arts Centre greets audience members of all ages during this time of year, Skolnick says.

"There’s a variety, because there’s a variety of movies," he says. "For matinees, we’ll have a lot of parents bringing their kids, and for a late show of ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,’ it’s going to be mostly adults. It was built around the idea that there’s something for everyone."

That rings particularly true for "The Muppet Christmas Carol," says David, making it an ideal choice for Cinema Arts Centre's holiday offerings. In fact, the screening of "The Muppet Christmas Carol" sold out.

"I think the Muppets, in many ways, is a universal language," David says. "Children can enjoy it on one level, and adults can enjoy it on another level, so it’s an all-family event."

For instance Denise Friedman, of Oakdale, came to the screening dressed festively with a 12 days of Christmas charm bracelet, candy cane necklace and Dickens-inspired top hat. What brought her to the theater? "I love Michael Caine," she says. The esteemed actor does steal the film, embodying a towering, jaded Ebenezer Scrooge.

Although these holiday movies can all be streamed right at home from the couch, Skolnick hopes people will consider the ending of "A Christmas Carol" while making the choice to come to the movie theater.

"I hope this is not a spoiler for too many people," he says with a laugh. "But how does it end? Scrooge leaves his home. He gets out and he’s talking to his neighbors; he goes to Bob Cratchit's house. He goes and celebrates with someone who’s actually not a part of his family. It’s that community that nowadays is sometimes lacking, and we’re providing a little of that."

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.