Christmas Movies 2011

Christmas is full of annual traditions, such as decorating the tree or braving the shopping malls to find just the perfect gift for someone special. And Hollywood has their own tradition - releasing family movies they hope will pull in big dollars as parents try to fill those school vacation days with other activities like going to the movies. There will be plenty of new movies for grown-ups, too (for instance, look for Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady), but here's a look at a few family-friendly holiday films that will be joining the Christmas Movies 2011 lineup.

Arthur Christmas is an animated family-friendly holiday movie from Sony Pictures Animation that will be released on November 23. This film stars James McAvoy as the voice of Arthur, Santa's son. The movie promises to answer the age-old question of just how Santa manages to deliver presents all around the world in one night. Kids will love getting a glimpse of Santa Claus' never-before-seen secret operation under the North Pole.

Happy Feet 2 is a sequel to the popular 2006 Happy Feet movie that starred a number of animated dancing/singing penguins. This follow-up movie focuses on Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) and his son Erik (voiced by Elizabeth Daily), who is a penguin who doesn't want to dance. Robin Williams returns as the voice for Ramon and Lovelace, and Pink will be the singing voice for Gloria the penguin. Watch for this movie to be released November 18, just in time for Thanksgiving.

The 2011 The Muppets movie will be the first theatrical-relase Muppets film not to feature Frank Oz, the actor who created the voice of Miss Piggy, or Jerry Nelson, who has been "been heavily involved in almost every major Muppet project" since the 1970s, according to IMDb. But no worries! This movie will still feature all your favorite Muppet characters reuniting to save their old studio from a greedy tycoon. The Muppets will be in theaters November 23.

The Happy Feet penguins won't be the only singing and dancing characters starring in Christmas movies in 2011. Alvin, Simon and Theodore will be back on the big screen on December 16 in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked. The third movie in the successful Chipmunks will also feature the female Chipettes who were introduced in the second film. In this one, the tiny singing sensations will be vacationing on a cruise ship that gets shipwrecked on a desert island.

The boot-wearing, sword-fighting cat from Shrek is back, and he's got his own movie. Antonio Banderas is back as the voice of Puss in Boots in this "prequel" to the Shrek movies that explains how the orange cat with the big eyes and big attitude meets Shrek and the gang. Zach Galifianakis joins the cast as the voice of Humpty Dumpty and Salma Hayek is Kitty Softpaws. IMDb says this film was originally planned as a direct-to-DVD release, but moviegoers will undoubtedly be happy to see their favorite swashbuckling kitty back on the big screen. Look for this in the theaters on November 4.