Many movie and show releases happen year-round, and the holidays are the perfect time to catch up on new releases. From an Addams family member close-up to a long-awaited sequel, these were the most popular movies as well as TV shows to watch over the holidays.

On Dec. 16, 2022, the long-awaited second film of the Avatar series released to theaters. With high hopes and anticipation, it was one of the most viewed movies since its release. “Avatar: Way of the Water” introduced a new tribe and brought back fan-favorite characters, and many people flocked to theaters, excited to watch.

“The trailers for Avatar 2 made it seem like it’d have the same plot as Avatar 1, but I still wanted to see if it would be trash or not,” senior Renata Scacciati said.

Although there are a large number of good reviews and comments for this movie, not everyone had the same positive response to it. Many characters had their on-screen moments, but some didn’t receive as much time as people wanted.

“I enjoyed the first one more,” sophomore Annabel Ni said. “The movie didn’t give Neytiri or Neyetam any room for a plot which was disheartening.”

Well-known and widely loved, the Addams family has been around for 85 years. Although many don’t know them from the time the Addams were created, they gained popularity in the 60s up to now. Thus the creation of “Wednesday,” a TV show revolving around Gomez and Morticia Addams’s daughter, was aired on Nov. 23, 2022, on Netflix. The show’s popularity quickly sky-rocketed, thanks to social media and Addams family fans.

“I’ve seen a couple of the Addams Family movies, but I mostly just watched it because everybody was saying it was pretty good,” Scacciati said.

Even though the show was well-loved, many people’s opinions contradicted it. While the show brought a closer look at Wednesday Addams, the new plot of Morticia and Wednesday not getting along wasn’t easy to digest for fans. The boarding school concept also brought confusion and questions for some. 

“The boarding school away from home concept felt a lot like a Harry Potter knockoff,” senior Christine Romero said.

Lastly, producers brought back a beloved cat from the early years of Dreamworks. Released on Dec. 21, 2022, many flocked to theaters to see the return of the brave cat with his honorable boots in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” The film reintroduced old characters in a new light, new characters that are more than what they were created for, and a villain with a twist. 

“I was very surprised that Death(the wolf) didn’t end up collecting Puss’ last life,” senior Gabby Ho said. “Especially since Death was very violent and cruel to Puss from the beginning. I wasn’t expecting death to become empathetic to Puss.”

Although characters such as Perrito were in the movie as comedic relief, many found him and others to be more than that. His development brought warmth to many people’s hearts. The film showed a new side of Puss that fans hadn’t seen before.

“I think Perrito is underrated, he is more than just comic relief, and he becomes a comfort for Puss naturally – watching them grow close was heartwarming,” senior Ethan Nguyen said.