’Tis the season to watch movies, eat more than you thought you were capable of, and wash it down with countless cups of tea.
So it’s time for the first annual instalment of the snappily titled: Christmas cinema according to Chanui!
Come with us into the golden age of celluloid as we press the pause button of ignorance and unwind the film of… tea.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Where else could we possibly start than with Bilbo Baggins preparing a lovely cup of tea for his old pal Gandalf? You could do a lot worse than chucking on the extended edition of this trilogy for the duration of Christmas Day.
Tea? Or maybe something a little bit stronger?
Just tea will be fine.
Why we like this scene
For starters, it was filmed here in New Zealand. Legend has it that Chanui was the tea of choice on the Lord of the Rings set and was in this particular cup [citation needed].
It perfectly shows how tea performs the same role in the most fanciful literary and filmic universes as it does in reality. Imagine Gandalf, the wandering wizard just turns up to your house after 60-odd years with some of the worst news imaginable - that your favourite ring is coveted by the most powerful and evil being in Middle Earth, and he’ll stop at nothing to hunt you and your favourite cousin down to find it.
Oh, and he’ll subject your community to unimaginable suffering purely out of spite.
Of course you want to be drinking tea to receive that kind of news.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Now we travel to Lord of the Rings’ progeny that never quite lived up to the standards set by the parent! Still a firm Christmas favourite though, due to almost every film having a white Christmas despite it being set in the UK where it is statistically very unlikely to snow. At least in the land of muggles.
Why we like this scene
Even in a world where any possible plot hole can be explained away with "coz magic," there are still charlatans and snake oil salespeople making a living out of selling dreams of BS. In fact, Hermione literally shows up by using a magical time-travelling pocket watch to say:
What a load of rubbish.
Read our blog post Tea and folklore for more on fortune telling.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
There’s quite the fantasy theme forming here, isn’t there? If you missed this in 2005, cloven-hoofed goat-man Mr Tumnus invites Lucy out of the snow and into his ridiculously cosy-looking home for a lovely cuppa. We later find out he was actually planning on giving her to the evil queen, but the act of sharing tea and having a lovely time changes his mind.
That brave little faun.
Why we like this scene
Tumnus tells us all about how it’s been winter for 100 years in Narnia, and all Lucy can think about is there being no Christmas. Not crop failure. Not vitamin D deficiency. Not how old the tea she’s drinking must logically be. Just the complete lack of presents.
It does make you wonder—who’s growing the tea in Narnia? Do they have fantasy trade partners geographically similar to China, India, or Sri Lanka?
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Arguably the tea scene to end all tea scenes.
Alice stumbles across the Mad Hatter’s unbirthday tea party as they’re having a jolly old singsong. She enthusiastically agrees to have a cup of tea poured in various weird and wonderful ways, including through the collar and out the sleeve of the Mad Hatter himself. Unfortunately for Alice, she doesn’t actually get to enjoy any tea. Probably for the best, as the mouse looks as though it may have been spiked with something.
Why we like this scene
Tea is usually used as a contemplative plot device for exposition—something people can be sitting and doing while they talk about things that move the plot along. It makes a nice change to see it in such an absolutely absurd and energetic context.
My Fair Lady (1964)
Eliza Doolittle attempts to blend in with the upper class after some intensive elocution lessons with Professor Higgins but gets it hilariously wrong, all while holding a lovely cuppa tea. A damn fine comedy performance from Audrey Hepburn.
Why we like it
The tea takes a back seat in this one. It’s just quite funny to see the stark contrast between Eliza’s clipped speech and the content of her words while recounting a bizarre and dark anecdote about her aunt’s death.
She was essentially "done in" for a straw hat while drinking loads of gin.
Well worth revisiting this Christmas.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed reading our take on these tea classics of the silver screen. This Christmas, keep an eye out for your favourite beverage in every film you watch and think about the supporting role this humble elixir is playing.
We’re off to finish Return of the King!