海角大神

It鈥檚 almost Turkey Day, and so obviously it鈥檚 time to turn on those鈥� Thanksgiving鈥� movies and play all those Thanksgiving鈥� songs?

Okay, so compared to the winter holidays and even Halloween, Thanksgiving, sandwiched in between, gets short shrift in pop culture. In terms of holiday movies, most of America would probably recognize the Peanuts singing 鈥淗ark! The Herald Angels Sing鈥� or the Grinch stealing presents (and that鈥檚 just the animated movies), and even Halloween has gotten some Disney movies that are beloved by many 鈥�90s children such as 鈥淗ocus Pocus,鈥� 鈥淗alloweentown,鈥� and 鈥�The Nightmare Before Christmas,鈥� to say nothing of frightfests centered around the holiday such as the cannily titled 鈥淗alloween.鈥�

While Thanksgiving may bring to mind turkey dinners and family gatherings, it doesn't have a lot of pop-culture recognition.聽However, while it鈥檚 lagged far behind its fellow fall and winter holidays, the celebration and its turkey-laden tables have served as the focus for a few movies, some classic TV episodes, and even a couple of songs.聽Here are a few you may have forgotten about.

Movies:

鈥揟he most well-known is probably the 1987 film 鈥�Planes, Trains and Automobiles,鈥� which finds a frantic Steve Martin (playing the straight man, mostly) trying to get home for Thanksgiving and meeting a friendly but disaster-prone fellow traveler (John Candy). The movie also features a turn by 鈥�This Is Spinal Tap鈥� actor Michael McKean as a state trooper and a cameo by Kevin Bacon, whose character snags a taxi ahead of Martin.

鈥撯�淧ieces of April,鈥� which was released in 2003, stars Katie Holmes as April, a Manhattan resident trying to cook dinner for her estranged family in her tiny apartment as the family deals with April鈥檚 mother (Patricia Clarkson)鈥檚 breast cancer.

鈥撯�淗ome for the Holidays鈥� is a 1995 film starring 鈥�The Incredibles鈥� actress Holly Hunter as Claudia, a single mom who decides to spend Thanksgiving with her parents and siblings. Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft played Mom and Dad, while Robert Downey Jr. was the brother who tries to set up Claudia with a friend of his. 聽

鈥揟he Peanuts gang, welcome at any time of year, celebrated the holiday in two separate specials. 1973 saw 鈥淎 Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,鈥� which first aired on CBS and includes Lucy pulling that pesky football away, Charlie Brown suddenly finding himself hosting a holiday dinner for some of the other kids, and Snoopy and Woodstock in Pilgrim costumes. As part of the series 鈥淭his is America, Charlie Brown,鈥� the Peanuts gang tagged along with the Pilgrims for the first Thanksgiving dinner in Plymouth in an episode titled 鈥�The Mayflower Voyagers,鈥� which first aired in 1988.

TV episodes:

鈥揟he longrunning NBC sitcom 鈥�Friends,鈥� which ran from 1994 to 2004, became well-known for its Thanksgiving episodes. Memorable escapades included all six playing a touch football game which brought up old sibling rivalries between brother and sister Ross and Monica, Chandler spending the holiday in a cardboard box to make up for kissing his roommate鈥檚 girlfriend, and star Jennifer Aniston鈥檚 then-husband Brad Pitt guest-starring as an old high school classmate.

鈥撯�淐heers,鈥� which aired from 1982 to 1993, featured a Thanksgiving dinner that ended up airborne when the cast went to Carla (Rhea Perlman)鈥檚 house for a badly cooked dinner which turned into a food fight.

Songs:

鈥揗any classic rock radio stations still play the 1967 song 鈥淎lice鈥檚 Restaurant Massacree,鈥� recorded by Arlo Guthrie, at noon (or occasionally other times) on Thanksgiving Day. The anti-draft song is 18 minutes long and considered a Turkey Day song because the main character, Arlo Guthrie, is arrested for littering after the town dump being closed on Thanksgiving Day leads him and his friend to throw their trash elsewhere.

鈥揟hough people who only know the beginning may be confused by its association with Thanksgiving, the song 鈥淥ver the River and Through the Wood,鈥� written by Lydia Marie Child in 1844, is often now sung for Thanksgiving because of the end of its second verse, which states 鈥淲e would not stop for doll or top/For 鈥榯is Thanksgiving Day.鈥� (The last line mentions pumpkin pie, too, but that could be for either Thanksgiving or the later holidays, we guess.)