Picture: Netflix
Produced by Double Negative (DNEG) & Locksmith Animation (Ron’s Gone Wrong), This Christmas is the latest Netflix animated holiday film following the success of such Oscar-nominated Christmas classics as Klaus and Robin Robin.
Based on the children’s holiday book trilogy “That Christmas and Other Stories” by legendary screenwriter/director Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill), the story is a sprawling, multi-character look at the days leading up to Christmas in the small town of Wellington-On-Sea along the Suffolk Coast in England.
Characterized as “a series of entwined tales about love and loneliness, family and friends, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, That Christmas follows multiple groupings: a set of twin girls always having each other’s back even when they least expect it, a new boy in town and his mother on their first Christmas after a divorce, a creative and rebellious girl tasked with giving the best Christmas ever to a group of kids when their parents get caught in a blizzard, a stern school headmaster binding a community together, & of course, Lighthouse Bill.
Directed by Simon Otto (“Love, Death, & Robots”) making his feature film debut, the film boasts an impressive cast of voice talent led by Brian Cox (“Succession”) as the narrator Santa Claus, Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter franchise) as Ms. Trapper, & Doctor Who’s Jodie Whitaker as Mrs. Williams. The cast also features Bill Nighy, Rhys Darby, & several young newcomers including Jack Wisniewski as Danny Williams and Zazie Hayhurst as Sam Beccles.
While the cast is a major standout and musical flourishes like a brand new Ed Sheeran song or a closing Coldplay tune really bring it alive at key moments, the thing that truly makes That Christmas a winning holiday film is the heart; the small town knowingness mixed with the love & care of the people who get you the most.
Otto & Curtis don’t shy away from hard topics like divorce, loss, parental fears, & caring for someone who may not make it to next Christmas; instead, they utilize them as an entry way into understanding their characters and giving the necessary adversity that many family films dodge these days, especially in holiday films.
There is no better example than the scenes with Ms. Trapper and young Danny Williams. A boy struggling to find his footing in a new town following his parents’ divorce and a school headmaster looked as a de facto leader in the community even though she’s hiding her struggles after the loss of a loved one. The two find each other at such vulnerable moments – post-arguments with mom or giving in to loneliness – and lift each other up with their company, their accomplishments, & their compassion. As Ms. Trapper notes, you celebrate the wins and live with the losses. Nothing more heartfelt than that.
With all the “holiday” films that seem more like a genre movie SET during Christmas, it’s nice to see that Otto & Curtis truly GET what makes a real Christmas movie and how the holiday season really feels for many different types of people. As mentioned in the film, Christmas can be an “emotional magnifying glass” that makes the happy emotions bigger & brighter and the sad & lonely emotions much worse; But, they get that a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and a sense of love can bring on the true meaning of the holiday and give us that magical feeling that we all want to have.
Cr: Netflix © 2024
While I may have wished for one father figure to not be a total disaster in the story (or most of the parents for that matter), That Christmas fulfilled almost all of the criteria for an elite holiday film. With studios & streamers mostly giving up on “real” Christmas films, it’s nice to see this one under my movie tree.
Watch That Christmas If You Liked
- Klaus
- Robin Robin
- Alien X-mas
- Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas
- The Christmas Chronicles
MVP of That Christmas
Writer – Richard Curtis
For decades now, Richard Curtis has been one of the best screenwriters around.
Blackadder & Mr. Bean made us cry laughing in the 80s & early 90s. Four Wedding and a Funeral & Notting Hill redefined & refreshed the Rom-Com in the mid-to-late 90s. And in the early 2000s, he snuck in his classic style to give us 2 movies that would become sneaky Christmas holiday standards (at least in my house): Bridget Jones’ Diary (ok, maybe a stretch) & Love Actually.
So it should come as no surprise that Curtis would take more shots at recapturing his holiday magic. While Genie did not impress the critics last year when it landed on Peacock, Curtis has come back strong with That Christmas, an adaptation of a set of books he authored that were also released this holiday season.
The film seems like a culmination of lessons learned from Curtis’ catalog. With films like Love Actually, he learned how to weave multiple storylines seamlessly without sacrificing character or emotional impact. With Genie, he honed his already spectacular sense of holiday magic by making a Christmas-centric PG story for all ages. And now, That Christmas brings those two specific skills to make an even more specifically Christmas themed film filled with genuine emotions & scenarios that tug at the heartstrings in a multi-character structure.
As writer & producer, Curtis shows he’s still got his legendary chops with the best movie he’s written in over a decade.
Christmas movie done right. The magic, the loneliness, the togetherness, & the promise of a wonderful day – all packed into one animated holiday family film that doesn’t shy away from real life & raw emotions.