In That Christmas, it’s Christmas time in the English town of Wellington-on-Sea and everyone is in the festive mood. Lights and outdoor decorations line the streets, the local residents are full of holiday cheer, and there’s just three days to go until Santa arrives.
But when everyone wakes up on December 23rd, a great deal of snow has fallen, causing problems. These problems include a closed school, missing turkeys, an absent father, a busy mother, and a group of snowbound parents who might not make it back home for Christmas Day.
Directed by Simon Otto, written by Richard Curtis and Peter Souter, and based on Curtis’ book, That Christmas and Other Stories, That Christmas is an animated children’s film which is new to stream on Netflix from today. The movie focuses on a collection of characters during the festive period, and features the vocal talents of Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, and Bill Nighy.
Playing out a bit like an animated version of Love, Actually, That Christmas centres its story around the trials and tribulations of the residents of Wellington-on-Sea as they find themselves facing a less-than enjoyable time. Things aren’t running quite smoothly, the snow is a hassle, and this could be a difficult Christmas for everyone involved.
A terrible Christmas? Well, no, just a poor one with some minor issues, but it’s enough to throw a spanner in the works and create a bit of drama.
Now, with this being a Richard Curtis story the film is largely about a series of mild inconveniences, rather than major disasters, so don’t expect anything too taxing. In true Curtis style everything might seem problematic at first, but it really isn’t, and it’s pretty clear everything will turn out fine in the end.
But then, that’s not really the point of a film like this. That Christmas is all about highlighting the spirit of the festive season, while throwing a few gags at the screen, and this is all achieved as expected.
Oh, and the film also finds time to chuck in some songs too. Heck, it even manages to shoehorn in a new tune from Ed Sheeran, so if this sounds like the perfect film for you, then fill your boots!
Did I enjoy That Christmas? No, not really, but then I don’t find the aforementioned Love, Actually enjoyable either, so make of that what you will.
For what it sets out to do, That Christmas is successful enough and I’m sure many will find it perfectly agreeable. I’m fairly confident the film’s target audience (youngsters excited for Christmas) will find this all very accommodating, so in the grand scheme of things I guess that’s enough.
While That Christmas is a by-the-numbers animated offering and nothing more, it’s not particularly bad and kids will enjoy it. That Christmas is the sort of film that will keep the little ‘uns amused for 90-minutes, while you’re wrapping presents or slinging back the eggnog, so make use of it as you see fit.
Are there better things you could be doing with your time? Probably, but there are worse things too, so if you want a festive distraction That Christmas could be the film you are looking for.
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