THAT CHRISTMAS -- Delightful Family Film

Review by Adam Donato

There are not a lot of studios that regularly pump out Christmas movies like Netflix. That Christmas is an animated film that was supposed to be a Warner Bros film, but got bought by Netflix. It’s based on a series of children’s books from Richard Curtis. The studio responsible for the film is Locksmith Animation, who was responsible for Ron’s Gone Wrong. The cast sports notable British actors like Bill Nighy, Jodie Whittaker, and Fiona Shaw, as well as the Scottish Brian Cox voicing Santa Clause. Does this Christmas adaptation have enough heart to be included in the family's Christmas movie rotation?

That Christmas has nothing but heart. The story follows the impact of a major snowstorm on a community of families in a small town in England. There’s three central narratives that intertwine with one another. Who but the writer of Love Actually to pen this one. A shy new kid struggling with his parents divorce, twins who can’t be more opposite, and a group of children fending for themselves as their parents face the weather to get back home. These stories are all blended together nicely and come together in the end in a satisfying way. The themes of the movie deal with some pretty serious subjects and there’s some mild language, but this story works for all members of the family.

All the characters have so much personality and are each memorable in their own way. The child characters sound and act like actual children, without being annoying. The character designs are nothing to write home about. The animation looks like any old computer generated animated movie these days. The lack of visual style to the film is covered by the personality, humor and heart of the characters. The dialogue is very cleverly written and the delivery from the reputable cast is on point. 

One cliche of the medium is present in this film. About halfway through there’s a montage set to an original song from Ed Sheeran. The song is alright, but the film could’ve done without it. That being said, the runtime is already at a low 95 minutes. The rest of the film features a collection of references to radio hits. This coupled with some more modern references date the film. Nothing outwardly cringe worthy, but certainly noticeable. 

Unfortunately for That Christmas, it will probably be forgotten in the depth of Netflix’s catalog. 2019’s Klaus, which is a superior film, was so well regarded it received an Oscar nomination, but has seldom been talked about in the last half decade. The family that stumbles upon That Christmas when it’s auto played after The Christmas Chronicles will be rewarded for their faith. That Christmas is an absolute delight and better than most of the theatrically wide released animated films this year. It’s a family film that takes its audience seriously and would be enjoyed by all this holiday season. 

That Christmas is out on Netflix on 12/4. 
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Rating: 4/5