Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Director: Simon Otto
Writers: Richard Curtis, Peter Souter, Andrew Dawson
“I am shy, she’s anxious, it’s hopeless!”
This might just be my favorite funny line from That Christmas, spoken by a shy new schoolboy as he chats with his mum about the girl he has a crush on.
Set in the fictional town of Wellington-on-Sea, the 2024 animated movie is narrated by Santa (Brian Cox), who finds his duties severely tested when a snowstorm disrupts everyone’s Christmas plans. That Christmas weaves together the comedic misadventures of the town’s residents, keeping you guessing how their stories will eventually intertwine… which they do, in a clichéd but completely entertaining way.
There are essentially three subplots in That Christmas: one follows new kid Danny, whose parents are divorced, as he struggles to make friends and catch the attention of his crush; another centers on Samantha, who’s anxious that her mischievous twin Charlie will ruin Christmas with her pranks; and the third focuses on Bernadette, who unexpectedly finds herself in charge of four kids when their parents get stranded in the snowstorm. For Danny, his first friend comes in the unlikeliest of forms – the strict teacher Ms. Trapper, who imparts some solid life lessons along the way. So this film is all about family, friends, and community spirit.
The animation by Locksmith Animation is colorful and cute, with some of the snowstorm scenes in That Christmas being truly stunning. I loved some of the kid characters, especially twins Charlie and Samantha, who are polar opposites in personality but soul sisters nonetheless. Bernadette’s wide-eyed toddler sister Eve had the cutest character design and is adorably voiced by Bronte Smith. Since the child characters are the heroes of this tale, there’s a lot of chaotic energy throughout the film, but it also delivers a generous amount of giggles.
My brother had planned to play an exciting new game on his PC when I started streaming That Christmas, but he ended up watching the entire film with us because of how fun it was. That’s a glowing review in itself!
Rating: 4 stars on 5. You can stream “That Christmas” on Netflix.
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