‘That Christmas’ Review: An Unremarkable Yet Inspiring Tale For Children

This festive adaptation of Richard Curtis’ book fails to become a Christmas classic, but That Christmas is good enough to be enjoyed and get you in the spirit for Christmas. Read on to find our full That Christmas review.

This That Christmas review was made possible thanks to an early screening at the BFI London Film Festival.

Considering how the last Christmas project associated with Richard Curtis (2023’s Genie) turned out, it is very surprising that That Christmas was as heartwarming and as fun as it ended up being. Though nothing extraordinary and not particularly funny, the movie is still a fun and endearing watch – it is full of Christmas spirit and childlike joy. It is an anthology story that features all the classic cliche stories such as the strict teacher with a mysterious past, a group of kids being left to their own devices and a blossoming romance between two schoolchildren. Despite being animated, it dates itself very clearly in the modern day as right from the beginning we have groups of characters pulling out their phones and communicating through text.

Whilst this is completely normal to us now, it is still unusual to see the overuse of phones in a children’s animated movie and this may be the first full use of them in a mainstream movie outside of The Emoji Movie, though that was all set inside a phone and didn’t feature much of actually using phones. Not only this, but the movie opens with a very modern Christmas pantomime performance at the school which has been written by one of the children in an attempt to bring Christmas traditions to the speed of the kids of today, which includes various pop songs including Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach”. The title of this song is quite ironic given how preachy the movie comes across with its messages on climate change – forced dialogue that does not sound at all like it would come from a child’s mouth.

This is not the only example of overt modernisation, it is also present in some of the storylines, particularly one surrounding the main character Danny Williams (Jack Wisniewski). His parents are divorced and thus he is dealing with the problem of a split Christmas which is an issue that more kids today are facing than ever before. The movie makes these strong attempts to place the narrative in the world of today, hopefully making it so that young audiences can recognise and relate to the situations these characters find themselves in – and perhaps that will make them feel better about them too. The movie also boasts a diverse cast and there are adults and children of all shapes, sizes, races and other cultural identities. This helps to paint a story that more children will recognise. With all these different types of families and individuals, it’s possible for everyone to see themselves in That Christmas and that is part of the charm.

Ultimately, it comes down to the message of the film and how it makes you feel. This is a fun Christmas movie and whilst it isn’t very funny for anyone who isn’t a child, it is a fun and engaging watch. The animation is great and sometimes even looks like it is from one of the top animation studios. It isn’t anything special, which is why it is perfect for Netflix – though it can definitely be appreciated on the big screen. This is a movie made for gathering around the television with your family and enjoying something simple and lighthearted on Christmas. Despite being so simple, the movie boasts a pretty powerful message.

Whilst having the excellent Brian Cox as Santa and him narrating the story, his presence is actually infrequent and he is not in the movie a lot. Instead, the film focuses on the individual stories and how they all overcome their challenges and unite together in the end. This is a pretty powerful message to children: Whilst Santa is great and you should continue to believe in him, you should also believe in yourself because ultimately it is you who will make the decisions that lead to positive outcomes and change. Santa simply acts as a catalyst, placing children on the ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ list as a result of their actions and giving them gifts that will help them make better decisions later on. Santa is a great figure, but you need to believe in yourself as well as Mr Claus. 

The movie will be released on Netflix on December 4th.

That Christmas is directed by Simon Otto and stars Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Bill Nighy, Lolly Adefope, Jodie Whittaker, Sindhu Vee, Jack Wisniewski, Sienna Sayer, India Brown, Zazie Hayhurst, Guz Khan and Rhys Darby. Nicole P. Hearon, Adam Tandy, Sarah Smith and Aaron Dem serve as producers. 

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