''That Christmas'' is a 2024 animated

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...

film directed by Simon Otto (in his directorial debut) and written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

and

Peter Souter Peter Souter (born 1962) is a British writer. He is the chairman and chief creative officer of TBWA London as well as the former executive creative director of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. He wrote the screenplay for the 2010 ITV six-episode comedy ...

. Produced by

Locksmith Animation Locksmith Animation is a British-American independent computer animation feature film studio owned by Sister Group. Headquartered in London, England with an office in Los Angeles, California, Locksmith is best known for producing and developing ...

, it follows entwined storylines based on short stories from ''That Christmas and Other Stories'' by Curtis and illustrator Rebecca Cobb. The voice cast features Brian Cox,

Fiona Shaw Fiona Shaw (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She did extensive work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, as well as in film and television. In 2020, she was listed at No. 29 o ...

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

and

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. ''That Christmas'' premiered at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

on 19 October 2024, and was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on 4 December. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In the seaside

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

town of Wellington-on-Sea, the townsfolk are preparing to celebrate

, with the activities being organised by Bill, the lighthouse keeper. The story follows three groups: Danny Williams, a shy new boy in town who tries to adjust to his parents' divorce, Sam and Charlie Beccles, identical twin sisters who are respectively anxious and mischievous, and Bernadette McNutt, a spirited local rebel who wants to change things up for the holiday. At the school’s Christmas play, Bernadette puts on a more liberal spin, which not many of the parents enjoy, with Danny almost missing his cue due to staring at Sam and Charlie arriving last minute. Danny is upset, but not surprised that his mother has to leave for work, and at home, he converses with her through sticky notes about the play and his crush on Sam. The next morning, the school is closed due to an weather-related cancellation, but Mrs. Williams fails to notice the alert, and Danny is caught trying to leave by his teacher, Mrs. Trapper, who has him catch up on his studies due to his poor marks. During a ten-minute recess, Mrs. Trapper teaches Danny how to properly build a

snowman A snowman is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes wit ...

and Danny notices that Mrs. Trapper is miserable on the way home after spending the rest of the day playing in the snow with her. Sam watches Charlie put out a prank on their neighbor who is mean to her dog, and Charlie gets scolded by their mother. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, Bernadette stays with her younger sister Evie, Nisha Mulji, and Teddy and Scarlett Forrest in a barn near their houses and prepare their annual

Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. These traditions are diverse in their origins and nature, with some having an exclusively Christianity, Ch ...

while their parents attend a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

out of town. The Beccles are forced to retrieve

turkeys The turkey is a large bird in the genus ''Meleagris'', native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocell ...

from Farmer Yirrell who kills them before selling them as the butcher was unable to get a shipment in due to a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

. At the farm, Charlie sneaks away to try and free the turkeys, but Sam chastises her for her actions. Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams advises Danny to drop by the Beccles’ store to acquire wine gums for his father. After Danny notices the shop's closure, Sam invites him in to warm himself up for a minute, but Danny declines, so he meet his father at home. When the parents leave the reception, they are forced to take the long way home thanks to a

snowstorm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In Continental cl ...

, but they go off the road and slide down a slope from off a bridge. They inform their children that they will be home in the morning and have them stay together for the night. Upon arriving home, Danny is called by his father who informs him he is unable to come due to the blizzard. As Danny sleeps with his mother, who comforts him, Santa arrives at Wellington with Dasher and, upon learning about the situations in Danny's life, leaves him behind with his

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpar ...

full and a

quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

in front of his house. After learning of the kids' current events, Santa leaves them with their peculiar gifts. Noting that Sam has been nice while Charlie has been naughty, Santa reluctantly leaves Charlie with the presents. Charlie awakes and is overjoyed to find presents but sadly sees Sam's empty stocking and realises they are meant for her sister. When Charlie moves everything to Sam’s stocking, Santa gets a reading that Charlie is in fact nice and returns to Wellington. On

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

, Charlie wakes up to hear Sam's cries of joy and congratulates her. Sam points towards Charlie's stocking to find it full, and Charlie finds a button saying "officially nice" inside, but decides to keep it away from her family. Later, while Charlie is untidying her side of the room, Sam finds Charlie's notes and realises she did all those things to help Sam, even developing a plan to get her and Danny together. Upon waking up, the kids discover their gifts, and Bernadette leads them in having the Christmas they want, while Evie follows a flock of turkeys during a game of

hide and seek Hide and seek may refer to: * Hide-and-seek, a children's game Film * ''Hide and Seek'' (1932 cartoon), a Fleischer Studios Talkartoon animated short * ''Hide and Seek'' (1963 film), a Swedish comedy film * ''Hide and Seek'' (1964 film), a ...

. An overjoyed Danny becomes disheartened when he learns that his mother has to work as Lighthouse Bill's mother is sick. Mrs. Williams leaves after a small fight, and Danny, seeing Mrs. Trapper alone, offers to have lunch with her, but she declines and convinces him to see things from his mother's perspective. Meanwhile, the parents struggle to get up from the slope, so they call Mrs. Trapper, who enlists Danny's help to convince Farmer Yirrell to get the parents to safety simply by hulling them back to their houses, where they are ultimately greeted by their children and helps Danny make an

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the ...

for his mother. Danny and his mother reconcile and offer Mrs. Trapper a place at their table, but she declines and looks through a box of mementos belonging to Jamie, her late husband died in the Falkland war. The parents notice that Evie's missing and they search for her, getting the town involved in their search. Mrs. Trapper enlists Danny to take her to the McNutt house where she takes up the command. As Sam and Charlie run into Danny and join in on his quad bike, the trio enlists Lighthouse Bill to help find Evie. Fortunately, Lighthouse Bill flashes the light on a set of footprints and the group follow them to a row of beach huts where they find Evie sheltering with several turkeys. After Bernadette and Evie's parents arrive, Bernadette apologizes to her mother for losing Evie as she forgives her. Upon learning that Danny thought of using the lighthouse, Bernadette hails him a hero and Danny asks out Sam. On

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

, Lighthouse Bill goes to the beach to swim in the cold ocean with half the town arriving to enjoy themselves.

Cast

* Brian Cox as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

as Mrs. Trapper *

as Mrs. Williams *

Lolly Adefope Ololade "Lolly" Adefope (born ) is an English stand-up comedian and actress, specialising in character comedy. She is known for playing the role of Fran in the Hulu comedy series ''Shrill (TV series), Shrill'', and as Kitty, the ghost of a Geor ...

as Mrs. McNutt *

Alex Macqueen Alexander Tulloch Macqueen (born 30 November 1973) is an English actor and writer. He has appeared on television, film, and radio in the UK in productions such as ''Holby City'', ''Doctor Who,'' '' Hut 33'', '' Peep Show'', ''The Thick of It'', ...

as Mr. Forrest *

Katherine Parkinson Katherine Parkinson (born 1977 or 1978) is an English actress. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy series ''The IT Crowd'' as Jen Barber, for which she won BAFTA's British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2014. Par ...

as Mrs. Forrest * Sindhu Vee as Mrs. Mulji * Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs. Beccles *

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...

as Farmer Yirrell *

Guz Khan Ghulam Dastgir Khan (; born 24 January 1986), also known as Guz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances include '' Man Like Mobeen'', '' Taskmaster'' (series 12), '' Our Flag Means Death'' (series 1) and stand-up performances ...

as Dasher *

Andy Nyman Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer, singer and magician. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance as Tevye in the 2019 West End revival of ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life and ...

as Mr. Beccles *

as Lighthouse Bill *

Rhys Darby Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...

as Mr. McNutt *

Jordan North Jordan Levi North (born 14 February 1990) is a British radio DJ and television presenter from York, England. Since April 2024, he has been the host of ''Capital Breakfast'', and formerly hosted lunchtime and drivetime shows on BBC Radio 1. In ...

and

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is a British-Irish broadcaster. He presented the television talent show ''The X Factor'' on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015. Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV' ...

as Mr. Hack and Mr. Chop in cameo appearances

Production

In November 2019, it was announced that

was developing ''The Empty Stocking'', an animated feature film based on the children's Christmas book trilogy ''That Christmas and Other Stories'' written by

and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. On 14 June 2021, Locksmith announced that Simon Otto would be directing the film, in his directorial debut, which had been retitled ''That Christmas''. In May 2022, Locksmith confirmed that it awarded the digital production of the film to DNEG Animation, following their collaboration on Locksmith's first animated feature film ''

Ron's Gone Wrong ''Ron's Gone Wrong'' is a 2021 animated science fiction comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe Vine (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Peter Baynham and Smith. The film follows Barney ( Jack Dylan Grazer), a soci ...

'' (2021). Also in May 2022, Nicole P. Hearon and Adam Tandy were announced as producers for the film with Curtis, Cobb, Bonnie Arnold, Lara Breay, Javier Hernáez, Mary Coleman, Natalie Fischer, Colin Hopkins, Julie Lockhart, Elisabeth Murdoch and Sarah Smith as executive producers. In November 2023, it was announced that John Powell would compose the film's musical score. On 20 March 2024, Brian Cox,

and

were announced to star in the film. In August 2024, it was announced that English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

would write and contribute a song for the film, titled " Under the Tree".

Soundtrack

''That Christmas (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)'' is the film's soundtrack album, containing John Powell's musical score with some additional music composed by Batu Sener, Anthony Willis,

, Johnny McDaid and Markus Siegel. The soundtrack was mixed at 5 Cat Studios in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and was digitally released on

Netflix Music Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on December 4, 2024. Sheeran and McDaid's song " Under the Tree", which is featured in the film and not featured on its soundtrack, was released as a non-album digital single on 26 November 2024 by Gingerbread Man Records. ''That Christmas'' also features other songs that are also not featured on its soundtrack, including " Boom Shack-A-Lak" by Apache Indian, " Underneath the Tree" by

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

, "Snowflakes" by

Emmy the Great Emma-Lee Moss (born 4 November 1983), known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is an English singer-songwriter. She has released four studio albums, '' First Love'', ''Virtue'', ''Second Love'' and ''April / 月音''. She sings in English and ...

and

Tim Wheeler Timothy James Arthur Wheeler (born 4 January 1977) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician from Northern Ireland. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Ash (band), Ash. He has written nearly all of Ash's notabl ...

and "

Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...

" by

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

as well as renditions of

The Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

' "

Wannabe "Wannabe" is the debut single by the British girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, ''Spice ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's " Happy Birthday",

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

's " Levitating",

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's "

Papa Don't Preach "Papa Don't Preach" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album, '' True Blue'' (1986). Written by Brian Elliot, it was produced by the singer and her collaborator Stephen Bray. In the United States, the song was released as ...

", J. Fred Coots and

Haven Gillespie James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975), known under the pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of " You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", " That Luc ...

's "

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas music, Christmas song written by John Frederick Coots, J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show ...

", Franz Xaver Gruber's "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

" and

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's " Nessun dorma". "Thin Ice", a 2014 instrumental song by New Zealand composer and producer

Rhian Sheehan Rhian Sheehan is a New Zealand composer and producer born in Nelson and now based in Wellington. He is known for his fusing of orchestral chamber music and piano, with ambient electronic and post-rock cinematic atmospheres. He has also written ...

, was originally going to be featured in the film as well.

Track listing

Release

In June 2022, it was announced that

would handle worldwide distribution rights for the film under the

Netflix Animation Netflix Animation (also known as Netflix Animation Studios) is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio is best known for producing and developing ...

label after originally announcing a new deal with

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

and Warner Animation Group in October 2019. ''That Christmas'' premiered at the 68th BFI London Film Festival on 19 October 2024 and was released on

on 4 December 2024.

Reception

Critical response

''That Christmas'' received mixed reviews from critics. Tim Cogshell of ''FilmWeek'' wrote: "I don't particularly care for the doll-like animation, but there's a couple notions in this movie that I like: one, that not everybody likes Christmas, and two, that "naughty" is subjective."

Helen O'Hara Helen O'Hara (born Helen Bevington; 5 November 1956) is a British musician. She was a member and violinist of Dexys Midnight Runners from 1982 to 1987, including performing on songs such as "Come on Eileen", and in 2021 rejoined the band. Earl ...

of ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' gave the film three out of five stars and wrote: "The stories are all individually charming, but overly familiar animation and underwhelming character-design blunt the effect." Jacob Oller of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the film a grade "D", calling it "schmaltz-heavy and wishlist-thin" and saying that "''That Christmas'' offers very little and doesn't even have the self-awareness to include the receipt."

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the film two out of five stars and said "It's all more or less sufferable, and it may well keep young children quiet at Christmas... but we surely needed a higher joke content." Ed Potton of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' gave the film two out of five stars and said "''That Christmas'' is like a neutered Motherland, or

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

but lobotomised and dressed by Boden."

Robbie Collin Robbie Collin is a British film critic. Collin studied aesthetics and the philosophy of film at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He edited the university's student newspaper, '' The Saint''. Collin has been the chief film critic at ''The ...

of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' gave the film three out of five stars and wrote: "... The writing's sentimental and/or smirky longueurs are remedied by the animation itself, whose cosy charm has a distinctly British sensibility – from the architecture to the landscape and even the colour palettes, everything is satisfyingly just right." Wendy Ide of ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' wrote: "The film looks terrific... And while the story itself might not hold any surprises, it's big-hearted and generous with its happy endings." Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Adapted from a trio of picture books by "

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

" scribe

, the feel-good family film is chock-full of kids second-guessing their worth — and not just in the naughty-or-nice department either." Lovia Gyarkye of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote: "For all its narrative preoccupations, ''That Christmas'' rarely feels like it's shortchanging any set of characters or their arcs." Kate Erbland of '' IndieWire'' gave the film a grade "B+" and wrote: "The old chestnuts hold true for this one, the goofy holiday puns: it's a gift well worth unwrapping and sharing with the ones you love most." William Bibbiani of ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

'' called ''That Christmas'' "an ordinary feature that could have been extraordinary as a series of three shorts."

Award nominations

References

External links

* * {{Richard Curtis 2020s animated films 2020s British animated films 2020s British films 2020s children's animated films 2020s children's comedy films 2020s children's fantasy films 2020s Christmas comedy films 2020s Christmas films 2020s English-language films 2020s fantasy comedy films 2024 animated films 2024 computer-animated films 2024 directorial debut films 2024 films Animated Christmas films Animated comedy films Animated fantasy films Animated films about talking animals Animated films based on children's books Animated films set in England Animated films set in the United Kingdom British animated comedy films British animated fantasy films British children's animated films British Christmas comedy films British Christmas films British computer-animated films British fantasy comedy films Children's animated films Children's Christmas films Christmas comedy films English-language Christmas comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films Films about talking animals Films scored by John Powell Films set in England Films set in Suffolk Films set in the United Kingdom Films with screenplays by Richard Curtis Holiday-themed animated films Holiday-themed films Netflix original films Santa Claus in film

Plot

Cast

Production

Soundtrack

Track listing

Release

Reception

Critical response

Award nominations

See also

References

External links