Netflix’s That Christmas is the perfect movie to help you get into the holiday mood. It features important themes like community, family, & friendship.
That Christmas is a beautifully animated film that is the perfect start to the holiday season. It delivers messages of love and acceptance, family and friendship, and the true meaning of Christmas. When a blizzard forces a seaside community to come together in unexpected ways over the holidays, there are many lessons to be learned for viewers of all ages.
Santa might be in this movie, but he doesn’t take front and center, which is one of my favorite things about it. Sometimes the best Christmas movies are the ones without him front and center. Brian Cox, who voices Jolly Old Saint Nick acts as the narrator, explaining why this specific Christmas is a special one.
That Christmas Offers Many Different Perspectives From The Community
Throughout the course of the story, we meet several different characters, each of which has their own story to tell, and each of which is easy to relate to in different ways. There are a lot of important messages weaved throughout That Christmas, from not judging someone when you have no idea what they are going through to the importance of family. It’s funny, sweet, and completely and utterly charming.
What I love most about this film is how the community comes together when they need to. Without spoilers, there is a major event towards the end that requires all hands on deck. It is an intense few scenes, but ones that are sure to show viewers why friends and family are so important.
The end of the year is meant for joy and loving one another. Not that the rest of the year isn’t, but let’s be honest, the holidays tend to bring people together. That is what I love so much about That Christmas. While certain people are separated at times, overall this is a movie about people coming together. Which is something we need more than anything in this country – in this world – right now.
Richard Curtis Once Again Proves Himself
Richard Curtis has proven many times over that he is a great writer. He knows how to put different elements together to make something special. That is exactly what we get with That Christmas. If his name sounds familiar, but you cannot place it, he is the writer of Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Yesterday. He knows how to evoke certain emotions from his audience, and he once again does that with this Netflix holiday movie.
If you are looking for a film that is going to tug at your heartstrings while simultaneously making you laugh out loud, this one is for you.
That Christmas starts streaming on Netflix on December 4, just in time to celebrate the holidays.
About That Christmas
Based on the charming trilogy of children’s books by beloved multi award-winning writer/director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday), That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys!
This heartwarming comedy from Locksmith Animation marks Curtis’ first foray into animation, serving as the film’s writer and executive producer, and also the feature directorial debut of renowned animation veteran Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon films).
Nicole P. Hearon (Moana, Frozen) and Adam Tandy (The Thick of It, Detectorists) are producers.
That Christmas comes to Netflix on December 4th.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.