REVIEW: ‘That Christmas’ Is A Lot…Actually

That Christmas is a busy animated film. Juggling different vignettes, this adaptation of screenwriter Richard Curtis‘s trio of children’s books has a lot it attempts to do, trying to bring the three books together in a cumulative piece. It’s not an unfamiliar task for Curtis, who many will know for his now-holiday classic, Love Actually, but the end result is a little rough around the edges. The equivalent of a slightly burnt chocolate chip cookie — it’s still delicious but a little overdone.

Centered around the seaside town of Wellington-On-Sea, Santa (Brian Cox) narrates what marks the town’s most memorable and chaotic Christmas Day. While Santa himself is mostly featured through voiceover, his presence is felt all throughout. Starting with the lighthouse, we are slowly introduced to this tiny town. From the homes to the giant school to the ferry, Netflix and Locksmith Animation do a bang-up job of bringing this particular seaside town to life

Things start off relatively normal for everyone—well, almost normal. There’s a hilariously cringe-worthy communal witnessing of the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, cluing the audience in immediately to the kind of energy each character embodies. Of note are the twins, Sam (Zazie Hayhurst) and Charlie (Sienna Sayer), natural leader Bernadette (India Brown), the adorable Evie (Bronte Smith), Danny (Jack Wisniewski), and Mrs. Trapper (Fiona Shaw). Honorable mention goes to Mrs. Mulji (Sindhu Vee) for being a bonafide scene-stealer, even though she is a supporting character.

Plot vignettes pave the way in That Christmas

Eventually, this large gathering of characters breaks off into their respective vignettes, setting the stage for their future dilemma on Christmas Day. Bouncing back and forth, That Christmas does its best to balance out the respective stories while giving their characters their due. While some stories are stronger than others, no one can deny that this feels very much like a Richard Curtis story, using this large cast to capture a larger picture—remembering what’s important, even when expectations aren’t met.

It’s easier to digest when you focus on the overarching idea of a Christmas going terribly wrong. Every single character in That Christmas is confronted with the reality that this particular Christmas is not what anyone expected it to be. From Santa to children to adults, wrenches are thrown into everyone’s plans, with a snowstorm forcing underlying problems up to the surface to be addressed. From naughty twins to vehicle strandings to single parents having to go to work on Christmas Day, there’s a wide gambit of issues tackled in this animated tale.

While the bulk of the story centers on vignettes, the strongest part of the film doesn’t involve that element. Instead, it is when all of the characters converge to address one singular dilemma near the end of That Christmas. It takes a while to establish the wide ensemble of characters, however. While the character designs are okay, they could be more dynamic and memorable, particularly with how many characters we encounter. It’s easy to get lost in the who’s who of it all until much later in the shenanigans, once personalities are more established.

The voice cast carries the script home

Some character moments resonate, with some likely working better with different age groups. The scenes between Mrs. Trapper and Danny, while more somber in tone than the other vignettes, are held together by the strength of Shaw’s and Wisniewski’s vocal performances. Shaw has the steely, no-nonsense tone-down pat, and it is used well here. A silly kid-only party sequence later on features a strong array of colors and absurdity but also seems better suited for younger viewers. The subtleties of other vignettes may be lost on those same viewers, but it is still worth the watch for them, if only for ridiculous turkey humor.

In general, the vocal performances across the cast were so strong and distinct that it is truly difficult to critique. The cast is stacked with a heavy mixture of veteran and younger actors. However, I am circling back to highlight Sindhu Vee. Her delivery as Mrs. Mulji is golden, and she steals every scene. The character feels specifically designed for the parents who will likely be watching this film with their own kids. There’s a little bit of Mrs. Mulji in all of us.

That Christmas may not be the most revolutionary holiday film, but there’s enough heart, silliness, and prime messaging in this animated film to give it its wings. And, if anything, it can serve as a distraction with its own interpretation of the most chaotic Christmas holiday ever.

That Christmas is streaming exclusively on Netflix.