From writer Richard Curtis and Simon Otto in his directorial debut (although armed with more than a dozen credits as an animator on various projects from the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy to Over The Hedge) comes That Christmas, this year's animated shot at festive cheer, it would appear. Featuring the voice work of Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Bill Nighy and more, That Christmas follows the tales of various residents of a small town whose expectations for December 25th are influenced by love, family and loneliness.
Landing as a somewhat surprisingly younger-skewing animated effort than expected, That Christmas is a passably enjoyable effort likely to appease those yet to reach double digits but unlikely to overly impress anyone beyond that. Quite charmingly animated, with a well-executed sense of character, your usual treasure chest of seasonal themes come into play and are executed to various degrees of success, but are never creatively infused into the film. Simon Otto keeps the story moving at a cheerful pace, skating through the festive formulas adequately enough, and there are certainly highlights that at the very least raise a smile - it’s just best not to expect any more than that.
Based on a series of children's books by Curtis, his decision to combine them into one larger narrative is a poor one, disappointingly mechanical in execution and resulting in a surprisingly scattershot and uneven feature. Featuring a handful of various, weakly intertwining stories, That Christmas lacks a narrative cohesion that would have elevated this new festive attempt considerably; Curtis has never been afraid of fusing sub-plots together, and given an in-film reference that inspires its biggest laugh, it clearly not far from his mind, but This Christmas plays like we are going through the motions, missing a storytelling dynamic that would enrich the emotional weight of the story. Every time we appear to be moving towards an idea that connects emotionally, we return to a less interesting story, any meaningful sentiment undercut by this narratively oppressing structure.
If a film is to be judged by its rewatchability, which is often only a measure used to consider for the seasonal flicks wheeled out year after year, it's hard to imagine anyone grabbing for the remote to give That Christmas a spin after their first initial viewing. Younger viewers will likely enjoy this simple, straightforward animation from Otto, Curtis and co and, with a star-studded cast at its disposal, there are certainly worse ways to spend 92 minutes. But That Christmas is so lightweight in its narrative cohesion and emotional sophistication that it feels mostly like a missed opportunity to create a new Yuletide classic, baked in the Love Actually template for kids.