That Christmas

A mega-snowstorm hits a Suffolk seaside town and messes up everybody’s Christmas plans, including a bunch of kids who have to fend for themselves alone in the house. Don’t quote me on this but I think it might be Richard Curtis’ first foray into animation. It’s quite good but boy what a terrible name for a film.

He’s not directing the film though, instead it’s Simon Otto the head character animator off How to Train Your Dragon at the helm. His level of expertise shines through and helps build a warm, tactile world with simply drawn but expressive characters.

You can’t miss the Curtis influence even if you ignore the clumsy reference to Love Actually. There’s something about the way he does romantic schmaltz mixed with a sort of dry humour that works pretty well in the context of a kid’s Christmas film. His multi-cultural idealistic view on the world can be patronising but here it just gives it a bit of heart and soul.

The narrative is pretty messy, and that’s probably what’ll lose most people - there’s just not much focus to it and there are too many characters and moving parts.

A cut above the ocean of forgettable Christmas animations, but probably not an instant classic. And this genre is a crowded market when it comes to classics.