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THAT CHRISTMAS
Director: Simon Otto Cast: The voices of Jack Wisniewski, Zazie Hayhurst, India Brown, Sienna Sayer, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Brian Cox, Rhys Darby, Lolly Adefope, Sindhu Vee, Alex Macqueen, Bill Nighy, Guz Khan MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:31 Release Date: 12/27/24 (limited); 12/4/24 (Netflix) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | November 27, 2024 That Christmas is a surprisingly grounded animated tale about a series of interconnected stories in a small English town. It's little surprise, though, to learn that it was co-written by Richard Curtis, based on a series of children's books he wrote (with illustrations by Rebecca Cobb), who's certainly used to these sorts of high-concept but also character-focused comedies. One of them, also based around Christmastime, even appears within this narrative, as a source of disdain for the kids whose parents have forced them to watch it every year for as long as they can remember (In regards to that particular movie, the kids are right about their absence of love, actually). Director Simon Otto's computer-animated movie is more of a kid-friendly Christmas tale, in that Santa (voice of Brian Cox) introduces it and has some adventures of his own around the midway point, when the jolly present-giver seems in a perfect position to help all of the sad, lonely, and uncertain folks of this sleepy village by the sea. There's only so much even Santa can do, though, especially with one of the worst blizzards in the town's history happening and so many more places to visit before the night is finished. This turns out to be just the story of ordinary people, trying to go about their regular lives and finding that the holiday doesn't fix everything. In fact, it makes some of the problems, complications, and feelings of dismay even worse. In that way, Curtis and Peter Souter's screenplay almost feels like a bait-and-switch, promising us a cheery tale with one major element of fantasy to it but giving us a pretty bittersweet fable about people struggling to connect. At a certain point, one wonders if animation is the proper medium for this story, if only because of the expectations—as unfair toward the movie as they may be—that come with that form. Animation, of course, is appropriate for any kind of story, whether it takes place in a faraway land or in a seaside English village, whether its characters are figures of myth or just plain people going about their lives, and whether or not there's any magic to it. The problem, then, might not be the medium itself. It could, though, be the strange way the repeated tonal shifts here, from broad comedy to some rather gloomy bits, just make the medium alternate between feeling like the right one and the wrong one for this material. That is mostly an issue of the script, which follows several characters in town at Christmastime, feeling generally good about the holiday season but finding that life keeps getting in the way. At its center, perhaps, is Danny (voice of Jack Wisniewski), a relatively new kid in town, whose mother (voiced by Jodie Whittaker) works long shifts at the local hospital and father left them for a younger woman. Danny's excited about seeing his dad again, but then, the blizzard strikes, stopping the father's trip and forcing mom, the only nurse with a walking commute, to go into work. The boy is also connected to Sam (voice of Zazie Hayhurst), the girl on whom he has a secret crush. She's worried that her twin sister Charlie (voice of Sienna Sayer) has been too naughty this year—causing all sorts of chaos, such as creating an elaborate device to feed a neighbor dog, as well as punish its mean owner, and releasing all of a cruel farmer's turkeys—to receive any gifts from Santa. When Charlie does receive a stocking full of gifts, Sam wonders how that could be possible. That little subplot is genuinely sweet, and maybe that's because it is so simple, doesn't possess a bit of conflict, and has a nice little lesson about not judging the surface of a person or someone's actions. Indeed, there are other pleasant moments and payoffs to Danny's story, too, as he realizes his strict teacher Miss Trapper (voice of Fiona Shaw) is completely alone for the holidays, too, and that his mom might be just as miserable as he is to be alone on Christmas. Then, there's the other stuff here, which leans into fantasy, comedy, and assorted hijinks—not to mention a climactic search for a missing girl that elevates the stakes and peril of the tale so suddenly and drastically that the effort feels manipulative. Santa has his moment to shine, with some comic relief from his sarcastic reindeer Dasher (voice of Guz Khan), while everyone in town sleeps. A group of parents head to a nearby island for a wedding, only to find themselves stranded in the snow, in the middle of nowhere, and in a situation that keeps getting worse from their own incompetence. Finally, the kids of those adults, led by Bernadette (voice of India Brown), have a Christmas celebration of their own in complete opposition to everything their parents would have made them do. Some of these subplots are fun and funny, to be sure, but that returns us to the wavering tone that comes to define That Christmas. A couple stories here are lovely, a bit wise, and filled with real cheer. Everything else, though, points to a movie that has a broad notion for other stories, a broader idea of its overarching narrative, and only the broadest sense of how to pull off this bit of holiday-themed trickery. Copyright © 2024 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for thematic elements, some language, and rude humor)
