That Christmas: ‘A homage to the good side of human nature’

British screenwriter Richard Curtis, 68, and Swiss animator Simon Otto, 51, wanted to make a comedy first and foremost about a Christmas that went wrong. But because Curtis and Otto were telling a contemporary story, they believed it was important to talk about the real-life issues happening around us too.

It’s why Netflix’s That Christmas, adapted from the trilogy of children’s books That Christmas and Other Stories from Curtis (primarily known for his romantic comedy films, including Four Weddings And A Funeral and the Bridget Jones films), explores difficult themes from grief and animal cruelty to sibling rivalry and climate change in a lighthearted way.

“If you’re going to make a film that actually gets to people’s hearts, you want to deal with some of the issues that are in people’s hearts. And so I think particularly in life, there will be people who’ve suffered losses, there will be people in the middle of divorces and everything like that,” says Curtis, who is the co-founder of British charity Comic Relief, alongside Lenny Henry.

“It intensifies the fun when there’s fun, and intensifies the joy when there’s an opposition to joy. And in regards to climate change, everybody should put that in everything at the moment.”

Otto, who also worked on the How To Train Your Dragon franchise and The Prince Of Egypt, made his feature directorial debut with That Christmas. He agrees and adds: “When telling a contemporary story you want to talk about issues that are happening around us. Of course, we wanted to make a comedy, first and foremost, about a Christmas that went wrong, a Christmas that doesn’t happen. But it just seems like all these little storylines that we interweave have their own problems that, in a way, also connect – the blizzard connects them.”

The animated Christmas fantasy comedy film follows the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea, where a group of children and parents – including Santa Claus, played by Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor Brian Cox, 78, who narrates the entire film – are forced to change their Christmas plans after the worst snowstorm in history hits town.

BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning British actor Bill Nighy, 74 – a frequent collaborator of Curtis – who rose to international stardom with his role in Love Actually, is also another voice in the film that audiences will be familiar with. He plays the town’s lighthouse keeper Bill and believes That Christmas is the very first animated film set in Suffolk.

“I’ve spent substantial time over the years in Suffolk – and have not lived far from Richard [Curtis], coincidentally. So it warmed my heart and made me smile, the idea that the film was based there,” says Nighy.

And whilst exploring stories about family and friends, such as Danny Williams, played by 12-year-old Jack Wisniewski, who has a strenuous relationship with his hardworking mother Mrs Williams, played by English actress Jodie Whittaker, 42, the 13th doctor in Doctor Who, That Christmas also explores love and loneliness.

To Whittaker, Mrs Williams is “a heroine” – in exactly the sense the film needed. “She’s a single mum working within the NHS, spinning many plates and feeling like she’s not catching any of them as they fall,” says Whittaker.

“She’s absolutely the type of person we should be celebrating and getting behind, by showing the everyday challenges that people face, particularly near Christmas, when it’s all about expectations and managing careers and families.”

Whittaker was inspired, she says, by the NHS workers who gave so much of themselves during the covid pandemic. “You forget there is a world of everyday heroes sacrificing all these moments and these treasured things. What’s lovely is that in this film, they’ll get some applause for it.”

“It’s a homage to the good side of human nature,” says Cox. “That’s what I loved about it.”

The heart and soul of the community, also known as Ms Trapper, played by BAFTA TV Award-winning Irish actress, Fiona Shaw, 66, who stars in the Harry Potter film franchise and Killing Eve, personifies the healing power of community but also highlights the pros and cons of having a big heart.

“This film is partially about people who are alone, like Ms Trapper, and I think being alone isn’t altogether good, and I have many friends who are alone and enjoy it. But actually, we are communal animals. We are civilised by each other because other people tell you where to get off. They tell you how to rub off the edges of your sharp edges. So I think that community isn’t just better, it’s the only thing to be part of,” says Shaw.

“But I think Ms Trapper is a very good example of someone who is lonely and yet has come to terms with her own loneliness. Christmas puts her in touch with the memory of her happier times. I think in that way, she’s a very true person, and she doesn’t need to be redeemed from that.

“There’s no escaping that we have sad memories and happy memories. Loss is a big part of our lives. Freud says we lose everything, and in the end, we lose ourselves. That’s the gloomiest thing one could say about a movie called That Christmas. But I would say she has a big heart, because when she sees people suffering, her heart softens, which is a good thing for her.”

That Christmas, where Curtis served as an executive producer and made his first venture into animation at the same time, also features the voices of English comedian and actress Lolly Adefope, 34, as Mrs McNutt, and English actress Katherine Parkinson, 46, as Mrs Forrest.

Julie Lockhart, the co-founder of Locksmith Animation, an independent animation studio, says she’d love the film to become “part of that family-Christmas moment where you need to sit down, put your feet up and watch something together as a family. Because there’s enough in there to appeal to all ages, which was the ultimate goal. And I believe they’ve done an extremely good job.”

That Christmas is on Netflix.