THAT CHRISTMAS | REVIEW

Opinion

(Photo Collected )

For two decades ago, Love Actually reset my mind about what a perfect Christmasy movie should be, and I doubted it could get cuter or funnier. But now Netflix has gifted us That Christmas movie and, as we found out, it is not exactly that delightful classic. Adapted from a story penned by Richard Curtis as the picture book, the film belongs to the hopeful, colourful and sweet but also bland genre.

That Christmas contains imagery designed by the strong scripting studio, Locksmith Animation, the company that also produced Ron’s Gone Wrong. Unfortunately, they do not have the cuteness of Pixar or the sparkling energetic lively drawing by Rebecca Cobb. As for the rouge-cheek effect, it tries to convey coolness suggestive of a winter, but it ends up looking like a punitive slap — a misstep that, although played to an amusing extreme in this project, becomes out of place in the overly sentimental universe of most projects.

The play is narrated by Brian Cox and takes place in the snowy seaside town of Wellington-on-Sea which, I assume, is a homage to Curtis’ home town. There are some sweet moments, like a boy bonding with his teacher over snowmen, but they feel overshadowed by the predictable storylines: spoiled and well-behaved siblings, children home alone during the holidays, and all typical…