Here’s When That Christmas Will Be Available To Stream

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A new family favourite is brewing

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Here’s When That Christmas Will Be Available To Stream

Described playfully as Love Actually for kids, Richard Curtis is releasing a new festive film this season – an animated one. Based on the beloved director’s best-selling trilogy of children’s books, That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales in the run up to Christmas day. With a star studded cast of voice actors bringing Curtis’ characters to life, here’s everything you need to know.

Richard Curtis’ That Christmas: Plot, Cast, Release Date

What Is That Christmas About?

That Christmas ‘tells the story of a troubled Christmas, forcing a group of kids and parents to accept that you can’t always plan life,’ director Simon Otto tells Netflix. A series of intertwined tales zoom in on family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake.

‘Life is chaotic, relationships are messy, and traditions sometimes must be re-evaluated,’ Otto adds. ‘And regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope that audiences will laugh at the family dynamics and identify with the universal truth behind most traditions: It’s ultimately not about the rules and the expectations we put on these events – we tend to forget that what really matters is that we can be together with our loved ones.’

‘I hope it’s going to be a film that makes people happy – perhaps more than once,’ Curtis adds. ‘I hope it’ll remind people of the joy and complexity of Christmas, and some of the joys and comedy and heartbreak of childhood. And then there’s a very special thing for me, that the film takes place in a town very much like my own in Suffolk. I hope they’ll love the sense of the place – and go away with a new, delightful, simple English world in their heads.’

Get a taste of the action below.

The Cast

A star-studded cast of actors lend their voices to That Christmas, including:

Brian Cox as Santa Claus
Fiona Shaw as Ms. Trapper
Jodie Whittaker as Mrs. Williams
Lolly Adefope as Mrs. McNutt
Alex Macqueen as Mr. Forrest
Katherine Parkinson as Mrs. Forrest
Sindhu Vee as Mrs. Mulji
India Brown as Bernadette
Zazie Hayhurst as Sam
Sienna Sayer as Charlie
Jack Wisniewski as Danny
Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs. Beccles
Paul Kaye as Yirrell
Guz Khan as Dasher
Andy Nyman as Mr. Beccles
Kuhu Agarwal as Nisha
Bronte Smith as Eve
Freddie Spry as Teddy
Ava Talbot as Scarlett
Bill Nighy as Bill
Rhys Darby as Mr. McNutt

According to Netflix, Otto and Curtis originally envisioned Santa Claus as – God forbid – American. But they soon realised that wasn’t quite right. Speaking to the BBC, Curtis decided Santa should be northern, suggesting he could be Swedish, mulling on Stellan Skarsgård, but eventually deciding he would be Scottish – leading the team to Brian Cox, fresh from Succession.

‘He’s a Father Christmas who’s just there to do his job – though this year he becomes more involved than he intended to be,’ Cox tells Netflix. ‘It was a nice surprise to find myself as the narrator. I didn’t expect that at all. But I think Richard really liked what I did and thought it was a natural route that Santa becomes a storyteller as well.’

Meanwhile, Curtis’ long-time collaborator Bill Nighy also lends his voice to That Christmas, playing the town’s lighthouse keeper. ‘My association with Richard has been one of the most significant relationships in my life,’ Nighy says. ‘Love Actually changed everything in terms of my career.’

Is That Christmas Set In A Real Town?

That Christmas is set in Wellington-on-Sea, a fictional town in Suffolk inspired by the real town Curtis’ calls home, Walberswick. Wellington-on-Sea also bears a resemblance to Felixstowe, Southwold and Lowestoft.

Is It Based On A Book?

Yes, That Christmas is based on three children’s novels written by Richard Curtis: That Christmas, Snow Day and The Empty Stocking. Creating the universe for his four children, Curtis never intended to transfer That Christmas and co to the screen. ‘I thought it would be lovely to write a children’s book,’ he told IndieWire. ‘I wrote the first one just because the story came to me. I think maybe because my brother just had twins and I started thinking about them. And then once I had written the one, I had two more ideas and I really loved the illustrator. I felt, writing those books, how Bernie Tobin must feel. He sends off some pretty random lyrics to Elton John and then suddenly he gets back this amazing work of art. And it was a friend of mine who suggested, why don’t we try animating them? And he suggested animating one, but then we went around to a couple of people, and Locksmith, who we ended up with, said, “Let’s just put them all together and make a multi-story film.” And that sounded fun to me.’ Et voila.

As for the animation style – which has been praised for its beautiful realism – Curtis added: ‘I loved the idea of doing a realistic animated film. Not that I wouldn’t love to have an imagination about talking animals and alternative universes, but that isn’t where I’m at. It seemed adorable to have a go at that in this way. My favorite animated film of all time is the original Charlie Brown Christmas one. I love that.’

Claudia Jessie, Ed Sheeran, Richard Curtis, 'Under the Tree' music video for That Christmas

How Is Ed Sheeran Involved?

Ed Sheeran has written a new song for That Christmas, titled ‘Under The Tree’. On writing the track, Sheeran shared: ‘I find since having kids, there’s a real lack of great animated children’s Christmas movies, so I thought this was such an amazing thing to make and put into the world. The scene that we wrote this song for is so heartbreaking, but so real for many people at Christmas spending it without the ones they love, for so many reasons. I got to work with my older brother on this which is such a rarity and a gift to work so closely with my only sibling, it felt so good to create something my children would watch, with their uncle, based in the country they live in. I find it mad that there isn’t more animated Christmas films for kids, but this is going to become a holiday staple, at least in our household.’

A music video has also been filmed, starring Sheeran alongside Bridgerton star Claudia Jessie. Watch it below.