‘That Christmas’ Review: Netflix and Richard Curtis Sure Have Made Some Content

The new animated holiday film from the writer of “Love Actually” is, actually, just OK

That Christmas
"That Christmas" (Credit: Netflix)

There are two kinds of people in the world: People who love “Love Actually” and people who want to give those other people such a pinch. Richard Curtis’ all-star Christmas classic (you can add quotes to “classic” if you want to) quickly became a perennial yuletide favorite for its treacly melodrama and/or its melodramatic treacle. Like many Christmas movies, it’s sappy to a laughable extreme. But also like many Christmas movies, that’s why people love it. Or hate it.

“Love Actually” is such a ubiquitous holiday staple now that even characters in Richard Curtis movies have to watch it. The new animated Netflix movie “That Christmas,” directed by Simon Otto, is based on three children’s books penned by Curtis — “That Christmas,” “Snow Day” and “The Empty Stocking” — which now take place at the same time, in the same town.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.