New Netflix movie That Christmas from Richard Curtis is 'one big nod to Love Actually'
Our TV Columnist Sara Wallis reviews the latest festive movie from Love Actually writer Richard Curtis - and finds a few familiar scenes...
Love actually is all around in this sweet (bordering on saccharine) Christmas animation from the creative mind of rom com writer Richard Curtis.
With his 2003 film Love Actually firmly cemented as a Christmas classic, it’s a genius idea to whip his book trilogy, That Christmas And Other Stories, into this fantasy comedy. And as you’d expect, the kid-friendly yarn is one big nod to Love Actually, with all the Curtis hallmarks of intertwined tales of love, loneliness, family and friends - all tied up in a big festive bow.
From a school nativity play with mad costumes (chickpea anyone?), to a shy, awkward thoroughly British schoolboy in agonising love with a girl (there are no placards, but there are Post-its), to Bill Nighy’s character stripping off to underpants (again), I guess if something works, why change it?
Whatever the That Christmas plot lacks in pace, the cracking cast list makes up for, even including new song Under The Tree from Ed Sheeran. Succession’s Brian Cox voices the coolest Santa you’ll ever see, resplendent in fur-lined hood and motoring goggles, while he deals with Guz Khan’s extremely sarcastic reindeer. Fiona Shaw plays grumpy (secretly grieving) school teacher Miss Trapper, Jodie Whittaker is divorced, overworked nurse Mrs Williams, while Nighy is the infamous Lighthouse Bill. Making up the cast are Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen, Katherine Parkinson, Sindhu Vee, Rosie Cavaliero, Paul Kaye, Deborah Findlay and Andy Nyman, with cameos (if you can spot them) from Jordan North and Dermot O’Leary.
The plot begins when a blizzard hits the Christmas-loving seaside town of Wellington-on-Sea, sparking a Christmas crisis and Santa’s toughest ever night at work and a terrible error. There’s a little boy who finds himself alone, children separated from their parents who are stranded on ice, and twins - one naughty, one nice - along with a dodgy butcher and a couple of igloos. The animation is glorious, with no scene wasted - whether it’s a smug-looking dog, a moody snowman, gravity-defying hair or a pyramid of frightened turkeys, the gags are in the detail.
From climate change to community, there are of course deeper themes too. “Life is complicated,” says Santa wisely, with those Scottish dulcet tones. The story builds to a dramatic climax, but of course it all rattles towards a heartwarming ending - it is Christmas after all. It’s not quite a Hugh Grant airport scene, but let’s just say Curtis knows he must bring everyone together and leans right into it. Colourful, charming, with a classic Christmas message, there may be many, many turkeys on the loose, but this film isn’t one of them.
*That Christmas streams from Wednesday 4th December on Netflix
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .