Check Out These First-Look Images For ‘That Christmas’, The Second Feature From ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ Studio Locksmith Animation
Netflix has released two new images and voice cast details for Locksmith Animation’s upcoming holiday feature, That Christmas, which will debut on the platform later this year.
Netflix’s official logline for That Christmas reads:
That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys!
The film’s voice cast stars Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Bill Nighy, Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen, Katherine Parkinson, Sindhu Vee, India Brown, Zazie Hayhurst, Sienna Sayer, Jack Wisniewski, Rosie Cavaliero, Paul Kaye, Guz Khan, Andy Nyman, Kuhu Agarwal, Bronte Smith, Freddie Spry, Ava Talbot, and Rhys Darby. Its score was written by Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated composer John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek).
Longtime Dreamworks veteran Simon Otto makes his directorial debut with That Christmas. Otto was with Dreamworks for nearly two decades, working on many of the studio’s biggest films, from The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado to Kung Fu Panda and the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.
In this week’s announcement, Otto explained:
Becoming an animator had been on my Christmas wish list ever since I was a child and watching animated movies was one of the biggest Christmas traditions in my family. But never could I have imagined that one day I would get the chance to direct a Christmas film written by the one-and-only Richard Curtis and collaborate with some of the most iconic voice talents. Watching this cast bring life to these heart-warmingly funny tales and infuse them with the magic of animation is truly a dream come true. I hope That Christmas becomes a cherished tradition for audiences worldwide.
That Christmas is adapted from a children’s book series by BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated writer and director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually). It’s the first of Curtis’ works to be adapted as an animated production. In a release, the filmmaker explained:
This has been the most amazing adventure, my first animated film. It’s been especially exciting to see the whole world I imagined come to life beyond my wildest dreams – and populated by a dream bunch of actors, their wonderful voices turned into such rich and funny characters.
Nicole Hearon and Adam Tandy are producing the film for Locksmith Animation. DNEG Animation is working alongside Netflix as the film’s digital production partner. Artists working on the film include:
Production design: Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn
Character design: Uwe Heidschötter
Art director: Mike Redman
Head of story: Ashley Boddy
Vfx supervisor: Doug Ikeler
Animation director: Kapil Sharma
Editing: Sim Evan-Jones
Head of layout: Dave Edwardz