One of the best family Christmas movies I’ve seen this year. Heartwarming and full of educational messages for children and adults alike, sprinkled with new-age/liberal philosophies, That Christmas can definitely compete for a spot on your feel-good Christmas movie list.

Directed by Simon Otto, That Christmas is an animated movie telling the story of one Christmas in Wellington-on-Sea, a small fictional English seaside town. A group of children who are forced to tend to themselves on Christmas as their parents are stuck out of town because of a snowstorm after attending a wedding, and finally get a chance to celebrate Christmas “their way,” other children and adults in town, all with their hopes, dreams, fears, and emotional baggage and Santa Claus (Brian Cox) who saves the day by giving the children not just what they need but tools to help them save themselves and others.

It’s a beautiful fairy tale that combines the age-old new-vs-old/traditions-vs-innovation dilemma and defies the clichés in children’s movies about villains and heroes. This movie teaches the audience that there is more than meets the eye, people are layered and so are the stories they live – we just need to dig a little deeper and keep an open mind and heart.

The animation style is inviting by not trying to copy Disney/Pixar or fit into the Japanese Anime style – Locksmith Animation, which produced this film, created its own style. That echoes the mindset, the honesty, and the believability of characters that a lot of us can relate to on different levels. That Christmas is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, but I’d say the filmmakers have done a good job of balancing and parallel development.

Only 92 minutes, this animated film can definitely be enjoyed with the whole family over hot chocolate. Surprisingly, it brings freshness into a category of movies that seems to have nothing more to offer other than copies of copies year after year. After all, the greatest miracle this time of year is the company of our friends and family and the restoration of faith in humanity, which is exactly what That Christmas offers, making it a good evening movie choice to watch or revisit and a solid 7.5/10!