The film also features the voices of Lolly Adefope, Bill Nighy, Fiona Shaw and Jodie Whittaker.

We know it’s still October, but Netflix have dropped the trailer for the festive animated treat That Christmas.

The film, from writer Richard Curtis, is based on his own trilogy of children’s books. That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, Santa Claus making a big mistake — and it also features an enormous number of turkeys!

Director Simon Otto told Netflix:

“This movie tells the story of a troubled Christmas, forcing a group of kids and parents to accept that you can’t always plan life. Life is chaotic, relationships are messy, and traditions sometimes must be re-evaluated. 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.”

Christmas sparkle

Joining Brian Cox’s Santa and Guz Khan as Dasher are a sparkling festive cast. They include Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen, Katherine Parkinson, Sindhu Vee, India Brown, Zazie Hayhurst, Sienna Sayer, Jack Wisniewski, Rosie Cavaliero, Paul Kaye, Andy Nyman, Kuhu Agarwal, Bronte Smith, Freddie Spry, Ava Talbot, Bill Nighy and Rhys Darby.

That Christmas comes from Locksmith Animation, with Richard Curtis writing and executive producing. Director Simon Otto has worked on Love, Death & Robots and the How to Train Your Dragon films.

The score comes from composer John Powell (Happy Feet, Shrek), with an original song titled “Under the Tree” from Ed Sheeran. For more on the film and the song, there’s coverage on Netflix’s Tudum.

That Christmas arrives at Netflix as an early present on 4th December 2024.