For animation vet Simon Otto (the “How you can Practice Your Dragon” franchise), directing Netflix’s “That Christmas” was like making the last word Richard Curtis movie — with Richard Curtis. The truth that it was animated was a breakthrough for each; Otto had by no means directed a function earlier than and Curtis was new to the medium. Their collaboration resulted in a whimsical vacation deal with.
“That Christmas” explores how a blizzard turns the vacation the wrong way up within the hamlet of Wellington-on-Sea, with Brian Cox’s Santa as narrator. Curtis tailored his YA novels with Peter Souter, however labored intently with Otto in getting essentially the most out of his story for animation. It was produced by Locksmith Animation, with DNEG doing the animation.
“It was a journey for each of us,” Otto instructed IndieWire. “The concept of ‘Love Really’ for teenagers was thrown round. It has flavors of it, but it surely’s not ‘Love Really.’ So, as a substitute of a gaggle of individuals in love and coping with relationships, it’s about households collectively at Christmas and separating the youngsters and the adults. And the concept is that all of them have expectations for Christmas and so they don’t end up the way in which they hope, which resonated instantly as a result of that was my Christmas rising up in Switzerland.
“We had a really particular timeline of how Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would play out,” Otto continued about his childhood. “And it by no means turned out that approach. There was all the time some drama about being on time or not approaching time and the dinner is delayed or anyone’s emotional a couple of present that they received and didn’t need. Finally, after the singing and the items are open, you sit there. It may very well be unpredictable, and issues occur, and but one way or the other all of it works out. That’s the film.”
First, Otto got down to perceive the DNA of a Curtis movie. His analysis led to the widespread thread of want success. Crucial factor, although, was taking small moments and discovering methods to make them huge. “And I discover that fairly lovely,” Otto mentioned. “He desires to know who these persons are and the way they reside and to be particular about it and truthful.”
The opposite essential Curtis trait was a facility with sketch comedy that he honed on the sitcoms “Black Adder,” “Mr. Bean,” and “The Vicar of Dibley.” Otto marveled on the emotional payoff that accompanied bodily gags: “The very best instance that opened my eyes was when Hugh Grant lastly goes on a date with Julie Roberts in ‘Notting Hill’ and he loses his glasses and the digital camera pans to him within the movie show watching the movie and consuming popcorn with corrected swim goggles,” added Otto.
When it comes to the animation, Otto emphasised an illustrative animation aesthetic to Wellington and a personality design much like “How you can Practice Your Dragon.”
“For me, I wished to really feel the chilly exteriors in distinction to the nice and cozy and comfortable interiors,” mentioned Otto. “That to me is Christmas. Going exterior, being actually chilly within the snow. I wish to really feel the snow, I wish to really feel the feel of the clothes. So, in my thoughts, you gotta have one thing that looks like stop-motion when it comes to its textural high quality. You’ll be able to really feel how the wooden feels actual and the way the weather really feel actual. However have the standard of an illustration in addition to having the ability to go fairly huge and cinematic.”
In turning Christmas the wrong way up, it was a chance to mirror on preserving and reinventing custom. The chaotic opening faculty Christmas play, “The Three Wisewomen,” introduces this theme, wherein the youngsters wish to make the vacation extra related however the dad and mom don’t perceive. “My favourite joke within the film is that ‘Jesus is a cool dude,” Otto mentioned.
After which, on the midpoint, when everybody realizes that Christmas isn’t going to occur the way in which they anticipated, Curtis recommended inserting an authentic Christmas track to tighten a dragging montage. He approached Ed Sheeran, who composed and sang “Underneath the Tree.”
“We mainly instructed the plot of every of these characters,” Otto mentioned. “It was an eight-minute sequence and Richard mentioned, ‘Put a track in it.’ That introduced it right down to four-and-a-half minutes. And swiftly, now you’re fascinated with the emotional plot, not the precise factual occasions. It was an effective way of getting the expertise of a filmmaker who’s gone by way of these struggles.”
“That Christmas” streams on Netflix December 4.