Mar 21, 2024

Ron Gone Crazy" See first look images from Studio Locksmith Animation's second feature film, That Christmas.

Netflix has released two new images and voice casting details for Locksmith Animation's upcoming holiday feature "That Christmas," which will be released on the platform later this year.

Netflix's official logline reads:

"That Christmas" tells a series of intertwined stories about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus' big mistake, not to mention a huge number of turkeys! [Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whitaker, Bill Nye, Lorrie Adefope, Alex McQueen, Katherine Parkinson, Sindhu Vee, India Brown, Zazie Hayhurst, Sienna Thayer, Jack Wisniewski, Rosie Cavaliero, Paul Kay, Guz Khan, Andy Nyman, Kufu Agarwal, Bronte Smith, Freddie Spry, Eva Talbot, and Rhys Darby provide the voices. 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 has been at DreamWorks for nearly 20 years and has worked on many of the studio's biggest films, from "Prince of Egypt" and "The Road to El Dorado" to the "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to Train Your Dragon" series.

In this week's announcement, Otto explained:

Being an animator has been on my Christmas wish list since childhood, and watching animated films has been one of the biggest Christmas traditions for my family. But I never imagined that the day would come when I would be able to direct a Christmas movie written by the one and only Richard Curtis and collaborate with some of the most iconic voice actors. To see this cast bring to life this heartwarming and hilarious story and to see them bring the magic of animation to life is truly a dream come true. I hope "That Christmas" becomes a cherished tradition for audiences around the world.

"That Christmas" is a BAFTA-winning, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and director Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Love Actually") adaptation of the children's book series Curtis' work has been adapted into an animated feature film. This is the first time Curtis' work has been animated. In the release, the director explains:

This was my first animated film and my greatest adventure. It was especially exciting to see an entire world that I had imagined come to life far beyond my wildest imagination, colored by dreamy actors and their amazing voices turned into rich and delightful characters.

Nicole Healon and Adam Tandy are producing the film for Rocksmith Animation, while DNEG Animation is working with Netflix as a digital production partner on the film. Artists working on the film include:

Production Design Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn Character Design Uwe Heidschetter Art Direction Mike Redman Story Supervisor Ashley Boddy VFX Supervisor Doug Ikeler Animation Director Kapil Sharma Editing Sim Evan Jones Layout Supervisor Dave Edwards [21]