We were joined on the Popternative show by renowned character animation and story artist veteran Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy) to discuss the new animated Christmas film, That Christmas, streaming now on Netflix. Based on the successful series of children’s books by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Yesterday), Locksmith Animation’s heartwarming film marks Simon’s feature film directorial debut.
That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about love and loneliness, family and friends, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys.
Brian Cox (Succession), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Lolly Adefope (Ghosts), Alex Macqueen (Peaky Blinders), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd), Sindhu Vee (Matilda: The Musical), India Brown (Invasion), Zazie Hayhurst (Halo), Sienna Sayer (Trying), Jack Wisniewski, Rosie Cavaliero (Jane Eyre), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones), Guz Khan (Turn Up Charlie), Andy Nyman (Judy), Kuhu Agarwal, Bronte Smith (Still Up), Freddie Spry (Spencer), Ava Talbot (Trying), with Bill Nighy (Love Actually) and Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death).
In our interview, Simon Otto discusses directing animation compared to live-action, adapting Richard Curtis’ books for the screen, capturing the magic of Christmas through animation and family, and more. Watch the full coversation below.
That Christmas is streaming on Netflix.
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