A Child's Christmas in Wales

Dylan Thomas' poem broken up and submitted in pieces for family consumption, "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is actually quite charming. The visual images, combined with Denholm Elliott's superb reading of the poem, is a rich experience. When Thomas (and Elliott) get carried away with words the experience is even better as it all seems to be spiraling out of control.

Beautiful visuals. Plenty of humor. Concepts that relate to adults and children. Anyone who had a family Christmas with uncles and aunts has an immediate connection with the program. You don't have to be Welsh to understand the uncle who tells the same jokes every year or the aunt who sings the same songs.

This is a show families can watch together. The children may wonder what the dickens (no pun) Dylan Thomas is going on about, the antics of the malevolent children will probably carry them safely through.

During a season when we are treated to wonderful Christmas stories this one stands out. You don't have to be British to appreciate this first rate rendition of a famous story. It has been a regular feature on public TV for many seasons. If you have limited yourself to the customary holiday stories like "A Christmas Carol", "Miracle on 34th Street, "The Bishop's Wife" etc... add this to your collection.

I guarantee you will put it in your DVD player every year... perhaps throughout the year!

This has been my favorite Christmas story for years. Thanks to Denholm Elliott, the magnificent young boy who played Young Geraint and to author Dylan Thomas. And many thanks for the release of the DVD!

Watching this story on video has become a part of our family's Christmas tradition. The story is a gentle evocation of a Christmas past that grows more joyous with the passage of time. Denholm Elliot's narration, as the grandfather, is most effective in bringing the beautiful imagery of the poem to life.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST!

A CHILD'S Christmas IN WALES takes you on a lyrical journey back to the magic and marvel of boyhood where no two moments were ever alike and life was embraced with belief instead of doubt. On this special Christmas Eve, Old Geraint shares these heartwarming memories with his dearly loved grandson, Thomas. In one evening he does more than recall his cherished youth . . . he relives it.

This is a very charming family film. It celebrates not only Christmas but the memories we cherish about the holiday.

The cast is perfect. For a television special (It runs under an hour) it has more heart and soul than bigger budget theatrical films. This little movie seems to be cut from the same cloth that "A Christmas Story" came from. What is nice about this film is that it celebrates traditions that carry down from one generation to another. Children might not like this but adults with children will love this.

This is well worth buying. Buy it and watch it with you extended family the next time you are all together.

I remember watching this every Christmas as a kid with my family. When the cassette was misplaced, of course the tradition subsided, but last Christmas I found it, dusted it off, and my parents, brother and I gathered around.

It was just as I'd remembered it, and better.

Don McBrearty did a really beautiful job of bringing Dylan Thomas' poem to life, and very sensitively, I might add. There is nothing sappy or commercial about it, and the film adaption keeps the same tone as the poem.

Actors, costumes and sets are vibrant and alive. Nothing feels contrived, and you barely notice that the actors are acting-- it's as though you're there, having Christmas with the family. There is this wonderful sense of innocence and warmth to it, and has a feeling that continues to ressonate with you for a long time after watching it.

My favorite part has to be at the end, when at the end of an eventful Christmas day, the young Geraint (Jesse McBrearty) is saying goodnight, taking his time to embrace each family member, as they are all singing that Welsh air, "All Through The Night," and quietly goes upstairs as the sounds of his family follow him. It's quite possibly one of the most moving moments in film that I have experienced, and one to be carried with me.

I am delighted that the tradition of watching this at Christmas has resumed-- it was a part of my childhood, and now is a part of visiting my parents at Christmas. We are all a bit older, but can fall into that innocence and peacefulness for a while...