Quel Natale

My daughter and I chose to hop into this one sporadically and it was so cute and warming. The variation of overlapping character experiences over the holidays and how they all work together to tell a larger tale of appreciation, gratitude and love during Christmas time is perfect for families and audiences of all ages. A truly heartfelt and palpable yet interestingly diverse assortment of characters across a wideset of ages makes it a movie anyone can relate to. I laughed and smiled!

It's a cute, magical and whimsical new Christmas story that is bound to be a favorite among many animated classics.

Santa tells the story of "that Christmas", his most difficult Christmas ever. Set in Wellington-on-Sea, England, we follow a bunch of characters whose plans are altered by a fierce snowstorm.

Danny has a crush on Sam but doesn't have the courage to tell her. Danny's Dad was supposed to visit them for the holidays, but he can't make it because of the storm. With his mom having to work on Christmas Day, Danny faces being alone on Christmas.

A Group of parents become stuck in the blizzard, while their children also face spending Christmas without them, but - undaunted - the kids plan on making it their best Christmas ever. There's the twins Sam and Charlie, of which one is nice while the other one is naughty - or is she really?

Ah, and then there's MS Trapper, who might come across as a strict and somewhat unpleasant teacher, but there's far more to this character than meets the eye! And somewhere in there is Santa, who is trying his best to spread the Christmas spirit.

'About Christmas' is a feel-good movie for the whole family. The stunning animation will appeal to young and old. The film is funny overall, but the subtle humour was by far the funniest!

It's hard to call this a classic right away, but is it Good? Yes, it's very good.

The director has delivered other projects in live action. This film looks, feels and is written like a good holiday movie performed by capable actors.

The animation is excellent in its realistically rendered environments and caricatured personalities.

The story, or stories, also follow a more mature theme than typical cartoon fare. Parents trying too hard to manage every aspect of the children's lives, an aging single teacher allowing a little too much of her life's disappointments bleed into her teaching, a houseful of kids celebrating Christmas without parents who are unable to get home because of the weather, a shy, nervous twin trying to understand and love her disrespectful and naughty sister, and the main protagonist who ties all of this together: the new kid who's trying to fit in at school, understand his mom's challenges with being a new single parent, and get the nice girl at school to notice him.

It's all charming, funny, sad, redeeming and thoroughly enjoyable.

Highly recommend.

A charming, wholesome family movie that could easily become a yearly rewatch in many households. It finds the sweet spot where it is enjoyable for young children and adults. I would strongly recommend this movie to parents who are looking for something to watch with their kids who may still be a little too young for some of the other Christmas classics. The countless positive messages open a door for many important discussions with your kids, and even adults could benefit from some of the reminders this movie offers. It has a similar feel to Arthur Christmas, so if you enjoyed that movie you may like this one too.

I'm not gonna lie, I really wanted this to be something truly special as a Christmas movie. The kind that could've been something a real special tradition on Netflix since Klaus. And I was let down by this one. That Christmas had so much potential to be a great movie for the holidays, but it just ended up as completely mid. It had the right tools with great animation and I honestly think that Daniel's side plot should've been the only plot worth focusing because I see the heart coming from it does come to the right place. But it overall had way too many plot holes that they barely had any connection to one another. Like how the kids plan to celebrate Christmas their way, parents getting lost and unable to be home for Christmas, and a naughty twin sister seeking redemption. All that is hard to know what the movie wants to mainly be about. Plus, the comedy is stale and relies on having the tone modernized. If you're planning on watching this for Christmas, then I simply recommend that it's a one-time watch. There are better Christmas movies such as Klaus and Christmas Chronicles. I'm not gonna lie, 2024 has not been a good year for Netflix when it comes to animated films. Sure, we've gotten some good ones such as Ultraman Rising and Orion and the Dark. But for the most part, Netflix has released movies that are either average or just straight up bad. So the best I'll say to Netflix is, well, better luck next year.