Noel Time Like the Present! Unwrapping ‘That Christmas’ with a Visit to London’s Locksmith Studio

This article was written for the January ’25 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 346).

‘I love the fact that Locksmith has allowed us all to make such an intimate movie; that we can enjoy the ‘little’ stories packed with big emotions.’

— Writer Richard Curtis

With its debut film, the 2021 Disney release, Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021), Locksmith Animation already set an incredibly high standard that rivals anything from the bigger studios, and its team includes world-class creative talent” from the likes of Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Aardman and Illumination. Split between L.A. and London, Locksmith prides itself on being a filmmaker-led studio that, first and foremost, sets out to tell contemporary stories with perfect hooks.

As for its latest feature, That Christmas, the major hook isn’t the hero’s journey we often expect from animated films but, instead, it’s Christmas and acclaimed screenwriter Richard Curtis, best known for Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually. The British luminary’s distinct sense of place and inherent domesticity lends a grounded approach to a movie that fits with Locksmith’s track record of creating character-led stories. Nestled in the thriving and picturesque Primrose Hill, Locksmith’s London studio offered us an exclusive look at That Christmas, showcasing the artistry on display.

Building Character

We were welcomed by Locksmith co-founder and head of production Julie Lockhart, producer Nicole Hearon and the film’s director Simon Otto. Having worked as head of character animation on DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Otto drove the entire tour; his love for characters (and their design) became more and more evident as he spent the day with us and showed an incredible warmth and pride in his work.

Long before he began his career as a traditional animator on DreamWorks’ Prince of Egypt, Otto grew up with a lot of snow in his home country of Switzerland. (He was actually once a professional snow sculptor.) It’s no surprise, then, that his careful handling of character, set pieces and environments permeates the film’s Wellington-on-Sea setting. The old Victorian fishing town brings together the charm of Curtis’ real-world stories with the magic and timelessness of animation.

Locksmith partnered with leading visual effects and animation studio DNEG (Nimona, Entergalactic) to bring the film to life. “We build a production bible they work on for the digital production, which is often referred to as the ‘vendor model,’” explains Otto. “So, we will do the design, layout and story — the meticulous parts — what the film should look and feel like. We look to DNEG for their creativity, but, initially, it is always important that we take the time and space to build and present a clear vision of a world that everyone works within. The worst mistake you can make as an animator is thinking you know all the answers and forget to take advantage of the talent you have access to.”

‘Our goal was to bring together the charm and humor of Richard Curtis’s real-world stories with the magic timelessness and appeal of animation. We wanted to tap into romanticism and realism which we heightened through the emotion of the characters.’

— Director Simon Otto

Otto mentions that making a movie where 80% of the shots have some degree of snow effect or snow interaction had its share of challenges. “In addition, we had to figure out how to handle a multi-threaded storyline with such a large cast, where every character has to be designed, built, and performed in a unique, idiosyncratic, and entertaining way, and how do you tell a dynamic story in animation that doesn’t have a villain,” he recalls. “But the biggest creative challenge was interweaving the storylines in a way that kept the thrust of the story dynamic and gave the movie an emotional arc, rather than only a plot arc. In animation, we tend to tell single hero stories with a big fantastical or comedic idea set in an invented world. Telling a story with multiple heroes — all giving us a slightly different dramatic angle on a Christmas that doesn’t go to plan — is our big idea, which feels unique to me.”

Otto worked closely with character designer Uwe Heidschötter, who sketched in Photoshop before the modeling done by Leo Sanchez Barbosa (Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon) in Maya and ZBrush. To establish the style, the team spent nine months on the first character alone before a lineup was produced with tangible textures and clothing. The creators then worked with test runs based on how they would react and interact.

How to Build a Town

During the tour, we were also introduced to the BAFTA-nominated production designer Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn (Black Mirror, Ghost in the Shell), who, along with art director Mike Redman, designed an incredibly nostalgic world. The details are quite remarkable, with inspiration taken from visiting Suffolk and from quintessentially British seaside locations steeped in history and customs. “Due to Richard’s writing, it doesn’t demand anything too bombastic, but rather — as would be expected from his work — wraps itself around the audience,” explains Hutchinson-Chatburn. The result is a natural storybook quality and texture that has clearly been “allowed to cook” through layers of set dressing and intricate design work.

This was all assembled in the virtual reality studio Gravity Sketch, and Hutchinson-Chatburn demonstrated his intuitive approach with the software, bringing an entire room to life in front of us. “We respond to spaces emotionally and physically. I can look over there and see Dad setting up a chess game … these ceilings aren’t quite low enough, etc. You get a better truth out of the design.” As he walked through the entire floor of a “building” — physically in the space at the right scale, ducking under door frames — we observed how the camera affects staging and story conversations, helping Otto work out transitions, even going back to a storyboard (if need be), and continuing to build a sense of place and history.

Christmas With Curtis

The film’s editor Sim Evan-Jones (Shrek) also showed us his process. “We would have a storyboard artist capture elements from the script, then I transfer [them] into an editorial cut together with scratch dialog.” Much like the VR, this rough version became more of a writing tool to see how the film was playing so everyone would not be too caught up in the details early on; a complete trust in the process gets them there. After this stage, it’s built up more via 3D pre-vis, sticking to the storyboards but adding more embellishments through the camera, with things like lens choices. “At this stage, it’s figuring out the cinematography and how something may be too indulgent. Richard was a huge help here with tightening everything and hitting the comedic beats. It was so useful to have such an experienced filmmaker. It was like a free film school.”

For Curtis, being involved with animation was a new experience. “I love live action, but you’re stuck with what you’ve got … and so you have to make it work. With That Christmas, I noticed it was more fluid. This is taking all the parts — writing, editing, directing — and piling them on top of one another. Before, on live action, I felt I earned 80% of the praise, but on this 80% of it was a gift. It’s so extraordinary what goes into animation.” He continues to show genuine awe for the medium. “The latest Spider-Verse film was easily the best film of last year. It looked like it took 300 years to make.”

There are, however, no spiders in sight here. Based on Curtis’ series of children’s books with artist Rebecca Cobb — The Empty Stocking (2013), Snow Day (2014), That Christmas (2021) — the adaptation weaves all three original narratives together into a perfect “multi-protagonist” story. The film carefully navigates family dynamics and friendship while our reliable narrator, Santa Claus, attempts to fix one of his own mistakes during the blizzard of a century, a villainous force majeure that throws everyone’s plans out of whack.

Without giving too much away, the collaboration and energy of all the talent was reflected in every clip, from a stormy introduction of Santa (a perfectly cast Brian Cox) to the interaction among the cast of children. The blending of emotion with the trademark warmth and humor we have come to expect from a Richard Curtis movie is more than evident.

Looking back, Otto says he’s probably most proud of the charm and appeal of the characters. “I love how entertaining and unique they are, from the character design through the costume designs, the surfacing, the voice casting, and the way their personalities come through in their performances,” he shares. “As a former head of character animation, this is my wheelhouse and besides telling a great story, my biggest goal is always that our audience is enjoying time with our characters. I sincerely hope that audiences will agree that we’ve achieved that.”

That Christmas premieres on Netflix On December 4.