Movie review
November 27, 2024 · 91 min · PG
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
This animated family comedy follows residents of a small English seaside town whose Christmas plans are upended by a historic snowstorm, weaving together stories of family tensions, childhood crushes, and community spirit with Santa's surprise involvement. The core narrative centers on empathy, reconciliation, and holiday traditions. A school Christmas pageant subplot features children explicitly rewriting the nativity as a "strictly vegetarian, multi-cultural fun fest" packed with climate change messaging, gender role changes, and an abortion-referencing song.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for That Christmas.
Woke representation / casting
Visible emphasis on diverse ethnicities and mixed families in a small English seaside town.
Woke political dialogue
Characters deliver explicit lines promoting climate change, vegetarianism, and multi-culturalism as superior to traditional Christmas.
Identity-driven story themes
Subplot centers on rewriting Christmas traditions through diversity, inclusivity, and gender role swaps in the play.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Traditional Christian nativity is mocked as outdated and boring, replaced with progressive activist elements including climate sermons and abortion-referencing lyrics.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Significant backlash from Christian groups and parents accusing the film of blasphemous woke nativity rewrite and activist insertions.
Creator track record context
Richard Curtis has publicly committed to greater diversity and inclusivity in his storytelling.
Production
