Angela’s Christmas is a 2018 animated film about the power of family and the innocent desire of a child to ensure everyone is safe, warm and loved at Christmas time.
Naturally, I’m scouring about Netflix looking for something festive for the holidays, and like most of you, saw this little film recommended. There isn’t a whole lot of great Christmas movies this year on the streaming service, mostly a new slew of hyper fantasies that follow the formula from seasons gone past. However, with Damien O’Connor‘s new animated short film Angela’s Christmas, we thankfully are given a break from the romantic fairy tales and back to a small tale of hope.
Set in Limerick, Ireland in the 1910s, we meet six-year-old Angela, third child in a brood of four, not particularly well off but happy enough. In church on Christmas Eve, she notices that that baby Jesus in the nativity isn’t in a coat, something of great importance we learned earlier. Feeling the urge to do good, she sneaks back later and by curious circumstances, ends up stealing the figurine out of the church, tucking the doll into her coat. But is it the right thing to do?
Warmly animated with big-headed, big-eyed children and great attention to detail, Angela’s Christmas is a clever and amusing little distraction that isn’t (surprisingly, given the subject) at all preachy. Based on Frank McCourt‘s book, that’s mostly because it’s told from the point of view of the children, acting in flashback from an early narrator who has some importance later.
The question asked is, what would you do if one of your kids brought home the Baby Jesus? Angela’s intentions are honest but her actions, well, questionable. And it’s here where the film finds its heart, connecting threads that honestly make this a rather touching experience, culminating in a good message by the time all the players come together.
Going in, you’ve got to know that this is aiming squarely for the feel goods and by its end, hits the target, mixing in a few smart moments that twist the story into a lovely little tale of courage and hope. Simple and elegant, this is solid family viewing and an easy addition to the traditional holiday queue.