A lovely little movie that the whole family can enjoy. The animation is first class and the setting in 1914 Ireland with WW1 just round the corner, sets the scene perfectly. A little gem of a movie. I enjoyed it immensely.
45 Reviews
Great short Christmas movie
sandrarodgers4 December 2018
Very Good
Christmas-Reviewer31 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Review Date 12/30/2018
I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.
Heartwarming Irish Christmas tale based on Frank McCourt story arrives on Netflix ENTERTAINMENT Heartwarming Irish Christmas tale based on Frank McCourt story arrives on Netflix (Image: Brown Bag Films) Gerard Donaghy BY: Gerard Donaghy December 01, 2018 Shares 46.2k Share This Article:
AN ANIMATED Christmas film based on a story by Irish author Frank McCourt has arrived on Netflix.
Angela's Christmas is a half-hour holiday special based on the Angela's Ashes author's only children's book.
Set in Limerick in 1914, the tale about the power of family was inspired by a story McCourt's mother told him as a child.
Director and co-writer Damien O'Connor told producers Brown Bag Films: "Initially, it was a little daunting to turn the book into the film, but we had Frank's widow Ellen McCourt on hand to guide us which was amazing, if we strayed too far from Frank's voice when writing the dialogue she would let us know."
The film sees Angela 'steal' the baby Jesus from a church crib to keep him warm and ensure everyone is safe and loved at Christmas time.
O'Connor previously directed episodes of children's hit Doc McStuffins, while co-writer Will Collins penned the Oscar-nominated Irish animated film Song of the Sea.
Angela's Christmas stars Oscar nominee Ruth Negga and is up for three gongs at December's European Animation Awards.
McCourt's brother Malachy, the Irish-American actor, writer and politician, provides the narration.
I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.
Heartwarming Irish Christmas tale based on Frank McCourt story arrives on Netflix ENTERTAINMENT Heartwarming Irish Christmas tale based on Frank McCourt story arrives on Netflix (Image: Brown Bag Films) Gerard Donaghy BY: Gerard Donaghy December 01, 2018 Shares 46.2k Share This Article:
AN ANIMATED Christmas film based on a story by Irish author Frank McCourt has arrived on Netflix.
Angela's Christmas is a half-hour holiday special based on the Angela's Ashes author's only children's book.
Set in Limerick in 1914, the tale about the power of family was inspired by a story McCourt's mother told him as a child.
Director and co-writer Damien O'Connor told producers Brown Bag Films: "Initially, it was a little daunting to turn the book into the film, but we had Frank's widow Ellen McCourt on hand to guide us which was amazing, if we strayed too far from Frank's voice when writing the dialogue she would let us know."
The film sees Angela 'steal' the baby Jesus from a church crib to keep him warm and ensure everyone is safe and loved at Christmas time.
O'Connor previously directed episodes of children's hit Doc McStuffins, while co-writer Will Collins penned the Oscar-nominated Irish animated film Song of the Sea.
Angela's Christmas stars Oscar nominee Ruth Negga and is up for three gongs at December's European Animation Awards.
McCourt's brother Malachy, the Irish-American actor, writer and politician, provides the narration.
a gem
Kirpianuscus31 December 2018
The kind of animation who need you. Because it is...about yourself. About small details - so significant- , about fundamental values, about faith and about love. It is difficult to define it. Because you feel it. As a delightful gift about the real meaning of Christmas and about states, family, a nice policeman, a mother and her children, an old couple, an Angela and her siblings. So unique, beautiful and powerful than only childhood preserves. So, a gem. In a special sense who has not need of any definition.
Cute film with undertones critical of religion
benjhoy25 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The film was a bit of a mixed bag. The animation style was fun, the run time was quick, and the voice acting etc was all solid. The story had some nice moments.
For a religious themed film about Christmas, however, it felt surprisingly critical.
First, organized religion is depicted in a fairly unfavorable light. The priest, for example, was unkind and uncaring. In one instance he has to be reminded by a police officer how to be a decent human after he tries to throw a child in jail. If there is a villain in this story it is almost certainly him.
Second, while the film often contains valuable lessons (kindness, not stealing etc), it also suggests that miracles (at least in some instances) may have come from hoaxes or misunderstandings. Angela's sneezing (while unseen) becomes the basis of the sneezy miracle, which is accepted by some of the church goers as real. While this was certainly an adorable scene for those non-religious, it may strike a different cord for those who believe in the continued presence of miracles.
Overall, the film had an interesting story and above average voice acting. It's not a great Christmas film but is certainly a passable one. I'm mostly surprised that religious audiences seems to enjoy this one as much as they seem to given that it doesn't shine the kindest light on religious beliefs or figures.
For a religious themed film about Christmas, however, it felt surprisingly critical.
First, organized religion is depicted in a fairly unfavorable light. The priest, for example, was unkind and uncaring. In one instance he has to be reminded by a police officer how to be a decent human after he tries to throw a child in jail. If there is a villain in this story it is almost certainly him.
Second, while the film often contains valuable lessons (kindness, not stealing etc), it also suggests that miracles (at least in some instances) may have come from hoaxes or misunderstandings. Angela's sneezing (while unseen) becomes the basis of the sneezy miracle, which is accepted by some of the church goers as real. While this was certainly an adorable scene for those non-religious, it may strike a different cord for those who believe in the continued presence of miracles.
Overall, the film had an interesting story and above average voice acting. It's not a great Christmas film but is certainly a passable one. I'm mostly surprised that religious audiences seems to enjoy this one as much as they seem to given that it doesn't shine the kindest light on religious beliefs or figures.
A sweet story for Christmas
elavranpig-8675612 December 2018
Good watch for kids and grown-ups alike
Horst_In_Translation23 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
"Angela's Christmas" is an animated half-hour movie from 2017 and I think if I remember correctly I already intended to watch this one last year briefly after its release, but it was pretty difficult to find in my country. Anyway, one year later it is much easier and I got a hand on the German dub here. So I did not hear the voice of Ruth Negga and I am surprised how many people already forgot she is a very recent Oscar nominee. Also in it is Brian Gleeson, yep one of Brendan's sons indeed, but honestly these days it seems almost impossible to find an Irish film that does not include a member of the Gleeson family. So yep if you have seen some Irish animation from recently, allso Oscar-nominated films even, you know it's doing pretty well. However, this one we got here does not look as mythical as some of these Irish animated films, but really looks pretty American. This is not to be understood as a criticism. I really liked the looks. The sceneries and landscapes were very nice to watch and the characters were only slightly inferior. As for the story, it is fine overall. It is all about a little girl stealing a little doll of the Holy Child because she wants it to be warm. There is some slight unintentional comedy to this plot and the film as a whole, also the idea of some people thinking they met an angel inside the church etc. Slightly too much maybe. But it is made up by other good inclusions, for example the arguing brother-sister relationship felt very real. And there is a feeling of warmth to the film as a whole that makes it a really good watch during the holidays. People are good in here. Mostly. They care for each other. They also did not stretch the story that she took the doll longer than necessary. She did not try to hide it from her mother, but they found a nice plan how to return it and doing so, they picked the most honest way. But the best moment by far about this movie is the police officer scene at the very end and his comment about how (Holy) children need to be with their families during the holidays. That was really touching in my opinion and it was very well worth waiting through some mediocre scenes before that to feel that moment. Sadly the arrested father plot felt a bit rushed and was not as effective and I also felt it did not add too much story-wise that the entire thing was narrated by the title character's son. But yeah, this is based on a children's book I think, so no blame there. Not every inclusion can be a huge winner. In any case I think this is a good watch for the entire family between very young and very old. Looks-wie and plot-wise a success and I loved the harmlessness and innocence of it all. go check it out if you can.
Amazing!
lellielou-885283 December 2018
Where did the accents of the characters come from??!
ollieryan3 December 2018
All round decent movie for kids with fairly good animation but the refined D4 accents from poverty stricken Limerick city kids and their mother in the 1900's didnt do it for me. The priest character was probably the best.
Boring
breemoria28 December 2018
Those who gave glowing reports must have watched something diffrent than I. The animation was good but my attention was taken over by playing cards on my Ipad because this production could not keep my attention. This, again is another case of " why did they bother making it". This is not at the top of the "bad heap" but it certainly was a waste of someone's resources.
Beautiful magical family film
pauly-527622 December 2018
Not gonna change the world, however...
sarcasm_for_free17 September 2022
100 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS, PART 1: ANGELA'S CHRISTMAS.
This (very short) animated film from the early days of Netflix is just fine, nothing more nothing less.
It tells the story of a young Irish girl in the early 20th century who decides to 'help' a baby Jesus figurine she sees in a church nativity display which she thinks is cold by stealing it. Hi-jinx and heartwarming moments predictably follow.
Lessons about the meaning of the season and the strength of family togetherness abound, and although the CGI may be dated it just about does the job.
If you're looking for an animated festive classic along the same lines as The Snowman you should probably try elsewhere, but as a cute warmup to the Holidays, you could do much, much worse than this little charmer. 6/10.
This (very short) animated film from the early days of Netflix is just fine, nothing more nothing less.
It tells the story of a young Irish girl in the early 20th century who decides to 'help' a baby Jesus figurine she sees in a church nativity display which she thinks is cold by stealing it. Hi-jinx and heartwarming moments predictably follow.
Lessons about the meaning of the season and the strength of family togetherness abound, and although the CGI may be dated it just about does the job.
If you're looking for an animated festive classic along the same lines as The Snowman you should probably try elsewhere, but as a cute warmup to the Holidays, you could do much, much worse than this little charmer. 6/10.
Kids hated it! Everyone bored
alconway11 December 2018
I had promised the kids a Christmas show having seen this advertised on Netflix.
I had to apologise to the whole family (3 kids under 10 and my partner) afterwards, it was truly boring. Possibly religious people would enjoy some of it, or someone who has irish connections but there was nothing of interest for us.
A plus side is that the quality of picture looked great on our TV, but this doesn't make up for lack of any interesting story.
I had to apologise to the whole family (3 kids under 10 and my partner) afterwards, it was truly boring. Possibly religious people would enjoy some of it, or someone who has irish connections but there was nothing of interest for us.
A plus side is that the quality of picture looked great on our TV, but this doesn't make up for lack of any interesting story.
Heartwarming Holiday Family Movie
irenebailey-901912 December 2018
nice movie & music
nour-kridis30 November 2018
Fabulous!! Fantastic!! The best!!!
coppellmom6 December 2018
This little half hour movie my granddaughter watches 10 times a day.
She's absolutely in awe of it. She's only
2 years old, but understands it. This is a great one. I really think this should be a series.
Love the one little line in the movie. "Wrap you up like a little holy sausage."
Absolutely the best!!
Absolutely the best!!
Absolutely Moving!
bhumyinder18 December 2018
Lovely
adrianforber2 December 2018
I started to watch this with grandkids....because they had it on. I was reading but had to put my book down. Fascinating moral tale, beautifully executed with great graphics and excellent musical backing. Will watch again
Beautifully made Christmas movies
mariegillman6 December 2018
Beatiful!
tepatitlan4 December 2018
A wonderful must to see Christmas movie, which shows the true meaning of the festivity.
I'll watch it again and again.
There sould be more films like this.
The music and the animation is great, and so the story.
Well done!
A magical heart-warming Christmas Tale
angelanimurchu13 December 2018
I loved this film. The central character, a young girl called Angela, is funny and feisty and her predicament so completely borne of a young child's imagination. The artwork in the film is stunning and will very likely be a prize winner. A perfect fable for Christmas.
"You did it Baby Jesus!!"
mkdlfp30 December 2018
After watching the Netflix Original 'The Christmas Chronicles' staring Kurt Russell I didn't think another 2018 Christmas movie could top it, then I came across this little 30 minute gem. I'm in my 50's with no kids and I can't stop watching this thing over and over, it's not just for kids, it's adorable and it's message of Faith and family connects with moral people of all ages.
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