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Review of That Christmas (John Powell)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... to hear John Powell in his wheelhouse, this score residing among the composer's most charming and rousing animated genre works.

Avoid it... if you become overwhelmed by the intensity with which Powell expresses his dramatic ideas, the enthusiasm and sappiness applied in thick layers of holiday spirit.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

That Christmas: (John Powell) Absolutely saturated with English sensibilities, the 2024 Netflix animated film That Christmas is a wholesome tale of a seaside town that confronts a series of weather and character-related challenges to ultimately bring its people together in harmony. It has elements of teen angst and coming of age balanced with more serious parental issues and a somewhat clumsy but vital Santa Claus and plenty of associated magical charm. The story follows several sets of characters, mostly youngsters, as a massive snowstorm around Christmastime compounds all of their relational problems, leaving adults stranded on the roads, turkeys threatened with mass slaughter, and the cancellation of the town's normal holiday celebrations. The project marked the major directorial debut of a lead animator from How to Train Your Dragon, and the style of the visuals is largely similar. Although audience reaction to the children's movie was mixed, it allowed film music collectors the opportunity to hear composer John Powell unleash a full-fledged score for the genre, featured against an Ed Sheeran song, "Under the Tree," that is compellingly pretty but does not lend its melody to Powell's work. For the composer, 2024 represented a significant return to broader production, ranging from the monumental adaptation of the songs in Wicked to both That Christmas and Thelma the Unicorn in the animated realm. Powell has a very long history with such films, using the genre to supply some of this silliest but at times most impressive music for decades. With That Christmas more so than Thelma the Unicorn, he builds upon the increasing maturing sound he conveyed in the prior year's Migration. Whereas the composer's animated assignments of the 2000's and 2010's tended to stray towards the ridiculous at times, the influence of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy has clearly marked a push, whether intentional or not, towards a more dramatically-inclined heart in these scores.

Not only do scores like Migration and That Christmas emphasize melodrama to a greater degree, even in the action and comedy portions, but they also offer an increasingly technically adept handling of themes and performance inflection. The latter is particularly successful in That Christmas, every aspect of the orchestral performances heightened to overemphasize emotional reach. Whether that's inherent in the writing or the directive of the conductor may be up for debate, but there is passion to the recording that brings an additional appeal to an environment that often times is adequate but stale in small screen animations from the many less experienced composers writing such music. Also to be commended once again is the mix of this score, the balance of the soloists and ensemble very well handled and a satisfying amount of reverb adding to the magic of the concept. Instrumentally, Powell provides his expected dose of creativity but largely focuses it on Christmas-related percussion and acoustic guitar on top of his full orchestral ensemble. There is no significant role for synthetics or choir, though there are a few moments of modernism with electric bass and percussion during "Wellington-By-The-Sea" and "Officially Nice." Another singular moment is a sideshow in The Call of the Wild flair with banjo touches during "Parents Leaving." Ultimately, though, it's the piano, harp, and woodwinds that bring home the familial element with efficiently attractive heart. The sum of these contributors is a score that is not only universally tonal from start to finish but also frequently fun, its demeanor inviting during soft moments and outright exhilarating in the action portions. The latter sequences offer some of the composer's best adventure writing outside of the How to Train Your Dragon scores, especially when Santa's sleigh is making its magical rounds. Expect the thematic narrative to dominate almost every corner of the work, too. The longest snippets of unique material outside of the themes come in the long climax, "Searching and Finding," but otherwise Powell mostly relies upon his many themes and motifs to drive every cue.

While Powell is no stranger to creating complex thematic narratives for animated films, he has a tendency to combine them with excellent results in That Christmas. The two main themes overlap each other in at least four moments, each quite impressive, and the lesser motifs often exist under the two main themes as well. One of the reasons Powell has been so successful in his thematic writing in recent years has been due to a technique he's employing more often with great appeal; he often conjures rather simplistic melodic structures but then varies the chords underneath to set up both anticipation and resolution within these alternating chord sets. It's a technique that made the main flying theme of How to Train Your Dragon so memorable, and this usage is especially pronounced in That Christmas. (Incidentally, Kris Bowers applied the same strategy with fantastic results in The Wild Robot earlier in the year.) Powell infuses both his two main themes such tonal gravity, the first of which being the film's primary identity for Christmas and Santa. This highly versatile tune, which shares some descending phrasing with a traditional carol, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," is heard right away as the town's lighthouse guides Santa through the storm to his destination. Opening "Meet Our Heroes" with heightened anticipation, this idea achieves full fanfare mode on brass at 0:40 for several massive renditions with wild counterpoint as the sleigh successfully pieces the storm. It's toned back at 1:43 for woodwinds and strings, and a clarinet interjects into the other main theme, that for love and the townsfolk, with this idea at 2:47. The main Christmas theme extends out of the love theme at 0:18 into "Wellington-By-The-Sea" and enjoys a really nice contemporary acoustic guitar, string, and percussion moment at 1:00. (This passage also accompanies the closing moments of the film.) It builds at 0:40 into "Snow Arrives," turning outright vivacious and playful at 1:22, and becomes even more accelerated with positive spirit at 2:11 with outstanding presence. A quick explosion of humor for the idea emerges at the end of "Doggy Prank," and the theme launches into several exuberant, almost Western-flavored renditions of the The Call of the Wild flair influence in "Parents Leaving."

The main Christmas theme in That Christmas achieves more monumental expressions of force as the score progresses, including perfectly appropriate Chicken Run rambunctiousness (with a wink and a nod from the composer, no doubt) at 1:44 into "Turkey Heist." The theme rambles several times in "Parents in Trouble," becoming massively swashbuckling at 0:56 and continuing that stature at 0:17 into "Santa Arrives" in full fanfare mode, the sea-worthy adventuresome spirit exploding again at 0:55 before reducing to its prettier incarnations at 1:48. It overlays the magic motif early in "This Rarely Happens," exploring lovely variations on piano late in the cue before continuing tentatively on solo piano at 0:25 into "The Twin's Christmas" and in light business mode at 0:09 into "Officially Nice," building to several good renditions and a contemporary burst of coolness at 1:43. Shifting to sadness to open "Bernie's Our Christmas" with dramatic gravity, the main theme is very slightly cyclical on harp at the outset of "Danny Left Alone" and serves as counterpoint to the love theme at the end of "Visiting Trapper," shifting to silly exuberance at 2:05. The idea lets rip for one diversion late in "Calling Miss for Help" and is lush on strings and fantasy chimes at 0:41 into "Hide and Seek," where it flows directly into a counterpoint role for the love theme and segues to a trumpet-led tribute at 2:33 that is a nearly military-like salute. In the monumental "Searching and Finding," the Christmas theme barely touches the first minute but launches into full action at 1:53 with new secondary phrasing of victory, and its redemptively dramatic moment at 3:36 comes with newly expressive chord progressions. In that long cue, the melody swaps heroic statements with the love theme at 4:43 and takes over at 6:00. For the feared death at 6:54, overweight tragedy and gloom occupies the theme, but that dread is fleeting, as the idea returns to its baseline light tones at 7:31. To close the score, the theme begins "Boxing Day" with very warm cello and piano treatment, violins taking the idea with more volume at 0:39 before a soaring counterpoint role against the love theme. The merging of these two main themes in That Christmas yields remarkable highlights in each instance, though some of that appeal extends out of the fact that the love theme Powell conjured for this film is among his better career identities.

The love theme in That Christmas represents all the character relationships beyond just the one budding romance at the heart of the tale. Structurally, it sounds like the interlude to another theme, perhaps not particularly surprising as it sometimes exists as a natural one for the main theme. Not only does this theme repeat progressions in its melody with the shifting anticipatory chords underneath, but its lines also have something of a Broadway tune sensibility, and it would have made for a superb part of a vocalized song. Powell collectors will find significant similarities between this theme's main, repeating four-note sequence and the flying theme from Migration, but given that the flying theme from that prior score remains something of a hidden gem in the composer's career, one cannot complain about his redevelopment of it for continued use. (Jerry Goldsmith certainly did this repeatedly when he found a melodic structure he personally adored.) Whimsical but fragmented at 2:29 into "Meet Our Heroes," the love theme continues in clearer definition at 3:43, but it really emerges in "Wellington-By-The-Sea," where it is charming at 0:14 and overtakes the main theme at 1:19 as the two briefly overlap with great results. This latter performance, which also closes the picture, is a highlight of the work because of its blurting trumpets, sleigh bells, and other sonic colors, all of which yielding about as much good heart as anyone can muster. The theme is reduced to very pretty guitar and strings in "Sticky Notes," lightly delicate at 1:44 into "Snow Arrives," and tentative at 0:21 into "Snow People" but expressing more warmth as it progresses, charged with more energy for a burst at 1:01. It embraces Powell's magic motif as its companion at the start of "Snow People," lovely on woodwinds at 0:56 into "Snow People," and it dominates the gorgeous "Shop Romance" on piano, woodwinds, and strings, a highly redemptive moment that absolutely shines. Softly meandering on strings to open "Santa Arrives," the love theme returns to full form at 2:26 and joins with the magic motif at 1:06 into "Officially Nice" for a quietly optimistic moment, teasing the robust ending to the cue. It receives heartfelt low string and horn treatment in "Danny Left Alone" and is littered throughout "Visiting Trapper" on piano and woodwinds, where it ends the cue in careful counterpoint against the main theme for the thawing character.

In the final third of That Christmas, the love theme ensures that its presence isn't just focused on the main boy of the tale, Danny, but all the people he encounters in this new town he just moved to. The idea injects brief heart at 3:02 into "Calling Miss for Help" and overtakes the main theme at 1:04 into "Hide and Seek" to form a highly effective duet, later continuing on its own for extended sentimentality, including an acoustic guitar statement. It slows the pace on strings at 2:56 into "Searching and Finding," translating into several new guises at 4:23, included an action version. Later in that long cue, the theme becomes overflowingly adventurous at 4:57 and resolves the scene at 8:16 with bright, full ensemble brilliance. Following the main theme with interlude duties at 0:28 into "Boxing Day," the love theme bursts into the finale statement against the main theme at 1:01. Joining this highly effective duo of main themes are several secondary motifs that largely fill in the gaps between the main thematic statements, sometimes overlapping them as appropriate. Because the story is inherently rich in the magical Santa mythology of Christmas, Powell conjures a magic motif of dancing, descending handbell tones, perhaps rendered on xylophone or celeste as well. This figure becomes a key to defining the spirit of the holidays. Debuting at the start of "Snow Arrives," this magic motif is briefly plucked at 1:20 into "Snow People," opens "Snow People" under the love theme, begins "Turkey Heist" in more fanciful forms, and is expressed with increasing worry at 0:16 and 1:37 into "Parents in Trouble." It's heightened at 1:39 into "Santa Arrives," where it enjoys chimes as accompaniment at 2:47, and persists under the main theme on handbell tones at the start of "This Rarely Happens." After beginning "The Twin's Christmas" whimsically and with charm, the magic motif starts "Officially Nice" with a more militaristically playful personality, continuing later in the cue under the love theme and against the main theme's late outburst. It's anxiously plucked at 0:14 and 0:54 into "Visiting Trapper," handed to bells at 1:21 into "Calling Miss for Help," a bit nervous and cyclical at 0:13 into "Hide and Seek," and starts "Searching and Finding" and concludes that cue at 8:47. Powell pairs xylophone and acoustic guitar for the motif at 1:26 into "Boxing Day" for a friendly end, though the conclusion doesn't really resolve the score on its own when heard on album.

Cyclically inclined to the same degree as the magic motif in That Christmas is the somewhat related hectic motif, plucked descending phrases using prancing woodwinds like the dragon romance material in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Representing moments of rushed movement and panic, this motif is heard at 3:20 and in several guises later into "Meet Our Heroes," as well as at 0:57 into "Snow Arrives." It offers humor throughout the first half of "Doggy Prank," mingles with the magic motif late in "Snow People," immediately follows the love theme at 1:19 into "Snow People," and closes "Parents Leaving" with more urgency. The hectic motif develops out of the magic motif at "Turkey Heist" and factors until the cue's end, recurring at 0:30 and 1:27 into "Parents in Trouble," the latter huge in scope. It interrupts the Miss Trapper motif at 1:04 and 1:27 into "Calling Miss for Help" and absolutely explodes at 3:13 for the full ensemble against the main theme. That motif for Miss Trapper concentrates on the prickly, humorless side of her demeanor, a grim low brass formality that stands apart from everything else in the score. Previewed in spirit at the start of "Wellington-By-The-Sea," this motif receives a long, formal expression of its entire length at 2:36 into "Snow Arrives," interrupts the magic motif at 1:28 into "Snow People," barely touches at 0:40 into "This Rarely Happens," and returns to low brass form at 0:30 and 1:11 into "Calling Miss for Help." Finally, a motif for the Bernadette character is reminiscent of the more playful Berk material from How to Train Your Dragon, heard with zest at 3:06 into "Meet Our Heroes." It's more muted at 0:34 into "Wellington-By-The-Sea" and at the outset of "Snow People." The motif's highlights come in "Bernie's Our Christmas," where it shifts between flutes over aggressive plucking in the middle the cue and develops its own action mode before subsiding beautifully to a resolution. This motif also drives a quick moment of the action at 4:36 into "Searching and Finding" and then a somber passage of gloom at 7:12. These themes and motifs combine to form an outstanding narrative, one that impresses with its instrumental renderings. The score's weakness comes in the more wayward applications in the final third and lack of connection with the good Sheeran song. Some listeners may find the whole to be overplayed in its intensity and thus overwhelm haphazardly on the songless album. But That Christmas is a charming genre outing for Powell, and its rousing action sequences for the main theme notch it above Migration. This music represents Powell in his wheelhouse, and it's always a pleasure to hear.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 57:45

• 1. Meet Our Heroes (4:51) • 2. Washington-By-The-Sea (1:53) • 3. Sticky Notes (0:58) • 4. Snow Arrives (3:24) • 5. Doggy Prank (1:00) • 6. Snow People (1:46) • 7. Building the Igloo (1:41) • 8. Parents Leaving (1:09) • 9. Turkey Heist (2:24) • 10. Shop Romance (2:05) • 11. Parents in Trouble (2:09)

• 12. Santa Arrives (3:12) • 13. This Rarely Happens (2:28) • 14. The Twin's Christmas (1:14) • 15. Officially Nice (2:19) • 16. Bernie's Our Christmas (2:50) • 17. Danny Left Alone (1:02) • 18. Visiting Trapper (2:43) • 19. Calling Miss for Help (3:55) • 20. Hide and Seek (3:14) • 21. Searching and Finding (9:29) • 22. Boxing Day (1:59)

NOTES & QUOTES:

There exists no official packaging for this album.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from That Christmas are Copyright © 2024, Netflix Music and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/19/25 (and not updated significantly since).