Narrated by Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader, Blackbird) and starring Irish actors Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter, Killing Eve), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander, Money Monster) and James Quinn Markey (Hole in the Ground), the 3D animation is written and directed by Kealan O’Rourke (The Boy in the Bubble, Emily the Strange, Danger Mouse). This beautifully animated half-hour film is a perfect family treat for Christmas.
The heart-warming and touching tale tells how eight-year-old Henry’s efforts to spread Christmas cheer bring much-needed joy into the life of a lonely old lady. Henry loves everything about Christmas and can’t wait to post his letter to Santa up the chimney. Wanting everyone to share his excitement, he travels around his neighbourhood with his best friend, Frank the robin, putting up decorations. But when he comes to Miss Broom’s house, she wants nothing to do with Christmas and shoos him away. Undeterred, Henry tries all sorts of ways to decorate the gloomy house, eventually sneaking down her chimney – where he dislodges a charred and tatty old letter, caught in the loose brickwork, which turns out to be from a very young and lonely Miss Broom to Santa Claus asking for a friend to play with. Henry realises that Santa never received the letter, so Miss Broom never got a friend, which is why she has turned her back on the festivities. Henry, determined that it’s not too late for Miss Broom to discover the magic of Christmas, sets out to put things right.
Production: The Christmas Letter is a Dream Logic Studios and Lupus Films production in association with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and KiKa ARD Germany. UPHE Content Group is managing the TV distribution, home entertainment and theatrical rights to the special globally excluding Germany and Ireland.
The Christmas Letter premiere’s on Monday 16th Dec @12 noon in the Irish Film Institute, Dublin. The film will also be aired on Sky One, RTÉ and NBC over the Christmas holidays.