Angela's Christmas
Streaming on Netflix
Angela's Christmas is an animated holiday special, based on the popular children’s story from Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt.
Set in Ireland in the 1910s, Angela's Christmas is a funny, heart-warming and poignant story about the power of family and the innocent desire of a child to ensure everyone is safe, warm and loved at Christmas time. The film tells the story of six-year-old Angela, who – while attending mass on Christmas Eve – notices the statue of Baby Jesus lying in the manger. Worried that the underdressed statue will be cold in the cavernous church, Angela decides to “rescue” the statue and bring him home to warm him up. And from there the adventure unfolds!
The half hour CG film is based on McCourt’s only children’s book, inspired by a story his mother Angela told him as a child. McCourt won the Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling memoir, Angela’s Ashes.
The film stars Oscar nominated Ruth Negga (Loving, Preacher) in the role of Angela’s mother, and Lucy O’Connell (Oscar nominated Song of the Sea) as Angela. The voice cast also includes Vivian Drew, Brendan Mullins, Brian Gleeson and Pat Kinevane.
The film is written by Will Collins (Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers) and Damien O’Connor (Anya, Doc McStuffins), and directed by Damien O’Connor. Ellen McCourt, Frank’s widow, serves as an Executive Producer on the project and Malachy McCourt (Brewster’s Millions, The January Man, One Life to Live), Frank McCourt’s brother, and Irish-American actor, writer and politician, provides the narration.
Angela's Christmas was developed with the support of the Irish Film Board and produced with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and RTE.
Angela’s Christmas premiered on Netflix on November 30, 2018, following its initial screening in Ireland in 2017.
A special documentary, The Making of Angela’s Christmas, premiered at the Richard Harris International Film Festival in Limerick, Ireland as part of the festival’s program in 2019. The documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the animated holiday special and features interviews with director Damien O’Connor, narrator Malachy McCourt, and members of the Brown Bag Films team.
Angela's Christmas director Damien O’Connor co-wrote the screenplay with Will Collins, expanding Frank McCourt's children's book into a 30-minute film by focusing on a central theme—family and warmth as a representation of love. This theme shaped everything from dialogue to visual design, with cool blue tones symbolizing cold and rich gold hues representing love and warmth throughout the story.
"The book is a true story that Frank’s mother (Angela) used to tell him when he was a child. 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. We also have Frank’s brother Malachy as narrator, Angela used to also tell Malachy the story when he was a child, so that was another voice who could steer us."— Damien O'Connor, Director
Frank McCourt’s widow, Ellen McCourt, served as Executive Producer and provided guidance to ensure the adaptation stayed true to Frank’s voice. His brother, Malachy McCourt, narrated the film, adding authenticity and a personal connection to the original story.
“It was my husband Frank’s dream to see this delicate little Christmas story transformed into a classic Christmas tale. With persistence and care, Brown Bag Films and 9 Story have made that dream a reality. He would be thrilled with Angela’s Christmas as is the entire extended McCourt family!” — Ellen McCourt, Executive Producer
Based on the book Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt
Directed by: Damien O'Connor
Written by: Will Collins, Damien O'Connor
Executive Producer: Ellen McCourt, Vince Commisso, Cathal Gaffney, Darragh O'Connell, Natalie Osbourne
Producers: Nathan Santell, Colm Tyrrell
Art Director: Alfred Llupiá
Composer: Darren Hendley
Duration: 1 x 30'
Year of Production: 2018
