Angela's Christmas Wish

Angela's father has gone to Australia for work. It is far; a letter takes months and he will not be back for Christmas. Angela does not accept it. She makes a plan with the other children: they will get their father home for Christmas. There is no money, the distance is great, and all they have is an idea. A wish is made at the church. Then a letter is written, then a money box is broken open, then people in the town hear about it. Their mother knows it is not possible but does not stop them. Damien O'Connor directs. Lucy O'Connell, Ruth Negga, Moe Dunford and Pat Kinevane are among the voices. It is an Irish production and animated. The film follows an earlier short; the source is a story told by Frank McCourt. The narrative is set in Limerick at the start of the twentieth century and the period detail is kept in the drawing. The animation is two dimensional and the design is close to book illustration; the palette is kept warm. The narrative does not hide the poverty; the family is in difficulty and it is told in the children's terms. The matter it treats is a child's insistence; the film gives it not as a miracle but as work. It is short; the film runs under an hour. The narrative is simple and made for small children. Its limit is scale; it is short, there is little conflict, and the ending easy. Who it is for: viewers who like Christmas animation and family films. Who it is not for: it is very simple, short, and the ending foreseeable.