The story
About A Boy Called Christmas
On Christmas Eve, three recently bereaved children are visited by an elderly great-aunt who tells them a story. It follows a poor woodcutter's son who crosses a frozen northern wilderness to find his missing father and a hidden community of elves, facing danger and loss before becoming the figure who first brings gifts to children at Christmas.
The CineClaus verdict
An origin story for Father Christmas that takes grief seriously, which is rarer than it should be.
The frame is three bereaved children on Christmas Eve and a great-aunt with a story to tell; the story is a woodcutter's son crossing a frozen north to find his father and a hidden community of elves. Most of it is snowy quest rather than visible Christmas, so long stretches run cold.
Smith and Broadbent make the most of their scenes. The ending, when the boy becomes the gift-bringer, earns its tears.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: rated PG. Mild scary scenes with spells and a troll, brief injury detail, and a parent's sacrifice alongside gentle bereavement. The loss is handled kindly, but it frames the whole story. Fine for most sevens and up, with a hand to hold.
BBFC advice: Mild scary scenes, upsetting scenes, injury detail.
Content advice & accessibility
- Where the advice comes from
- The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official PG certificate, and never looser than it.
- Subtitles
- Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.
