Mog's Christmas (2023 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good for animation, not so much for animal lovers

[calahao · 6/10 · 26 December 2023]

Seems that a traditional animated feature per Christmas is now standard for the UK. This year we get this adaptation of Judith Kerr's book. The animation is beyond stellar, with long, panning shots. Mog herself moves and has manneirisms much like a real cat.

On a purely technical level, this short is quite lovely. Story wise, however, it's a bit hard to stomach Mog's clear extremely realistic discomfort at the Christmas chaos. As a cat owner myself, her confusion and fear tug at my heartstrings, and I don't fel the resolution fixes this since the family decides to traumatize her further.

Also, some of the human characters were pretty annoying.

Mog's Christmas

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 27 December 2023]

Judith Kerr's Mog the Cat story gets adapted as an animation short by Channel 4.

After 40 years of these cartoons such as The Snowman to The Tiger Who Came for Tea. They know the formula.

It is traditional animation but with a musical interlude. The charms relies heavily on the story.

Mog the Cat feels unloved, unappreciated in the Thomas household. They are busy preparing for Christmas.

Frightened by the ginamous Christmas tree that arrives in the house. Mog climbs up the roof and is stuck there after it snows.

Only the Johnson family miss the cat as they try to lure the cat back down. Maybe Mog can find her own way down on Christmas morning.

Overall this was a delightful piece. I can see this being a family favourite in years to come.

Utterly exquisite!

[kjwinter-93567 · 10/10 · 24 December 2023]

Mog the Cat is a treasured part of my childhood and I now love reading the books to my five year old, so I was a little nervous that this would not live up to my expectations.

It totally exceeded them, the original story is fleshed out a little, with a few choice additions from other books. Little touches, like Morecambe and Wise being on the television is a shop window really anchor it in its time and add little touches of nostalgia for adults.

My little one was transfixed throughout, as were the adults in the room.

Gentle, humourous and utterly, utterly charming. I can't praise this enough.

As Long As You Belong

[c_hookham · 9/10 · 25 December 2023]

1976's Mog's Christmas gets its 2023 TV debut via channel 4's lovingly produced Christmas Eve treat.

Judith Kerr's much loved Mog gets her 1st proper animated outing that pays homage to Kerr's own illustrations as well as having more than a hint of Sylvain Chomet and Studio Ghibli's fantastic creations.

Here not very clever, but much loved family cat Mog has her nose put out of joint by all the fuss and bustle of Christmas and the strange relations cluttering up HER house. In response Mog climbs onto the roof and , much to her family's distress, refuses to come down. Framed by David Arnold's beautiful score and featuring the centrepiece song As Long As I Belong, this is 30 minutes of joy.

My new favourite Christmas film! Cats & Christmas... an AMAZING combo!

[emilymawnx · 10/10 · 31 December 2023]

I used to love Judith Kerr's stories when I was younger, especially the stories with Mog; Mog was a companion of mine growing up, acting like a companion as I never had a cat in my household. As a result, I squealed with excitement when I saw the trailer on Channel 4 & being aired on Christmas Eve, it was a perfect birthday present (even though I'm 24!).

The film from start to finish was perfectly well done, the animation & seeing Mog come to life was an enthralling experience! It made me feel closer to Mog as a character & also took me back to my childhood. I must admit, I did weep at some scenes due to the absolute wholesome nature of Mog (and the entire family) & just because animated Mog is so. Dang. Cute! I have watched the film another five times since it first aired, I just can't get enough!

Absolute applaud & congratulations to the entire animation team for bringing my favourite childhood book character to life; crossing my fingers & toes for another Mog film at some point in the future!

Very gentle, very sweet, loyal to the story.

[khewish · 10/10 · 27 December 2023]

The animation is made in the style of the story, not designed to be excitable or adventurous, with a hand drawn pencil feel to it. It has the exact same layout and feel as 'The tiger who came to tea' by the same author, set in London again. Yes it's set in the days before technology, but that's when the book was written.

I really do feel that the audience is designed for children under 6 and adults who grew up with the book. This isn't exciting to watch, it's more relaxing and a comfort to know what will happen.

I can guarantee that they will choose another of the mog books to animate next year and look forward to watching more!

Much Ado About Nothing

[jromanbaker · 1/10 · 26 December 2023]

I know that infantilism can be a part of Christmas, but this trivial and in my opinion rather badly animated ( a dreadful wobbly dark sky wobbled at on point, and I was a bit worried about my eyesight ) and there was no depth in the animation at all. I give it a one for the explosive black splodge descending down the chimney. And no spoilers to say what caused it. No spoilers except to say that a female cat dominates the film, and gets stuck on a snowy roof. The rest is predictable, and the dreadful song and the music told me painfully that it was set in the 1970's. You also have the most heteronormative family I have seen for a long while. And everything is as white as the proverbial driven snow. I watched out of curiosity and you know that that can kill the cat. ' The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse ' an animated film for Christmas last year was and is a masterpiece. Have our eyes and minds been shredded so much in the 2023 ? .

Absolutely lovely

[stephen_oakes · 10/10 · 26 December 2023]

I watched this twice - once on Christmas Eve and because I enjoyed it so much, again on Christmas Day with my extended family. And as my rather unoriginal title says, this animated short is absolutely lovely. The animation looks like the books come to life, and for anyone who has a sweet if a little dopey cat, the body language is completely true to life. The song, while a little on the cheesy side, is rather beautiful too, but isn't that exactly what you want at Christmas? Also it made me cry, but in a very good way and reminded me of when I was a kid and the world felt like a far better and kinder place than it is now - whether that's the delusion of being a child, I don't know, but for some sweet, escapist fun, it's just what you need.

A heartwarming and festive bit of moggy fun

[nickadamsteel · 9/10 · 27 December 2023]

Turning a 24 ish page book into a 25 minute gloriously hand drawn animated piece is no small feat, and it is something that the animators have achieved here with flying colours. The movements and mannerisms of the titular Mog will instantly be relatable to any cat appreciator, and the storytelling and visual style is absolutely on par with Judith Kerr's original works.

The story itself is a simple and heartwarming one, and the accompanying song by Sophie Ellis Bextor is a sweet little festive bop (if slightly twee... but surely we can forgive that for a Christmas film?!)

The human characters might be slightly forgettable... but that's fine as Mog is the focus point, and she has been brought to life so vividly here!

Watch, relax & enjoy😸