Ed Sheeran writes original song for “heartbreaking” scene in Richard Curtis' animated film “That Christmas”

Ed Sheeran has written and recorded an original song for Richard Curtis' upcoming animated film. This Christmas.

Written by Curtis and Peter Souter and directed by Simon Otto, This Christmas is based on Curtis' popular children's book trilogy. It is a series of “interwoven stories” about family and friends in the run-up to Christmas.

Sheeran's song “Under the Tree” will be featured in the film and is scheduled to be released on Friday, December 6th.

Brian Cox will provide the voice of Santa Claus in the film, with Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker and Bill Nighy also providing voice acting.

Sheeran, 33, said in a statement: “I have been friends with Richard Curtis for years and we did a lot of fun charity work and then both were heavily involved in the film Yesterday.

“He came to me two years ago to play me the rough This Christmas. It was just sketches and voices, but it blew me away. So emotional and yet so heartwarmingly funny, like all of Richard Curtis' films.”

The British singer-songwriter, who has two children with wife Cherry Seaborn, said he felt there was a lack of good animated Christmas films until he saw the early preview of Curtis' film.

“I thought it was so incredible to do something like that and put it out into the world,” he said. “The scene we wrote this song for is so heartbreaking, but so real for a lot of people who are spending Christmas without their loved ones for so many reasons.”

He continued: “I got to work on it with my older brother, which is a rarity and a gift to work so closely with my only sibling. It felt so good to create something that my children would watch with their uncle, set in the country where they live.

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“I think it's a shame there aren't more animated Christmas movies for kids, but this movie is going to become a staple of the holidays, at least in our household. I hope everyone loves it and enjoys the song, we had so much fun making it.”

Curtis said he was “thrilled” to have Sheeran's “beautiful song” in his film.

“The film is set in Suffolk… Ed lives in Suffolk, loves the town and completely understood the tone and tone of what we were trying to achieve,” said the director.

“We have been friends for many years and it's really nice that he plays such an important role in this film about love, children and family, especially now that he is a husband and father.”

He added: “And even if he wasn't a friend and didn't love Suffolk, it was of course wonderful to have a wonderful new song from one of the greatest British songwriters of all time.”

This Christmas The worldwide release on Netflix is ​​scheduled for December 6, 2024.