Ed Sheeran writes original song for Netflix Christmas film

Ed Sheeran has written an original song for Netflix's new animated Christmas film, which will be released on December 6th.

More Christmas plans get underway in August as Netflix announces a new animated Christmas film. This Christmaswill be released on December 6th. The film features the original song by Ed Sheeran: “Under the Tree”.

Love Actually Director Richard Curtis returns to filmmaking with an animated film based on his own children's book trilogy. This Christmas tells a series of Christmas stories designed to make the holiday gift-giving season easier for viewers. The film features an impressive list of celebrities, including Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Rhys Darby and Bill Nighy.

“Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope audiences laugh at the family dynamics and identify with the universal truth behind most traditions: Ultimately, it's not about the rules and expectations we place on these events – we tend to forget that what really matters is that we can be with our loved ones,” said director Simon Otto.

“I hope it will be a film that makes people happy – maybe more than once,” said Curtis. “I hope it reminds people of the joy and complexity of Christmas, and the joys, comedy and sorrows of childhood. And then there's something very special for me: the film is set in a town very similar to my own in Suffolk. I hope they love the atmosphere of that place – and go home with a new, delightful, simple English world in their minds.”

Ed Sheeran felt compelled to collaborate with his long-time friend Richard Curtis when Curtis approached him with a rough cut of the film.

“It was just sketches and voices but it blew me away,” Sheeran said. “So emotional and yet so heartwarmingly funny, like all of Richard Curtis' films. I find since I've had kids there's been a real lack of great animated Christmas films for kids, so I thought this would be such a great thing to do and put out into the world. The scene we wrote for this song is so heartbreaking but so real for a lot of people at Christmas – they spend time away from the people they love for so many reasons.”

“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,” Sheeran continued. “It felt amazing to create something that my kids would see with their uncle in the country they live in. This is going to be a staple of the holidays, at least in our household. I hope everyone loves it and enjoys the song – we had so much fun creating it.”

Richard Curtis, who is best known for the films Love Actually, Notting HillAnd Four weddings and one deathbased This Christmas on his own children's book trilogy, which follows a series of interwoven stories about family and friends around Christmas.

The film is a comedy from Locksmith Animation and represents Curtis' first experience in animation, where he served as a screenwriter and executive producer. This Christmas is also the directorial debut of animation veteran Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon: Love, Death and Robots.)