How to Train Your Dragon trilogy head of character animation Simon Otto makes his animated feature directorial debut with the comedy adventure That Christmas. It debuts Wednesday Dec. 4 on Netflix. Otto’s skillset is on full display. In this Animation Scoop Q&A, he discusses collaborating with recent honorary Oscar winner Richard Curtis, working with Brian Cox and crafting a unique holiday family film. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: You adapt Richard Curtis’ books and show us multiple families at Christmastime at Wellington-on-Sea. How did it feel going along with three different storylines — and a little bit more — juggling all the characters and making it all work for the families who will watch this?

Simon Otto: It’s what drew me to the project. In animation, we tend to tell single hero journeys in a fantastic world, or with a big fantastical idea. And there’s a villain, usually. And our story is a multi-threaded storyline, with multiple protagonists, in a world that’s real… that’s based on and inspired by a real town — a small, seaside town in England. That to me was very interesting because I’ve never seen that before. Of course, having one of the greatest screenwriters of our generation actually write our screenplay and being able to collaborate with the person who made “Notting Hill”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and even up to recently writing “Yesterday” — these incredible, wish fulfillment stories that are talking about small problems or challenges people have and making them big and fun.

Vicky Jenson co-directed the first Best Animated Feature Oscar winner, DreamWorks’ 2001 Shrek. She followed that up with 2004 nominee Shark Tale. 20 years later she’s helming the new Netflix animated musical Spellbound, debuting tomorrow. It’s about 15-year-old princess Ellian, whose parents have been cursed for a year. They were transformed from humans to monsters. How will they finally return to their old form, and what other changes might be in store? Jenson shares what she loves about the story, songs, cast and themes in this Animation Scoop Q&A. (Questions were submitted via email. Answers were edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: You [also] co-directed “Shrek”. What did you enjoy about the parallels of unconventional monsters and princess stories?

Vicky Jenson: Interesting question. I always feel that great stories need to surprise. Delight, certainly, but also surprise. So if I’m surprised in reading or hearing a pitch for a story, I’m in. But I think both stories have a lot of heart to them. They really lead with the meaning of the story… something that we will carry past the screening experience. Monsters and princesses are wonderful, familiar trappings to help you tell a story. If the story itself is so different, then it’s kind of useful to have something familiar to do it with.