Frank McCourt's Angela's Christmas is Now on Netflix

Angela’s Christmas, the animated Christmas special, based on the popular children’s story from Pulitzer Prize winning Irish author Frank McCourt, is now available on Netflix.

The half hour film created by Brown Bag Films, stars Oscar nominated Ruth Negga in the role of Angela’s mother, and Lucy O’Connell, who was Oscar=nominated for Song of the Sea, as Angela.

Frank’s widow Ellen McCourt serves as an Executive Producer on the project and Frank McCourt’s brother, writer and politician, Malachy McCourt provides the narration.

“It was my husband Frank’s dream to see this delicate little Christmas story transformed into a classic Christmas tale," says Ellen McCourt.

"With persistence and care, Brown Bag Films and 9 Story have made that dream a reality. He would be thrilled with Angela’s Christmas as is the entire extended McCourt family!”

Set in Ireland in the early 1900s, Angela's Christmas is a funny, heart-warming and poignant story about the power of family and the innocent desire of a child to ensure everyone is safe, warm and loved at Christmas time.

The Netflix film was written by Will Collins (Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers) and Damien O’Connor (Anya, Doc McStuffins), and directed by Damien O’Connor.

Francis McCourt, who died at the age of 78 in 2009, was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela's Ashes, which is described as a "tragicomic memoir" of the misery and squalor of his childhood growing up in Limerick.

His book Angela's Ashes was made into a movie by Alan Parker. Frank also wrote two more memoirs, 'Tis and Teacher Man.

But the first book came in for a lot of criticism. McCourt was accused by the likes of Limerick natives, like actor Richard Harris and others of "greatly exaggerating" his family's impoverished upbringing.

And McCourt's own mother had denied the accuracy of his stories shortly before her death in 1981. She famous shouted from the audience during a stage performance of his recollections that it was "all a pack of lies".

His Wikipedia entry points out: "However, at the very least, many of his Stuyvesant High School students remembered quite clearly the mordant childhood anecdotes that he continually told during sessions of his senior-level Creative Writing elective."

Angela’s Christmas was the only other book he wrote.