''A Gift from Bob'' (promoted as ''A Christmas Gift from Bob'') is a 2020 British

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

biographical drama A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a Nonfiction, non-fictional or History, historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. The ...

film directed by

Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television, based in British Columbia. He is known for his roles in ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), '' Never Cry Wo ...

and written by Garry Jenkins, based on the non-fiction books ''A Gift from Bob'' and ''The Little Book of Bob'' by James Bowen. It is a sequel to the 2016 film ''

A Street Cat Named Bob James Anthony Bowen (born 15 March 1979)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' is an English author based in London. His memoirs ''A Street Cat Named Bob'', ''The World According to Bob'' and ''A Gift from Bob'', were ...

'', and stars

Luke Treadaway Luke Antony Newman Treadaway''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 10 September 1984) is a British actor and singer. He won an Olivier Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance as Christ ...

, reprising his role as Bowen.

Anna Wilson-Jones Anna Wilson-Jones (born 8 October 1970) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Juliet Miller in the television series '' Hotel Babylon'' and main character Tim Bisley's ex-girlfriend Sarah in the series ''Spaced''. Acting career ...

Kristina Tonteri-Young Kristina Annika Tonteri-Young (born 17 January 1998) is a Finnish-American actress and former ballerina. Early life and career Tonteri-Young was born in Finland to a Finnish mother and Chinese New Zealand father from Hong Kong. Her family move ...

, and Bob the Cat co-star. It was released in the United Kingdom by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

on 6 November 2020, and is the final film appearance of Bob, who died in an accident six months after filming was completed.

Synopsis

James looks back at the last Christmas he and Bob spent scraping a living on the streets and how Bob helped him through one of his toughest times – providing strength, friendship and inspiration – and ultimately teaching each other about the true meaning of Christmas spirit along the way.

Cast

as James Bowen, an ex-

drug addict Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

who is Bob's owner. * Bob the Cat as himself. (This is Bob's final film appearance, as he died in a car accident in June 2020, approximately six months after filming was completed.) ** Additional unnamed cats were used as stand-ins for Bob in some scenes. *

as Arabella *

as Bea *

Nina Wadia Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy ''Still Open All Hours'', and for st ...

as Anika

Production

reprised his role as James Bowen. Street Cat Bob reprised his role playing himself, but died in an accident in June 2020 (approximately six months after filming was completed). The film's end credits carry a dedication in loving memory of Bob.

was selected to direct the film in October 2019, and filming began one month later in November 2019. Filming completed in early 2020.

Music

On 6 November 2020, an accompanying soundtrack album was released. ''A Christmas Gift from Bob—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' features music by Patrick Neil Doyle with songs by K.T. Wild. Three songs inspired by and written for the movie will appear in the film performed by lead actor

and a fourth ''Coming Back To Me (Coming Home)'' – written and performed by K.T. himself – is played in the film's end credit.

Release

Originally scheduled for a 2020 release in the United Kingdom, the release was pushed back to 2021. In October 2020, it was revealed that the film would be released in cinemas by

Lionsgate UK Lionsgate UK (formerly Redbus Film Distribution, and briefly known as Helkon SK between 2001 and 2003) is the British subsidiary of the Canadian-American film company, Lionsgate. Founded in 1997 by Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa, the company have ...

on 6 November 2020. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray over three weeks later, on 30 November 2020 by

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, of critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gift from Bob 2020 films 2020 biographical drama films 2020s Christmas drama films 2020s English-language films British biographical drama films British Christmas drama films British sequel films Films about cats Films about pets Films about writers Films based on multiple works of a series Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Charles Martin Smith Films set in London Films shot in London Lionsgate films 2020s British films