Arthur Christmas [G]

How does Santa manage to get around the world in one night? In the old days it was with the sleigh and reindeer, but nowadays it’s all achieved through the ultra high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole and run by his son Steve who is next in line to become Santa. Amidst the hustle and bustle of Operation Christmas, is Santa’s other son, Arthur, who still believes in the magic of Christmas and not the efficiency of it. On Christmas Eve, a child accidentally gets missed in the delivering of presents and Arthur, helped by his aging Grandsanta and expert gift-wrapper elf Bryony, sets out in the old-fashioned and flimsy sleigh with the reindeer to make sure that she gets her present before dawn and still believes in the magic of Santa. 

Easily the cleverest and most original holiday animated feature to date, Arthur Christmas is a fantastically lovely movie filled with comedy, magic, modern references, and childhood nostalgia. I adored this movie! 

How does Santa manage to get around the world in one night? In the old days it was with the sleigh and reindeer, but nowadays it’s all achieved through the ultra high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole and run by his son Steve who is next in line to become Santa. Amidst the hustle and bustle of Operation Christmas, is Santa’s other son, Arthur, who still believes in the magic of Christmas and not the efficiency of it. On Christmas Eve, a child accidentally gets missed in the delivering of presents and Arthur, helped by his aging Grandsanta and expert gift-wrapper elf Bryony, sets out in the old-fashioned and flimsy sleigh with the reindeer to make sure that she gets her present before dawn and still believes in the magic of Santa. 

Sony animation and Aardman have teamed up to bring us this: a most refreshing holiday movie that really has something for the entire family. Amidst the magical characters of Santa and the elves and all that there is a lovely story about a dysfunctional family trying to get over their bumps. Very lovely messages about growing up also creep into the mix as well as obvious references to the ways that the times are a-changin’. The combination of these separate stories results in a wholly entertaining, heart warming, and refreshingly funny movie that really is for the entire family! 

Featuring the voice talents of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Rhys Darby, Robbie Coltrane, Joan Cusack, Jane Horrocks, Dominic West, Michael Palin, and Andy Serkis, Arthur Christmas is a fantastically fun, funny, and heart warming movie packed with action, drama, magic, childhood nostalgia, and comedy. I absolutely adored it from start to finish!