Arthur Christmas

2011 "Ever wonder how 2 Billion presents get delivered all in 1 night?"
7.1| 1h37m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 23 November 2011 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.arthurchristmas.com/
Synopsis

Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in one night. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur. Arthur Claus is Santa’s misfit son who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present half way around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

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Python Hyena Arthur Christmas (2011): Dir: Sarah Smith / Voices: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Ashley Jensen: This holiday gem addresses the idea of Santa as oppose to what we view as a figure. Arthur is Santa's son who answers every letter. His older brother Steve has advanced the North Pole past sleighs and reindeer to a massive ship that he can communicate with from the North Pole. He hopes to be the next Santa since his father has just completed his 70th year on the mission. Central plot regards a gift that was accidentally not delivered. Arthur is frantic and sees every child as valuable. Steve however, sees this as petty and that mistakes sometimes occur. Arthur sets out with his grandfather who still conceals the old sleigh and reindeer, and they set off to deliver that one gift before sunrise. Director Sarah Smith is backed with an interesting concept but the structure is just one mistake after another although the landing is Africa is hilarious. The ending is to no surprise, and the whole issue of Santa's legacy goes against traditional narratives but the digital world presented is sparkling and a sight to behold. James McAvoy voices the resourceful Arthur whose Christmas spirit flourishes without restrain. Hugh Laurie voices Steve whose frustration leads to compromise until he faces facts. Jim Broadbent voices Santa who may need to hand down his duties. Bill Nighy voices grand-Santa who believes in tradition. Finally there is Ashley Jensen who plays a high spirited elf. Exciting holiday animation about our image of Santa verses his spirit of giving. Score: 7 / 10
morrison-dylan-fan Searching round on Netflix UK,I decided to take a look at their "Festive Features" section and I spotted a Christmas movie from Aardman Animation,which led to me getting ready to meet Arthur.The plot:Working in the letters department, Arthur Claus looks up in awe at his dad Malcolm,who is the latest member of the family to take the role of Santa.Needing to give every child a present,Santa and his other son Steve design space ships which allow them to travel the world in record time.Relying on machines to keep track of the presents being dropped off,the Christmas's and their elves do not notice that they have forgotten to deliver one present.Expecting to be given the job of new Santa,Steve is disappointed to find out that Malcolm plans to continue being Santa for years to come.Cleaning up the place,an elf discovers the undelivered present. Worried about how upset the child will be,Arthur decides that they must get the present to the child right away,but soon discovers that the rest of the family lack his Christmas Spirit.View on the film:Changing their animation method from clay stop-motion to CGI,co- writer/(along with Peter Baynham) director Sarah Smith and fellow director Barry Cook keep Aardman's distinctive features intact,as speedy whip-pans catch every wide-tooth grin and extra large eyes,whilst the Claus workshop gets filled with Aardman's trademark background gags which make repeat viewings of their works a Christmas cracker worth pulling. Following the Claus's (and the elves) on their deliveries,the directors make each location wonderfully distinctive,as the sleight goes from the dizzying lights of Toronto to the scorching hot jungles of Africa.Opening with a gallery featuring the history of Santa's,the writers deliciously keep the warm Christmas message intact,but hilariously show Santa trying to modernise his operations,that lead to all of the Claus's having to dust off their old ways,as they each struggle to get the hang of the Santa Sat-Nav.Walking round in a X-Mas jumper, James McAvoy gives a great performance as Arthur,thanks to McAvoy making sure to keep Arthur's passion for Christmas sincere rather than twee.Joining McAvoy in his X-Mas jumper, Hugh Laurie gives a very funny huff & puff performance as Steve,whilst Jim Broadbent is the perfect fit for the voice of the Aardman Santa.
bowmanblue Arthur Christmas is one of those rare computer generated films which is lucky enough to have things in common with such greats as Toy Story and Shrek, i.e. it can be watched on many levels and therefore enjoyed by both adults and children.It tells the (very British) story of Father Christmas' operation and how he, and his family, plus an army of highly-trained elves, delivers presents to all the boys and girls on one night. However, his family-run business hits a rocky patch when one little girl is accidentally missed out, threatening to ruin Father Christmas' good name in the process. Step up Arthur (youngest son of Father) Christmas, who with the help of an elf with an obsession of wrapping things in pretty paper and bows, plus his aging (and slightly senile) Grandfather (aka 'Grand Santa') set about making the one last drop on Christmas Eve in which to get the present to the girl before she wakes up and thinks Father Christmas has forgotten about her.It's not a particularly complicated story and, on hearing about it, I first wondered how much mileage could be made out of it. The trailer looks impressive, but sometimes they squeeze all the best gags into the ninety second trailer and there's nothing left for the film itself. Luckily, this is not the case. The story is truly charming. It highlights the best of British (vocal) acting talent and weaves it into a heartfelt story about family at Christmas with jokes that will make children chuckle, while others will go straight over their heads for 'parents only' to enjoy.I'm no fan of Christmas. I think it's over-hyped, expensive and too commercial. Many a Christmas ever I've locked out the three well-meaning ghosts, but Arthur Christmas even managed to make me feel almost festive - an emotion that Dudley Moore couldn't even manage in his Father Christmas movie. That's how good Arthur Christmas really is (unless I'm experiencing a mid life crisis a few years early).
lisafordeay Arthur Christmas tells the tale of the title charcther(voiced by James Mcavoy) who's dad is (yup you guessed it)Santa Clause(voiced by that dude from Only Fools and Horses Jim Broadbent) who sends Christmas presents to all the children by using a machine that sends them to the children.But when one of the presents accidentally gets knocked off the machine,its up to Arthur and his grandfather(voiced by Love Actually's Bill Nighy)who's called Grand Santa to travel across the globe to give the present to its rightful owner.The animation in this is gorgeous and the charcthers are all likable. The ending song is by(yup im serious here) Justin Bieber and as for the rest of the film its just one magical flick to watch over the Christmas Season. The voice acting is great in fact some animated movies you can spot the actors a mile away but here their all very good in this movie.Overall Arthur Christmas gets a thumbs up.