Movie Review: Arthur Christmas
The first thing you should know is that before Arthur Christmas begins, you are “treated” to a “festive” Justin Bieber music video. Please do not hold this against Arthur Christmas, as it’s an incredibly charming, clever, and funny Christmas film.
Arthur Christmas is another creation from Aardman Animations, the studio most notably responsible for the Wallace & Gromit series of films. If you’ve ever watched Wallace & Gromit, then you know that Aardman has a knack for quirky, clever animated storytelling, and Arthur Christmas definitely lives up to that standard.
The story follows Arthur, Santa’s youngest son, and his attempt to “save Christmas.” It’s an old Christmas cliché, but it’s given a fresh coat of paint here. Christmas night has been boiled down to a coordinated and precise military operation requiring the help of hundreds of elves and a ship that looks like a cross between Santa’s sleigh and the U.S.S. Enterprise. Meanwhile, Santa’s eldest son, Steve, runs the show back at the North Pole’s mission command centre. While it’s not unusual for Christmas movies to attempt to answer the age-old question of how Santa is able to get to everyone’s homes in one night, rarely is it done in such a clever and hilarious fashion.
After another successful Christmas, Santa and his team of elves return home to the North Pole, only to discover that a child has been missed. With the feeling that it’s not worth it to fret over a single missed child, Santa and Steve retire for the evening. Seeing this as unacceptable, the clumsy, yet earnest, Arthur, accompanied by his traditionalist Grandsanta, embark on a journey to ensure that no child is left without a visit from Santa on Christmas morning. Add to this the subplot involving Steve’s ambitions to succeed his father as Santa and you’ve got all the makings of a new Christmas classic.
Overall, the plot works well and the voice cast (which includes James McAvoy as Arthur, Hugh Laurie as Steve, and Bill Nighy as Grandsanta) is a joy to listen to. Things get a little cheesy towards the end, but the film is so earnest that you can’t hold this against it.
With some great voice acting, a clever script, and a lot of heart, you’ll have a hard time finding a better Christmas film to watch in theatres this year.
Andrew Stewart
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