Arthur Christmas (12 Movies of Christmas)
- Matt Palmer
- Dec 13, 2022
- 2 min read
Studios: Sony-Columbia/Sony Pictures Animation/Aardman Animations
Tagline: Ever wonder how 2 billion presents get delivered all in one night?
Plot: Everyone knows that, each Christmas, Santa Claus delivers presents to every last child on Earth. What everyone doesn't know is that Santa accomplishes the feat with a very high-tech operation beneath the North Pole. But when the unthinkable happens, and Santa misses one child out of hundreds of millions, someone has to save the day. It's up to Arthur, Santa's youngest son, to deliver a present to the forgotten tyke before Christmas morning dawns.
Cast
James McAvoy - Arthur
Hugh Laurie - Steve
Bill Nighy - Grandsanta
Jim Broadbent - Santa
Imelda Staunton - Mrs. Santa
Ashley Jensen - Byrony
Marc Wootton - Peter
Laura Linney - North Pole Computer
Eva Longoria - Chief De Silva
Ramona Marquez - Gwen
Michael Palin - Ernie Clicker
Writer(s): Peter Baynham (Ron's Gone Wrong; Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
Sarah Smith (Ron's Gone Wrong)
Director: Sarah Smith (Ron's Gone Wrong)
Rated PG for some mild rude humor (97 minutes)
'Arthur Christmas' is a sweet little animated holiday film that families everywhere will really enjoy. There are several moments that are really humorous and kids will absolutely love it!
The laughs and fun really kick in once Arthur and one of the older Santas, Grandsanta, go on their little adventure to get the young child their present. The Grandsanta character (voiced by veteran British actor Bill Nighy) is really hilarious in some of his scenes.
There are also a couple small moments that can be a little emotional. 'Arthur Christmas' is one of those holiday hidden gems that is destined to become a modern holiday classic for years to come!
If you didn't get a chance to see the film during the 12 Movies of Christmas festival, you can stream 'Arthur Christmas' on Hulu and HBO Max currently, as well as rent it through Redbox, Vudu, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube.
Here are a few interesting tidbits for 'Arthur Christmas':
The creators decided to approach the character design with the idea to make them feel British and quirky, not air-brushed or appealing.
There were discussions over what differing time zones meant to the story's "before the sun comes up" deadline imposed in the plot of this movie. The idea of kids being awake in Australia while it's night in the US was troubling. They ultimately decided that, for kids, Christmas is nighttime all over the world.
'Arthur Christmas' was first announced in 2007, under the name 'Operation Rudolph.' It was the first film made by Aardman with Sony Pictures and its subsidiaries, after they parted ways with DreamWorks Animation.
Aardman spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the UK before relocating to Sony's Culver City for another 18 months of production.
The animated feature earned $46.4 million in North America, $33.3 million in the UK and $67.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $147.4 million.
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