Many other recent Christmas movies also sprang to mind without the handy aid of my google machine; there were, among many others, David Dobkin’s “Fred Claus,” Joe Roth’s “Christmas with the Kranks,” John Whitesell’s “Deck the Halls” and Seth Gordon’s “Four Christmases,” none of which, suffice to say, are “It’s a Wonderful Life.” All of a sudden, something quite saddening dawned on me: we don’t get nearly enough good Christmas movies anymore.
Every year, typically in the days leading up to December 25th, we are handed a wide and diverse array of attempts at Christmas flicks, whether they be conventional (such as “Elf”) or unconventional (such as “Rare Exports” and “Bad Santa”). On occasion, we are given the option of festive film releases that are jolly, cheery, heart-warming and rib-tickling. Unfortunately, the majority of today’s Xmas flicks are lazy, worthless studio cash-guzzlers that, rather than turning us merry and gay, turn us into right old Scrooges. However, I am both happy and relieved to report that “Arthur Christmas” does not trip and stumble into the second category; it is in fact a Christmas movie done right, and may even in time prove itself to be a bona fide Christmas classic.
If you live in the UK, then “Arthur Christmas” is the first Christmas film of the year for you. If you live in the US, then that position belongs to “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” which I must say most definitely falls into the category of “unconventional Christmas flicks.” "Arthur Christmas," which is director Sarah Smith’s feature-film debut, is slightly more conventional. It's computer-animated, is family-friendly, is produced by both Aardman Animations (they did “Wallace and Gromit”!) and Sony Pictures Animation (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”), and is a notably British affair.
Like “Fred Claus” (plot-wise, not quality-wise), the film’s hero is a close relative of everyone’s favourite round-bellied, snowy-bearded, pork pie-devouring present-giver, Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent, “Hot Fuzz”). Arthur (James McAvoy, “X-Men: First Class”) is Santa’s youngest son. Arthur is obsessed with Christmas; he loves the traditions, adores reading and replying to children’s Christmas letters, is in awe of his father’s operations on the big night itself and knows the words to all the jingles - he even knows them backwards. However, it’s Arthur’s older brother, Steve (Hugh Laurie, “House M.D.”), who is next in line to don the floppy red hat, black boots, black belt and cherry-coloured coat. But Steve, while excellent at his job of keeping the present-delivering operations in sufficient order, is not particularly Christmassy.
Following another seemingly successful Christmas night, an elf is cleaning up wrapping paper when he discovers that a present - a bicycle, to be precise - has not been delivered. Arthur finds out, is mortified, and asks Steve to take them to the child who has not been given their present. To Arthur’s bewilderment, Steve decides that one child is not worth the journey and essentially tells Arthur, along with Santa, to forget about it - Santa can, Arthur cannot.
So, Arthur, along with his cranky, technologically-challenged Grandsanta (Bill Nighy, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1”), sneakily takes the old sleigh out for a ride to bring tiny little Gwen (Ramona Marquez, “The King’s Speech”) her present from Santa. But will he make it to England before the sun rises and Gwen wakes up? Well you, dear reader, will have to wait until you see this wonderful family film to find out.
I love the inventiveness of “Arthur Christmas.” I love how much wit and creativity the writers (Smith and Peter Baynham) have inserted into the Santa Claus mythology. I love the concept of the North Pole’s Christmas delivery system becoming little more than a glorified business. I love the military-esque methods in which the presents are delivered. I love that the new sleigh is a ginormous spacecraft, the underside of which has night sky camouflage. I love the charming voice-work, performed almost entirely by British actors. I love all the little elves, especially the one obsessed with wrapping paper. I love that Steve’s goatee is shaped like a Christmas tree. I love Arthur’s googly-eyed reindeer slippers that light up and play Christmas jingles. And I love that Arthur can sing “Silent Night” backwards without a moment’s thought. Yes, there’s very little not to love about this effortlessly charming and frequently rib-tickling film, and even fewer things to genuinely dislike - that’s certainly more than I can say for “Fred Claus.”
The film works mostly because of its very memorable characters; they’re an interesting and highly entertaining mishmash of clashing personalities and conflicting mindsets. There’s Arthur, a young man who’s even jollier, merrier and Christmassier than his multicoloured woollen Christmas jumper; he’s loving and caring, and will travel halfway across the world just so one little girl won’t feel left out on Christmas morning. There’s Santa, who has become increasingly forgetful and a bit ditzy over his 70 years of service, but never means any harm. There’s Steve, a man who’s all business and little heart; he cares more about the Christmas operations going smoothly than about the children themselves. And there’s Grandsanta, a grumpy old git who laughs in the face of technology and praises the good old days when being Santa was much more simple; he’s a typical pensioner, just with flying reindeer in his basement.
I mentioned above that the film is in 3D. Now, I’m afraid I cannot comment on the quality of the 3D, as I attended a 2D screening, but what I will say is that in just two dimensions “Arthur Christmas” looks pretty darn incredible. The film is quite a spectacle, and the thrilling, swooping visuals that take us through the several set-pieces - which consist mostly of sleigh-rides - complement this perfectly. The animation, all done on those computer animating thingamajigs, while maybe not on a par with the works of Pixar or Dreamworks, is nonetheless splendidly done. The character movements are fluid and energetic, the settings are wonderfully designed and the set-pieces, of which there are many, are relentlessly thrilling. The film really is a Christmas feast for the eyes to behold, even in the version without all the eye-popping, stocking-filling, turkey-stuffing 3D.
Like a candy cane, “Arthur Christmas” is sweet. And like an unopened Christmas present, it’s bright and colourful, with a ribbon on top. It’s one of those rare family flicks that succeeds in actually being fun for all the family; the kids will love the action, the elves and the animation, and may even learn a lesson or two, while older audiences will be utterly charmed by the film’s creativity, wit, voice-work, the marvellous script and the lovable cast of characters. Whether or not it’s just for Christmas I don’t know, but what I do know is that, as a piece of entertainment, this is an absolute cracker.
9/10
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