Movie Review: Arthur Christmas (2011)

Arthur Christmas (2011)
97 minutes
Rated – PG
Directed by Sarah Smith

Grade: B+

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As the holiday season is in full swing, Arthur Christmas pumps out the laughs, joy, and heart like in every family-friendly Christmas classic. This film will most certainly be a delight for both children and adults and I think it has the lasting power to potentially last as a holiday favorite for years to come.

Arthur is a kind but goofy, young man who works in the mail room at the North Pole. He’s the younger son of the current Santa. All expectations are that Santa will retire after this Christmas to make way for the technology-savvy, military-minded older brother of Arthur, Steve, but his anticipation is crushed when Santa declares he’s keeping his title for at least one more year. This creates a division inside the family.

The night takes a turn when their 100% delivery status to every child in the world winds up being untrue: there is one gift left behind and that means one child won’t have a gift on Christmas day. Santa and Steve are content with having an almost-perfect Christmas Eve, but Arthur believes this crisis must be resolved before Christmas morning. He, Grand-Santa, and Bryony (a gift-wrapping elf) embark on their journey to deliver the bicycle to the little girl, Gwen.

Let me just point out that the opening sequence of the hi-tech elves diving from the S-1 to drop the gifts underneath everyone’s Christmas tree was greatly entertaining and exhilarating. While the use of 3-D isn’t necessary to enjoy Arthur Christmas, it does enhance the many action scenes quite a bit.

Practically every Christmas film is about restoring the faith of the holiday and of Santa, and Arthur Christmas is no exception. But there is such a refreshing factor within this animated feature that I couldn’t help myself embracing the child inside of me. The film was full of cleverness, comedy, and holiday spirit, which makes it the perfect family Christmas movie of the year.