Arthur Christmas

Director:  Sarah Smith
Cast: (voices of) James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Ashley Jensen, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent
Releasing in cinemas: 24 November 2011
Rated: PG

The season to be jolly is fast approaching, heralding the inevitable arrival of animated Christmas films, children's stories usually starring the fat old man in the red suit. There's the French/Australian production Santa's Apprentice (rather retro with a nostalgic charm aimed at the very young), and now we have the more sophisticated Arthur Christmas from the clever Aardman team of Wallace and Gromit fame.

The film immediately poses the often asked question “How does Santa deliver toys to all the world’s children in one night?” The answer - by using a myriad of elves and a heap of high technology in a command centre which would put NASA to shame.

Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy), the slightly clumsy son of the present Santa, is much in the shadow of his older brother Steve (Hugh Laurie), who organizes the mass toy drop each year with military precision. The aging, perhaps lazy, Santa (Jim Broadbent) is now just a figurehead. On Christmas night at the North Pole, the last drop of presents from the super 'mother ship' sleigh and hoards of rappelling elves doing flash gift delivery has been completed. Then - horror - one child, Gwen in Cornwall, has been forgotten. Steve would perhaps like to overlook the little girl as a statistical error, but Arthur insists she should get her bike for Xmas morning.

Finally gaining the assistance of rickety and rambunctious Grandpa Santa (Bill Nighy), Arthur sets off to deliver the parcel by the old traditional method of sled and reindeer; with Bryony (Ashley Jensen), the gift-wrapping elf, in tow. Little does he know the breadth of the adventure on which he's embarking, which will involve being lost in darkest Africa, attacked by lions, and shot down as an unidentified aircraft by the United Nations. The crazy fun mostly keeps bubbling along.

The film is helmed by Sarah Smith (directing for the first time) from a script co-written with Peter Baynham, who also penned Arthur and Borat. The smattering of adult dialogue should keep parents happy, with prickly lines such as Grandpa's politically dubious contribution, “Then they used to say it was impossible to teach women to read”. Plenty of fast moving visuals to keep the kiddies enthralled, with affectionate references to other movies.

Impressive voicing by well known actors beings the characters to life. James McAvoy (Atonement) does his best to make Arthur an appealing hero in a sympathetic reading; while Hugh Laurie (House - TV) leaves his medical skills behind to give Steve a suitably stiff upper lip. Bill Nighy (Rango) has fun with his gruff grandpa, and Ashley Jensen (Gnomeo & Juliet), sounds funny when she opens her mouth to say “there's always time for a bow” even if some of her dialogue escaped me. They’re backed up by veterans Jim Broadbent (Another Year) as the world-weary Santa, and Imelda Staunton looking like our Queen in domestic mode, as his caring and capable wife.

A hint of Wallace and Gromit comes through the visuals with the fine animation, while impressive 3D moments include the sweeping opening tracking shot into an English village, and the old sleigh hurtling through space, often upside down, with reindeer every which way. This is not quite up to the high standard of Aardman’s best work, the character of Arthur is a little lacklustre without the comic invention of Wallace, along with a couple of stretched patches in the action. Grandpa Santa and Steve step up to the plate, winning the loudest chuckles.

A gently amusing and pleasant choice for a family outing over the holidays, kids and parents both should find enjoyment in the madcap flight to save a little girl’s Christmas.  

John Bale