Film Review “Arthur Christmas”

Directed by: Sarah Smith
Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton,
Ashley Jensen, Ramona Marquez
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 97 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The holidays seasons are here and that means new Christmas movies. For kids that weren’t able to see “A Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas”, this is the film for them. “Arthur Christmas” is fun for the whole family. It is very colorful and funny for kids and it is witty for adults. The film also mixes in a little flavor of sci-fi with the whole spaceship/sleigh. I caught the film presented in 3D and I thought it was just OK and could have been seen in 2D, without losing anything. The story is fun, the voice cast is fantastic and it also has some great heart.

The story of “Arthur Christmas” follows Santa Clause and his family as we see the behind the scenes of what happened on the night Santa delivers the presents to the children of the world. We meet Arthur who is the clumsy son of Santa but he has a real heart for the spirit of Christmas. His older brother Steve is running the show behind the scenes helping Santa with his high tech equipment but ends up missing one child. Arthur sets out on a journey with the help of Grandsanta to deliver that one gift and shows what Christmas is all about.

The voice of Arthur is played by James McAvoy. He is funny and very likable. Hugh Laurie, aka Fox’s House, voices Steve, Arthur’s older brother and runner up to take over Santa’s reign. He is a awesome baddie. Jim Broadbent voices the big guy, Santa, and Bill Nighy voices Grandsanta and steals the show easily (as usual). Keep an ear out for other notable voices as well such as Will Sasso as American James, Joan Cusack as Mission Control Elf, Michael Palin as Ernie Clicke, Dominic West as Field Sargent Elf and Andy Serkis as General Elf.

One thing I would like to let Sony know if you going to include a music video by Justin Bieber, please make sure next time to include it AFTER the credits and not before. It was torturous having to watch that video. Overall though, this film will surely get you in the Christmas spirit and ready for the holidays. Get your family together and head out to enjoy this film this holiday season.