Rating: Grade: A
Score: 8.7/10
Family-Friendliness Scale: Level 4 (Great)
Kids ages 5+
All the presents of the world covered, except for one....
The story finally reveals to us how Santa Claus can deliver all those presents in one night, by having a huge Lilo & Stitch-like Santa aircraft (replacing his sleigh) and hundreds of trained elves that go in every house in every city in less than five minutes. Completing their mission within five hours, Santa's son Arthur has a hard time fitting in. He's very clumsy and a bit accident-prone, but he loves his job of answering Santa's letters. But after the mission is over and all the elves have put away their gift dispensers for the year, it is later seen that an error has occured....a child's been missed!!! Apparently, one present fell from the conveyor belt and Arthur thinks the kid, a girl named Gwen from England, is going to think she's the one kid in the whole world that Santa doesn't care about. In desperation, Arthur and Grandsanta (haha) go out on the traditional sleigh and reindeer to get the last present delivered before sunrise.
Positive Notes
Bravery, self-sacrifice, and determination are strong morals that appear all throughout the film. Arthur is a selfless person, putting the needs of others before himself, even if his brother Steve rivals him to be the next Santa (following the current Santa's future planned retirement). He also says that every reply to the kids' letters should be "perfect for every kid". The one kid left behind is a solid reminder how each and every one is important in a distinct way. There are some really funny moments this film carries, including a few funny slapstick jokes done by the reindeer and Grandsanta.
Though not in the ballpark of some of the most recent animated films, the animation still sparkles with colorful backgrounds and 3D-like effects. The voice cast, including James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, Ashley Jensen, Eva Longoria, James Broadbent, and Imelda Staunton all do fantastic jobs with their characters. I also must credit the great promotional campaign the film has had, as I distinctly remember a teaser playing in front of last years' Tangled, and the trailers have been both funny and exciting. Harry Gregson-Williams delivers on the music score.
Negative Notes
Grandsanta pulls off a few mild off-color jokes. One use of the h-word and unfinished "what the...?" are barely audible and may be missed. Steve gets underwear from an elf for Christmas. Brief name-calling.
Not necessarily negative, but a few scenes do depict motion simulator-style action and comedic peril. Not a content concern, but the true meaning of Christmas is never mentioned.
Conclusion
Christmas movies, what would we do without them? For the most part (because I've run into some bad ones in the past), they've always had their share of heartwarming messages and childhood happiness that always makes us smile. Going in to see this, I was hoping this would be another Christmas classic rather than the toilet-humor infiltrated animated films that Sony Pictures Animation has done for the last few years.
Altogether, despite carrying a PG rating, Arthur Christmas is just about devoid of toilet humor and suggestive jokes (except for Grandsanta's occasional quips). Plus, the movie has a strong heart and colorful animation. Altogether, by the time the movie was over, I was smiling and found this to be probably the most pleasant surprise of the year.
Bursting with a colorful and engaging story and characters, plus subtle humor and clever plotlines, Arthur Christmas is the next holiday classic, a must-see event for families this holiday season and one of the best animated movies of the year.
