Arthur Christmas
For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.
Critics Sentiment
Malcolm names Arthur the true Santa as Gwen opens her gift
The group accidentally arrives in Trelew Mexico causing military incident
The film recovers from its dragging middle section (5.8) to deliver a highly satisfying climax where all family members converge at Gwen's house (8.1).
Arthur Christmas starts strong with an impressive high-tech Santa operation that reviewers found innovative and entertaining. The film experiences some pacing issues in its middle act as the adventure becomes somewhat repetitive, but recovers beautifully with a heartwarming family resolution. Overall, reviewers praised the originality, animation quality, and strong voice performances while acknowledging the predictable but charming story structure.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 47
James McAvoy
Arthur (voice)
Hugh Laurie
Steve (voice)
Bill Nighy
Grandsanta (voice)
Jim Broadbent
Santa (voice)
Imelda Staunton
Mrs Santa (voice)
Ashley Jensen
Bryony (voice)
Marc Wootton
Peter (voice)
Laura Linney
North Pole Computer (voice)
Eva Longoria
Chief De Silva (voice)
Ramona Marquez
Gwen (voice)
Michael Palin
Ernie Clicker (voice)
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Lead Elf (voice)
Robbie Coltrane
Lead Elf (voice)
Joan Cusack
Lead Elf (voice)
Rhys Darby
Lead Elf (voice)
Jane Horrocks
Lead Elf (voice)
Iain McKee
Lead Elf (voice)
Andy Serkis
Lead Elf (voice)
Dominic West
Lead Elf (voice)
Peter Baynham
Elf (voice)
Crew
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