Arthur Christmas
/[Arthur, Grandsanta & Bryony are in the middle of the Atlantic] I've seen this before! Sleigh fever they call it! The Pressure of Christmas sends a man doo-lellied-tap! Santa Claus XVI of 1802! Every child that year got a sausage nailed to a piece of bark!
~ Grandsanta
quick fox: A- | Silver
winding dragon
Arthur Christmas (2011) is Aardman Animations’ fourth feature film, and arguably their most accomplished. Christmas movies can usually quite vanilla, grabbing for sentimental cheer like it’s the last toy on the shelf during the mad holiday shopping season. But while you could be excused for expecting Aardman, who are often the king of cheesy humor, to follow the same old Christmas tropes, Arthur Christmas has a surprisingly dark edge.
The premise of the film begins like any normal children’s story: ‘Twas the night before Christmas: everything proceeds as usual. Teams of special-ops elves deliver gifts with S.H.I.E.L.D-like equipment under the micromanagement of Steve while the figurehead and patriarch Santa Claus dutifully follows the action.
Yes, everything is normal—until the unimaginable happens. A present is forgotten and undelivered. Arthur, aghast, steals a sleigh and he, along with Grandsanta and Bryony the elf, travel around the world to deliver the gift before Christmas morning, setting off an hilarious adventure.
At the heart of Arthur Christmas is the dysfunctional Claus family. Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent) is unwilling to admit his physical and mental capabilities are no longer suited for the role. Mrs. Claus (Imelda Staunton) is the mild-mannered glue that keeps the family intact. Steve (Hugh Laurie), with his team of elves, literally and figuratively runs the Christmas operation. Arthur (James McAvoy) is the clumsy younger son unaware of his family’s tense relationships. Finally, there’s Grandsanta (Bill Nighy), the disgruntled former Santa Claus who dreams of reliving his glory years.
With Arthur Christmas, Aardman produced another technically-beautiful animated film. It was a little strange to see them depart from their stop-motion style and tackle CG, but like always, Aardman’s love for amusing background antics and understated one-liners drive the show. Furthermore, unlike most other Christmas movies, Arthur Christmas takes special care to shape the Claus family dynamics. The film also shifts the title of “Santa” from a mystical entity to a relatable figure, leaving enough room to sympathize with all the characters.
The highlight character in this film is Grandsanta. He’s quite memorable, because Aardman filters all their politically incorrect jokes through him and justifies it as the old age syndrome. One of my personal favorites was, “Your brother came along, with all his, ‘You can’t cut through Saigon. There’s a war.’ Rubbish.”
There isn’t much I have to say negatively. The thick accents are occasionally hard to understand. Also, I admit it took me about 10 minutes to get used to the animation of the people, with their strangely bulbous noses and polished skin. But in the end, the Clauses have to learn to love without expecting too much or too little from themselves and each other, which I suppose is all anyone can ask for this Christmas.