Arthur Christmas
Encyclopedia
Arthur Christmas is a 2011 British/American 3-D
computer animated
fantasy
comedy film
produced by Aardman Animations
and Sony Pictures Animation
, and distributed by Columbia Pictures
. It was released on November 11, 2011, in the UK, and on November 23, 2011, in the USA. The film was directed by Sarah Smith
, and it features voices of James McAvoy
, Hugh Laurie
, Jim Broadbent
, Bill Nighy
, Imelda Staunton
and Ashley Jensen
. Set on the North Pole, the plot tells about Santa's son Arthur Christmas, who must complete a mission before Christmas morning.
, his wife, his two sons Arthur and Steve, and their grandfather, Grandsanta. Set on Christmas Eve
night, the film opens with a set of elves sitting behind their computers at the commando bridge of Santa's gigantic, ultra-high-tech sleigh. While Santa and the elves deliver presents to children using fancy advanced equipment and military precision, Santa's oldest son Steve is managing the operation at mission control. Suddenly, Santa's clumsy younger son Arthur, who works at the post station answering childrens' letters, rushes into to deliver correspondence disturbing their operation to everyone's resentment.
With the seventieth annual delivery mission under his official command completed, Santa, whose role in field operations now is largely symbolic, returns to give a congratulatory speech to the elves. Much to Steve's frustration, who has long anticipated succeeding his father, Santa announces he intends to continue for the foreseeable future.
During their family Christmas dinner, Arthur suggestion for the family to play a board game degenerates into a petty quarrel with Santa and Steve proxy arguing about their right to be Santa while Grandsanta, who is bored by retirement, resentfully criticizes his successors' modernization of their calling. Distraught, the various family members leave the dinner table, though Arthur stops Steve with a small gesture to reassure him that he will be a great Santa Claus. However, Steve rejects Arthur's overture, while at the same time their father shares his doubts with his wife about his self-identity if he retires.
Meanwhile, an elf named Bryony finds a wrapped bicycle that has not yet been delivered. She alerts Steve and his elf-assistant to the problem. Overhearing, Arthur is alarmed to recognize the present as a gift for a little girl named Gwen, who had written Santa about her wish. Arthur alerts his father Santa, obviously past his prime, who doesn't know how to handle the situation. Steve argues that one missed present out of the billions of deliveries that night is a minimal error and since sunrise is in two hours with the high-tech sled needing an overhaul, correcting that oversight will have to wait a few days.
The distraught Arthur is stopped by his grandfather, who proposes delivering the gift with his old wooden sleigh named Evie, and the great-grandchildren of his old reindeer. Together, Grandsanta, Arthur, the reindeer, and Bryony who stows away, embark on a journey to deliver the present. They get lost and land in danger including they are mistaken for aliens, thus causing an international military incident and losing reindeer in the various mishaps. Through the group's struggles, Arthur is profoundly disillusioned to learn that Grandasanta is doing this merely to satisfy his ego, Steve refuses to help them out of a petty resentment of perceiving that Arthur is threatening his succession and his own father has gone to bed, apparently content to neglect his duty to that girl.
Finally, while stranded in Cuba after losing the sleigh, Arthur gets an renewal of purpose that the girl needs him and the field team manages regain control of the sleigh. Meanwhile, the Elf staff are collectively alarmed at learning of this neglected delivery and Santa's befuddled excuses sends them into a panic that their organization's ideals have been violated, threatening their whole existence. In response, Mr. and Mrs. Clause, and belatedly Steve, take the high tech sleigh to deliver the present. Unfortunately, they are seriously delayed by a basic mistake by Santa with the craft's navigation system which causes a embarrassing incident that reveals Steve's lack of empathy and compassion with his poor handling of the mistaken child while the elder son, humiliated at the misunderstanding, loses his temper at his father's aged incompetence.
After much difficulty with Mrs. Claus and Bryony's help, all the male Clauses arrive at Gwen's house before she awakens, only to have all but Arthur quarrel about who finally places the gift. Noticing that only Arthur truly cares about the girl's feelings in the Christmas spirit in this situation, the elder Clauses realize that he is the sole true worthy successor. As a result, Santa gives Arthur the honor and Steve forfeits his birthright to his brother.
Ultimately, the problem of who will be the next Santa Claus is settled to everyone's satisfaction: Santa goes into a happy retirement with Mrs. Claus while Grandsanta's desire for some traditionalism is satisfied with the compromise of the high tech sleigh being pulled by a 5000 reindeer team lead by the original eight reindeer, who all managed to return home after that difficult run. As for their sons, Steve finds he is content being CEO, overseeing the operation's technical matters with Vice President Bryony's help while Arthur happily guides the enterprise in the proper spirit as the new Santa.
and its subsidiaries.
Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the U.K. before relocating to Sony's Culver City, US, for another 18 months of production. On April 27, 2009, it was reported that the production has begun with Aardman
and Sony Pictures Imageworks
working together on animation.
Originally, Michael Giacchino
and Adam Cohen
were going to compose the score.
based on 90 reviews.
John Anderson from Newsday praised the film, saying "The results are not only fresh, but represent a new way of tackling the whole yuletide paradigm: Santa as a high-tech hereditary monarchy." Michael O'Sullivan also wrote a positive review, saying that it is "Unexpectedly fresh, despite the familiar-sounding premise."
Blake Wilson, author of the review site Movies Taken Seriously, awarded the film four stars and stated, "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 the best animated film of the year".
and released on November 14, 2011 by Sony Classical. Before the viewing of Arthur Christmas, the music video of Santa Claus is coming to town sung by Justin Bieber
was viewed in cinemas in Australia.
video game titled Arthur Christmas: Elf Run was released in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2011, on iTunes App Store. The U.S. version was due for release to coincide with the theatrical release, which is November 23, 2011. The game allows players to play as delivery elves, who must quickly and quietly deliver gifts to children.
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
computer animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
produced by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
and Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation is an American computer-animated film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, founded in May 2002. It is working closely with Sony Pictures Imageworks, which takes care of the digital production...
, and distributed by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. It was released on November 11, 2011, in the UK, and on November 23, 2011, in the USA. The film was directed by Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith , is a Scottish television news reporter who currently serves as the Business correspondent for Britain's Channel 4 News. She had previously been the channel's Washington correspondent, but moved to her new post in the summer of 2011...
, and it features voices of James McAvoy
James McAvoy
James McAvoy is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play, Shameless, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune...
, Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
, Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
, Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
and Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress who is best known for her roles in the television series Extras for which she was nominated for an Emmy, and ABC's Ugly Betty...
. Set on the North Pole, the plot tells about Santa's son Arthur Christmas, who must complete a mission before Christmas morning.
Plot
The story of Arthur Christmas revolves around the current Santa ClausSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, his wife, his two sons Arthur and Steve, and their grandfather, Grandsanta. Set on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
night, the film opens with a set of elves sitting behind their computers at the commando bridge of Santa's gigantic, ultra-high-tech sleigh. While Santa and the elves deliver presents to children using fancy advanced equipment and military precision, Santa's oldest son Steve is managing the operation at mission control. Suddenly, Santa's clumsy younger son Arthur, who works at the post station answering childrens' letters, rushes into to deliver correspondence disturbing their operation to everyone's resentment.
With the seventieth annual delivery mission under his official command completed, Santa, whose role in field operations now is largely symbolic, returns to give a congratulatory speech to the elves. Much to Steve's frustration, who has long anticipated succeeding his father, Santa announces he intends to continue for the foreseeable future.
During their family Christmas dinner, Arthur suggestion for the family to play a board game degenerates into a petty quarrel with Santa and Steve proxy arguing about their right to be Santa while Grandsanta, who is bored by retirement, resentfully criticizes his successors' modernization of their calling. Distraught, the various family members leave the dinner table, though Arthur stops Steve with a small gesture to reassure him that he will be a great Santa Claus. However, Steve rejects Arthur's overture, while at the same time their father shares his doubts with his wife about his self-identity if he retires.
Meanwhile, an elf named Bryony finds a wrapped bicycle that has not yet been delivered. She alerts Steve and his elf-assistant to the problem. Overhearing, Arthur is alarmed to recognize the present as a gift for a little girl named Gwen, who had written Santa about her wish. Arthur alerts his father Santa, obviously past his prime, who doesn't know how to handle the situation. Steve argues that one missed present out of the billions of deliveries that night is a minimal error and since sunrise is in two hours with the high-tech sled needing an overhaul, correcting that oversight will have to wait a few days.
The distraught Arthur is stopped by his grandfather, who proposes delivering the gift with his old wooden sleigh named Evie, and the great-grandchildren of his old reindeer. Together, Grandsanta, Arthur, the reindeer, and Bryony who stows away, embark on a journey to deliver the present. They get lost and land in danger including they are mistaken for aliens, thus causing an international military incident and losing reindeer in the various mishaps. Through the group's struggles, Arthur is profoundly disillusioned to learn that Grandasanta is doing this merely to satisfy his ego, Steve refuses to help them out of a petty resentment of perceiving that Arthur is threatening his succession and his own father has gone to bed, apparently content to neglect his duty to that girl.
Finally, while stranded in Cuba after losing the sleigh, Arthur gets an renewal of purpose that the girl needs him and the field team manages regain control of the sleigh. Meanwhile, the Elf staff are collectively alarmed at learning of this neglected delivery and Santa's befuddled excuses sends them into a panic that their organization's ideals have been violated, threatening their whole existence. In response, Mr. and Mrs. Clause, and belatedly Steve, take the high tech sleigh to deliver the present. Unfortunately, they are seriously delayed by a basic mistake by Santa with the craft's navigation system which causes a embarrassing incident that reveals Steve's lack of empathy and compassion with his poor handling of the mistaken child while the elder son, humiliated at the misunderstanding, loses his temper at his father's aged incompetence.
After much difficulty with Mrs. Claus and Bryony's help, all the male Clauses arrive at Gwen's house before she awakens, only to have all but Arthur quarrel about who finally places the gift. Noticing that only Arthur truly cares about the girl's feelings in the Christmas spirit in this situation, the elder Clauses realize that he is the sole true worthy successor. As a result, Santa gives Arthur the honor and Steve forfeits his birthright to his brother.
Ultimately, the problem of who will be the next Santa Claus is settled to everyone's satisfaction: Santa goes into a happy retirement with Mrs. Claus while Grandsanta's desire for some traditionalism is satisfied with the compromise of the high tech sleigh being pulled by a 5000 reindeer team lead by the original eight reindeer, who all managed to return home after that difficult run. As for their sons, Steve finds he is content being CEO, overseeing the operation's technical matters with Vice President Bryony's help while Arthur happily guides the enterprise in the proper spirit as the new Santa.
Cast
- James McAvoyJames McAvoyJames McAvoy is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play, Shameless, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune...
as Arthur, good-natured but clumsy younger son of Santa and Mrs. Santa. - Hugh LaurieHugh LaurieJames Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
as Steve, Santa and Mrs. Santa's eldest son and Arthur's cool and incredibly capable, but commonly arrogant older brother. - Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
as Santa, the guy in charge at the North Pole, Mrs. Santa's husband and Steve and Arthur's father. - Bill NighyBill NighyWilliam Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Grandsanta, Santa's 136 years old cranky father, who hates the modern world and grandfather of Steve and Arthur. - Imelda StauntonImelda StauntonImelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
as Mrs. Santa, Santa's dedicated wife and Steve and Arthur's mother. - Ashley JensenAshley JensenAshley Jensen is a Scottish actress who is best known for her roles in the television series Extras for which she was nominated for an Emmy, and ABC's Ugly Betty...
as Bryony, elf from the Giftwrap Battalion. - Will SassoWill SassoWilliam "Will" Sasso is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.-Early life:...
as American James - Ramona MarquezRamona MarquezRamona Marquez is an English child actress from Wandsworth, South London, most known for her role as Karen Brockman in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered...
as Gwen, the girl whose present Arthur must deliver. - Iain McKeeIain McKeeIain McKee is an English actor best known for his role as Frank Gadney in BBC1 drama series Lilies and Michael in BBC sitcom The Visit. He is originally from Bolton and now lives in North London, UK.-Filmography:...
as Thomas Jack - Joan CusackJoan CusackJoan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
as Mission Control Elf - Robbie ColtraneRobbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
as Old Doom-Laden Scottish Elf - Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
as Ernie Clicke - Dominic WestDominic WestDominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
as Field Sargent Elf - Andy SerkisAndy SerkisAndrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
as General Elf - Miggie Donahue as Pedro
Production
Arthur Christmas was first announced in 2007, under the name Operation Rudolph. It was the first film made by Aardman in partnership with Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
and its subsidiaries.
Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the U.K. before relocating to Sony's Culver City, US, for another 18 months of production. On April 27, 2009, it was reported that the production has begun with Aardman
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
and Sony Pictures Imageworks
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Sony Pictures Imageworks, Inc. is a visual effects and character animation company headquartered in Culver City, California, USA. SPI is a division of Sony Pictures Digital Productions, which oversees the digital production and online entertainment assets of Sony Pictures Entertainment.The company...
working together on animation.
Originally, Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
and Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen is an American journalist and assistant editorial page editor of The New York Times. Cohen is a lawyer and author, with a particular interest in legal issues, politics and technology...
were going to compose the score.
Reception
Arthur Christmas has received overall critical acclaim, with the film having a 92% "Fresh" rating on critic aggregator site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 90 reviews.
John Anderson from Newsday praised the film, saying "The results are not only fresh, but represent a new way of tackling the whole yuletide paradigm: Santa as a high-tech hereditary monarchy." Michael O'Sullivan also wrote a positive review, saying that it is "Unexpectedly fresh, despite the familiar-sounding premise."
Blake Wilson, author of the review site Movies Taken Seriously, awarded the film four stars and stated, "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 the best animated film of the year".
Box Office
The film took in estimates of $2.4 million and $1.9 million on Wednesday and Thursday, charting in fourth and seventh on those days. The film is estimated to gross in the $15-$18 million range for the 5-day extended frame, though it could be higher if audiences are out in higher numbers over the traditional three-day number.Soundtrack
Arthur Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was composed by Harry Gregson-WilliamsHarry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
and released on November 14, 2011 by Sony Classical. Before the viewing of Arthur Christmas, the music video of Santa Claus is coming to town sung by Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
was viewed in cinemas in Australia.
Track listing
Video games
An iOSIOS
iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
video game titled Arthur Christmas: Elf Run was released in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2011, on iTunes App Store. The U.S. version was due for release to coincide with the theatrical release, which is November 23, 2011. The game allows players to play as delivery elves, who must quickly and quietly deliver gifts to children.