While it was a success with critics and audience members who saw it, Sony Pictures Animation’s collab with Aardman animation’s new movie titled Arthur Christmas was, unfortunately, a box office bomb as it didn’t make back its money and was sidelined by many other popular family movies that came out around the same time. I remember being around 14 years old when I saw the trailers for this movie and I remembered at the time looking very dumb. I felt the concept was too outlandish and the new ideas it had for how Santa delivers gifts didn’t sit well for someone who was already fine with the classic Santa mythos. It would take two years after its release for me to rent it and see how it would turn out and let's just say it was not the movie I was expecting to hail as a new Christmas classic and it completely made me realize how different but also fresh this new take on the Santa mythos was.
On Christmas eve night, a huge spaceship with a ton of elves delivers the presents without arousing suspicion. All this work is led by Steve (Hugh Laurie) who is was supposed to be next in line to take over as Santa (Jim Broadbent) after his father retires. However, Santa is so in love with his job that he unknowingly and selfishly wants to keep going despite his old age. When it is reported that a gift has been undelivered, Steve tries to ignore it saying their mission was still a success, Steve’s clumsy little brother Arthur (James McAvoy) who works in the mailroom though thinks that the gift should be delivered seeing that it’s from a girl named Gwen (Ramona Marquez) who is on the verge of not believing in Santa. Arthur teams up with Grand Santa (Bill Nighy) to use his old sleigh to get the gift in time before Gwen wakes up. However, things get complicated as a stowaway wrapping elf named Bryony (Ashley Jensen) joins in the adventure and Grand Santa may have different plans for using the sleigh than the ones Arthur thought they both had.
As mentioned previously, this movie takes a whole different approach to the Santa mythos and it was rather smart how they handled it. At first glance, I thought this movie was gonna be all about the modern ways that Christmas is delivered, and while that's true, it’s also about the old traditions as well and how they compare to today’s technology. The great thing is that neither the old way nor the new way is said to be better than the other as there are pros and cons to both. It’s a movie about evolving with the times and showing how the new ways are all the more effective but also how we may lose sight of the traditions of the old that made Christmas the way it once was. On top of all that, it’s funny, and I really do mean funny. There is a ton of character jokes and fast-paced humor to only someone like the creator at Aardam animation could come up with.
The real strength of the movie though comes from the characters and the message. I love all the characters and how almost each of them has an identifiable purpose. No one is right or wrong about anything they all have reasons for why they act a certain way. There seem to be different generations of Santa’s they are Santa, Grand Santa, and Steve. they all come from different backgrounds and each of them has a different view of how Christmas functions. This makes for great conflict and you do feel the pain for those characters especially for Grand Santa who just wants Christmas to function like in the good old days. Then there’s Arthur himself, He is very jolly in Christmas spirit but is also kinda clumsy. He is the heart of the movie and despite his clumsiness, he still knows how to follow his heart and he’ll do anything he can to accomplish his goal even if it means facing his fears. Then there are characters like Bryony the elf who also supplies some great side character comedy especially when she herself interacts off of Grand Santa which is super fun to watch.
Aardman animation has always been known for doing stop motion animation with clay figurines. It wouldn’t be the first time they dabbled in CG animation but this movie proves that Aardman can step outside their comfort zone and try a new style that is different but still effective in its execution. The background environments are huge and immersive and the characters despite their small-looking eyes, still look appealing and each design matched the character's personality to a tee. One thing this movie loves to do is go as fast and quick as possible as there is so much happening at one time that it would take many viewings to see everything the visuals have to offer. The way that they execute Steve’s way of delivering Christmas is very creative and very well thought out but even little things like Arthur riding in grand Santa's sleigh can also be very magical and wonderful.
While doing research I was shocked to find out that the great Micheal Giacchino who scored plenty of Pixar productions was originally attached to score Arthur Christmas along with fellow composer Adam Cohen. Instead, the movie landed on Harry Gregson-Williams who did previous Aardman Animation movie scores for both Chicken Run and Flushed Away. the score gives a very high octane but also magical feeling that works with the movie’s fast-paced speed perfectly.
This movie is a great example of not judging a book by its cover. This movie turned out to be one of the most charming and smartest movies that Aardman animations have ever created. I wasn’t so sure if having a story about the technological advances of the Santa operation would really work but thanks to its great characters and impressive world-building, I can surely tell you that it’s an animated Christmas flick that is absolutely full of Holly Jolly Greatness.
(Final Grade: A-)