Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Dirtylogy
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
gordonroad-62850
Aardman prove that their films don't need to be stop-motion clay animation for them to be good. Arthur Christmas is a great modern Christmas film with the right amount of positivity and sentimentality. What I found brilliant about the film was the theme of old vs new, with how technology has incorporated itself firmly into the process of delivering the presents and how the old has been pushed off to the side. This is explored beautifully through how old vs new can be mixed to great effectiveness, and makes for a great moral message.The humour is delightful, especially from Bill Nighy's Grandsanta who is an absolute delight with his nostalgic ramblings. The voicework in general is fantastic from an all-star cast including James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Imedlda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Hugh Laurie and even Michael Palin in a small role.Overall, this is a lovely animated film, and one that is worthy to be held up with the best of the best in terms of Christmas films.
bowmanblue
Arthur Christmas is one of those rare computer generated films which is lucky enough to have things in common with such greats as Toy Story and Shrek, i.e. it can be watched on many levels and therefore enjoyed by both adults and children.It tells the (very British) story of Father Christmas' operation and how he, and his family, plus an army of highly-trained elves, delivers presents to all the boys and girls on one night. However, his family-run business hits a rocky patch when one little girl is accidentally missed out, threatening to ruin Father Christmas' good name in the process. Step up Arthur (youngest son of Father) Christmas, who with the help of an elf with an obsession of wrapping things in pretty paper and bows, plus his aging (and slightly senile) Grandfather (aka 'Grand Santa') set about making the one last drop on Christmas Eve in which to get the present to the girl before she wakes up and thinks Father Christmas has forgotten about her.It's not a particularly complicated story and, on hearing about it, I first wondered how much mileage could be made out of it. The trailer looks impressive, but sometimes they squeeze all the best gags into the ninety second trailer and there's nothing left for the film itself. Luckily, this is not the case. The story is truly charming. It highlights the best of British (vocal) acting talent and weaves it into a heartfelt story about family at Christmas with jokes that will make children chuckle, while others will go straight over their heads for 'parents only' to enjoy.I'm no fan of Christmas. I think it's over-hyped, expensive and too commercial. Many a Christmas ever I've locked out the three well-meaning ghosts, but Arthur Christmas even managed to make me feel almost festive - an emotion that Dudley Moore couldn't even manage in his Father Christmas movie. That's how good Arthur Christmas really is (unless I'm experiencing a mid life crisis a few years early).
webberrules
As a huge fan of Aardman, I could not wait to see Arthur Christmas and I was not disappointed. Christmas is also one of my favourite holidays.It had a hilarious story about how Santa Claus works around that time of year to get all the presents to the children in time. It had excellent voice acting with James McAvoy as Arthur Claus, Hugh Laurie as Steven "Steve" Claus, Bill Nighy as Grand Santa, Jim Broadbent as Malcolm "Santa" Claus, Imelda Staunton as Margaret Claus and Ramona Marquez as Gwen Hines to name a few. It also had great animation, Aardman used computer animation instead of stop- motion clay animation, nice to see a style, lovable characters, a fantastic score by Harry Gregson-Williams, and the chemistry between Arthur and Gwen was really heartwarming.If you have not seen this movie, go ahead and watch it right now. A must watch!
dracuella
I happened upon a trailer for Arthur Christmas when trying to find films to get into that special Christmas mood which eluded me for some reason - perhaps the lack of snow and general cheeriness. I was a bit skeptic since a lot of animation lately have been kept simple - as in unvaried, non-complex and mundane - in both story and execution but Arthur Christmas was nothing of the kind: Brilliant animation to dazzle and keep you watching, ingeniously written characters that you cannot help but love, a fantastical story with an innovative and credible depiction of how Santa works in this age of technology and how he actually manages to distribute all those gifts around the world. It is a tale about family and persistence and what it means to do the proper thing even when it's hard and you feel discouraged. And it is funny and heartwarming and made me feel gooey and fuzzy inside. A proper feel-good film. But let's be honest, it will not be for everyone. There is always someone who expects more than any film can carry and so I must tell you this: if you don't like Christmas films, animation and the British, this film will not be for you. You Scrooge.
