Delightful 'Arthur' is an original adventure
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Arthur, voiced by James McAvoy, in 'Arthur Christmas.'
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Naturally, we all have this vision of Santa flying around on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, a big satchel of packages tucked behind him.
In reality, it doesn't work that way.
Santa actually travels in the S-1, a red spaceship bigger than the Enterprise, with a central command station in the North Pole and black-clad elves who zip down ropes, "Mission: Impossible" style.
That's the version we get in "Arthur Christmas," a new animation from first-time director Sarah Smith and Aardman Animations, the British company that brought us "Chicken Run" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." Right off the bat, "Arthur" has plenty going for it. First off, it's not a re-animated version of an old book or cartoon that was already a movie. It's original. Second, there's no sign of Tim Allen.
- Starring: Voices of James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie.
- Rating: PG for mild rude humor.
In this story, there are three generations of the Claus clan, who bicker like any other family, even giving up on playing "Christmas" the board game when they can't agree on who will get which piece. There's the roly-poly Santa (voice of Jim Broadbent), a benign figurehead on the verge of retirement; there's the already retired Grandsanta (Bill Nighy), a cranky old coot who sits around in his undershirt yelling at the TV; and then there are Santa's two sons, one of which is heir to the red suit.
Most likely it's Steve (Hugh Laurie), who looks like a GI Joe action figure and keeps the operation running with military precision. His younger brother, Arthur (James McAvoy), is the scrawny, bumbling but big-hearted son, who spends his days answering letters from the kids.
The massive Christmas Eve operation, a visual dazzler worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, looks like a wrap until a lone elf on cleanup duty discovers a gift never delivered, a bicycle traced to a girl in a remote English village. Steve and Santa have both declared "Mission Accomplished" to the troops, with a banner that's evocative of you-know-what, and now it's virtually impossible to get the bike under her tree before sunrise.
That's when Arthur, Grandsanta and high-spirited elf Bryony (Ashley Jensen) pull the ol' reindeer and sleigh out of storage and kick into action on a worldly adventure that's sure to go awry but end sweetly and heroically.
"Arthur Christmas" is a delightful new entry to the holiday, a vision of Christmas that we haven't seen before. The North Pole is as visually eye-popping as "The Polar Express" -- with more vibrant color -- the action won't startle the little ones (Whoville, anyone?) and the humor never sinks to sophomoric levels.
This might be the first year kids run downstairs to the tree, wondering if their packages came by reindeer or space cruiser.
First Published November 23, 2011 12:00 am
