Music, Style & Culture

Arthur Christmas

With a saggy, repetitive middle, the film wastes its brilliant premise and many clever touches.

Released in cinemas 11th November 2011.

An inventive festive film from Aardman Animations, Arthur Christmas is a lot of fun, but lacks the necessary magic to make it a memorable Crimbo classic. The stop-motion team behind Wallace and Gromit follow up their first foray into computer animation, Flushed Away, by teaming up with Sony for the first of many features.

The brilliant scenario answers every child's question: how does Santa deliver presents to every child in the world over one night? The answer is an elaborate mission control in the North Pole, which sends out an Enterprise-style craft full of elves and Santa himself. With the job of Father Christmas a long lineage, Santa's oldest son Steve (voiced by Hugh Laurie) runs the night with military precision, while Arthur (James McAvoy) is the clumsy but excitable younger son confined to answering letters.

We learn all the tricks of Santa's trade in smart and funny riffs on Mission: Impossible - the moment when a noisy toy threatens to wake a child is a delight. When a little girl's dream bicycle is left behind due to a glitch, it breaks Arthur's heart that she will wake up thinking Santa has forgotten her. Despite his fear of flying, he teams up with Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) and an old-fashioned sleigh to deliver the present before dawn.

Co-scripted by director Sarah Smith (The Armando Iannucci Shows) and Alan Partridge and Brass Eye writer Peter Baynham (Borat, Bruno), it's fair to say this isn't typical kids' stuff. Risqué gags appear every now and again, but Arthur Christmas sits uncomfortably between the the subversive and the whimsical. With its age-old story of a boy wanting to prove himself, it's not dark enough to be truly relished by adults, but also lacks the unashamed magic of Disney Pixar's efforts.

There are some wonderful moments that make the 3D worthwhile, with the beautifully realised reindeer, and the fabulous Grandsanta and his false teeth, but the characters themselves aren't particularly appealing. With elves and humans all ruddy cheeks and bulbous noses, they quickly become bland. Mrs Santa (Imelda Staunton) is dreadful - a stiff, cheap-looking mockery of the Queen, content to utter "there, there" every now and again while slyly sorting out the world's problems. Arthur Christmas suffers immensely by having Santa himself (Jim Broadbent) a fairly unlikeable person. He's a passive, slightly dim and almost robotic figurehead that appears to care about very little, including his own family. Then there's a deeply irritating sidekick elf whose only contribution is to witter on about wrapping paper; although she does cause McAvoy to scream "Briony!" once again - a nice moment for Atonement fans.

Only Arthur and Grandsanta have any semblance of charm, with the latter particularly hilarious in a Father Jack way. McAvoy's enthusiasm is infectious, handy with the subplot involving Santa's long lineage and inheritance. With basic character arcs, and a saggy, repetitive middle, the film wastes its brilliant premise and many clever touches. However, there's so much joy to be had from Arthur's adventure and all the visual delights, it's hard to grumble.

Rating: 7/10