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Arthur Christmas (2011)Arthur Christmas (2011)

Arthur Christmas (2011)

A hilarious, underseen holiday gem that's sweet and smart enough for adults and kids

Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Kids

best
THE VERY BEST

8.0

movie

UK, United Kingdom
English, Spanish
Feel-Good, Funny, Heart-warming
2011
Barry Cook, Female director
Alistair McGowan, Andy Serkis, Ashley Jensen
97 min

Synopsis

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imdb
wikipedia
This movie reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: "So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?" The answer: Santa's (Jim Broadbent's) exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the center of this movie is a story about a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur (James McAvoy), with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.

Our Take

8.0
The Staff

A recent holiday classic you likely haven’t seen, Arthur Christmas uses its premise of the North Pole as a massive spy organization to touch on how commercialization tears people apart. It’s a surprisingly smart film with a fascinating dynamic among its family of Santas, with an incredibly funny script full of dry, British wit. And while the animation may already look dated at first glance, Arthur Christmas more than makes up for its looks with truly imaginative art direction and director Sarah Smith’s fast-paced set pieces. This is that rare Chirstmas movie that doesn’t just surrender to schmaltz; the lessons learned by the characters here are unique, complex, and timeless.

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