Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sarah Smith
Produced by Steve Pegram
Written by Peter Baynham
Sarah Smith
Story by Sarah Smith (uncredited)
Starring James McAvoy
Hugh Laurie
Bill Nighy
Jim Broadbent
Imelda Staunton
Ashley Jensen
Marc Wootton
Laura Linney
Eva Longoria
Ramona Marquez
Michael Palin
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Jericca Cleland
Edited by John Carnochan
James Cooper
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • November 11, 2011 (United Kingdom)
  • November 23, 2011 (United States)
Running time
 97 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Budget $100 million[2]
Box office $147,419,472[3]

Arthur Christmas is a 2011 British/American 3-D computer animated Christmas comedy film, produced by Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation as their first collaborative project. The film was released on November 11, 2011, in the UK, and on November 23, 2011, in the USA.[4]

Directed by Sarah Smith, and co-directed by Barry Cook,[4] it features voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Ramona Marquez and Michael Palin. Set on Christmas night, the film tells a story about the Santa Claus' clumsy son Arthur Claus who discovers that the Santas' high-tech ship has failed to deliver one girl's present, goes on a mission to save her Christmas, accompanied only by his aging grandfather, a rebellious yet enthusiastic young Christmas Elf obsessed with wrapping gifts for children, and a team of eight strong, magical yet untrained reindeer.

Arthur Christmas was very well received by critics, who praised its animation and humorous, smart and heart-warming story.[5] The film earned $147 million at the box office on a $100 million budget.[3]

Plot

Set on Christmas Eve, the film opens with hundreds of Christmas elves helming the command centre of Santa Claus's mile-wide,[6] ultra–high-tech sleigh-esque craft, the S-1. Santa and the Christmas elves deliver presents to every child in the world using advanced equipment and military precision. These complex operations are micromanaged by Santa's oldest son Steve and his obsequious elfin assistant Peter (among thousands of more elves) at mission control underneath the North Pole, while Steve's clumsy and panophobic younger brother Arthur answers the letters to Santa. During a delivery operation, when a child wakes up and almost sees Santa, a Christmas elf back in the S-1 inadvertently presses a button, causing a present to fall off a conveyor and go unnoticed.

Having completed his 70th mission, Santa is portrayed as far past his prime and whose role in field operations now is largely symbolic. Nonetheless, he is held in high esteem, and delivers a congratulatory speech to the enraptured elves. Much to Steve's frustration, who has long anticipated succeeding his father, Santa announces he looks forward to his 71st. During their family Christmas dinner, Arthur's suggestion for the family to play a board game degenerates into a petty quarrel between Santa and Steve, while Grand-Santa, bored by retirement, resentfully criticizes their over-modernization. Distraught, the various family members leave the dinner table. When Arthur humbly compliments Steve that he believes he will be a great Santa Claus, Steve rudely dismisses Arthur's overture. Later, their father shares with Mrs. Claus his grave doubts about his self-identity should he retire.

Meanwhile, a Christmas elf named Bryony finds the missed present—a wrapped bicycle that has yet to be delivered—and alerts Steve and Peter to the problem. Arthur is alarmed when he recognizes the present as a gift for Gwen, a little girl whose letter he had personally replied to. Arthur alerts his father, who is at a loss as to how to handle the situation; Steve argues that one missed present out of billions is an acceptable error whose correction can wait a few days. Grand-Santa on the other hand, apparently learning of the dire situation, proposes delivering the gift using Eve (mispronounced as "evie"), his old wooden sleigh, and the great-great-grandchildren of the original eight reindeer, forcefully whisking away a reluctant Arthur and a stowaway Bryony. They get lost in three different continents, lose several of their reindeer, and land in danger several times, ultimately being mistaken for aliens and causing an international military incident. Through all this, Arthur eventually learns, to his compounding disappointment, that Grand-Santa's true motive is to fulfill his ego, that Steve refuses to help them out of petty resentment and possibility of his brother being made hero overshadowing his work, and that his own father has gone to bed, apparently content even though a present was not delivered.

Finally, stranded in Cuba after losing the sleigh and the remaining reindeer, Arthur renews his sense of purpose—that it all comes down to having presents delivered, regardless of how it is done and who did it—and with Grand-Santa's and Bryony's help manages to recover the sleigh. Meanwhile, the elves grow increasingly alarmed at rumors of this neglected delivery and the Clauses' unthinkable indifference, sending them into a panic. In response, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Steve take the high-tech sleigh-craft to deliver a superior present—to the wrong child.

In the meantime, Arthur and his party lose the remaining reindeer and a US Predator drone scrambled by Chief De Silva of UNFITA intercepts and opens fire on them thinking that they were aliens, causing Arthur to bail out of the sleigh, via parachute. Ultimately with Mrs. Claus' and Bryony's help, all the male Clauses arrive at Gwen's house before she awakens, only to have all but Arthur quarrel about who gets to actually place the gift. Noticing that only Arthur truly cares about the girl's feelings, the elder Clauses collectively realize that he is the sole worthy successor. As a result, Santa gives Arthur the honor and Steve, upon learning of his own errors and acknowledges that his brother is the worthy Santa instead of him, forfeits his supposed birthright to his brother. In a fitting conclusion, Gwen glimpses a snow-bearded Arthur in a wind-buffeted sweater just before vanishing up into the S-1.

With the crisis resolved, Santa goes into a happy retirement with Mrs. Claus; he also becomes Grand-Santa's much-desired new companion and plays Arthur's board game with him for many happy hours. Meanwhile, Steve finds true contentment as Chief Operating Officer while Bryony is promoted to Vice-President of Packing, Pacific Division. In a nod to traditionalism once neglected, the high-tech S-1 is re-christened EVIE in honor of Grand-Santa's old sleigh and refitted to be pulled by a team of five thousand reindeer—led by the original eight, all of whom managed to return safely via innate navigational abilities. Finally, Arthur happily guides the entire enterprise in the proper spirit as the new Santa.

Cast

Lead elves voiced by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Robbie Coltrane, Joan Cusack, Rhys Darby, Jane Horrocks, Iain McKee, Andy Serkis, and Dominic West.

Production

Arthur Christmas was first announced in 2007, under the name Operation Rudolph.[9][10] It was the first film made by Aardman in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment and its subsidiaries.[11]

Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the U.K. before relocating to Sony's Culver City, US, for another 18 months of production.[12] On April 27, 2009, it was reported that the production had begun with Aardman and Sony Pictures Imageworks working together on animation.[13]

Originally, Michael Giacchino and Adam Cohen were going to compose the score.[4]

Release

The film was released on November 11, 2011 in the United Kingdom and on November 23, 2011 in the United States.[4]

Home media

Arthur Christmas was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on November 6, 2012, in the US,[14] and November 19, 2012 in the UK.[15]

Reception

Critical response

Arthur Christmas has received positive reviews, praising its fresh take on the Christmas premise. Review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, reports that 92% of critics gave the film positive reviews, earning a "Fresh" rating. The site's consensus reads: "Aardman Animations broadens their humor a bit for Arthur Christmas, a clever and earnest holiday film with surprising emotional strength."[5] The film won a Golden Tomato Award at the 13th Golden Tomato Awards as the best reviewed animated film of 2011.[16] On Metacritic, another review aggregator, the film holds a score of 69 based on 32 reviews.[17]

John Anderson from Newsday praised the film, saying, "The results are not only funny and fresh, but represent a new way of tackling the whole yuletide paradigm: Santa as a high-tech hereditary monarchy."[18] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post also wrote a positive review, saying that it is "unexpectedly fresh, despite the familiar-sounding premise".[19] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times wrote that "the plot may be a little too cluttered for the toddler crowd to follow, but the next age group up should be amused, and the script by Peter Baynham and Sarah Smith has plenty of sly jokes for grown-ups."[20] One of the few negative reviews came from Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald, who thought that "the movie fails utterly at coming up with a story that merits all the eye candy."[21]

Box office

Arthur Christmas has earned $46,462,469 in North America,[3] $33,334,089 in the UK,[22] and $67,622,914 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $147,419,472.[3]

In the United Kingdom the film opened in second place with a £2.5 million weekend gross, behind Immortals. It topped the box office in its fourth week, by which time the cumulative gross was £11.5 million. The film returned to the top of the box office on week seven, during Christmas Week, grossing £2.05m and a total of £19.7m.[23]

In the United States and Canada the film earned $2.4 million on its opening day and $1.8 million on Thanksgiving Day. It would go on to gross $12.1 million over the three-day weekend and $16.3 million over the five-day. This was on par with studio expectations. The film went on to gross nearly $50 million domestically against a $100 million budget.[24][25]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result
Alliance of Women Film Journalists[26] Animated Film Nominated
Annie Awards[27] Best Animated Feature Nominated
Character Design in a Feature Production Peter de Sève Nominated
Storyboarding in a Feature Production Kris Pearn Nominated
Voice Acting in a Feature Production Ashley Jensen Nominated
Bill Nighy Won
Writing in a Feature Production Sarah Smith, Peter Baynham Nominated
British Academy of Film and Television Arts[28] Animated Film Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards[29] Best Animated Feature Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association[30] Animated Film Nominated
Golden Globe Award[31] Best Animated Feature Film Nominated
Online Film Critics Society [32] Best Animated Feature Nominated
Satellite Awards[33] Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society[34] Best Animated Film Won
Visual Effects Society[35] Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture Doug Ikeler, Chris Juen, Alan Short, Mandy Tankenson Nominated
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in an Animated Feature Motion Picture Michael Ford, David Morehead, Emi Tahira Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle[36] Best Animated Females Nominated

Soundtrack

Arthur Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Harry Gregson-Williams
Released November 14, 2011
Genre Soundtrack
Length 46:50
Label Sony Classical, Madison Gate Records

Arthur Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and released on November 14, 2011 by Sony Classical.[37]

The music video for Justin Bieber's song Santa Claus is Coming to Town, which plays over the end credits, was exclusively shown in theatres before the film.[38]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Trelew, Cornwall, England"   1:48
2. "Operation Christmas"   4:54
3. "Waker!"   2:51
4. "Mission Control"   2:55
5. "One Missed Child"   3:00
6. "Bring Them Home"   1:43
7. "Dash Away"   3:46
8. "Paris Zoo?"   2:29
9. "The Wrong Trelew"   1:54
10. "Race to Gwen's House"   2:09
11. "Arthur's Sadness"   2:22
12. "Serengeti Escape"   2:24
13. "Worry Me!"   1:37
14. "Space Travel"   2:48
15. "Goodbye Evie"   2:48
16. "Christmas Morning"   4:00
17. "We Wish You A..."   0:48
18. "Make Someone Happy" (Performed by Bill Nighy) 2:34
Total length:
 46:50

Video game

An iOS video game titled Arthur Christmas: Elf Run was released in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2011, on iTunes App Store.[39] On November 18, 2011, the game was released worldwide on the iOS and Android platform.[40] Released as a free and a premium version, the game allows players to play as delivery elves, who must quickly and quietly deliver gifts to children. Another iOS app based on the film is Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook, which was released on 30 November 2011.[41]

References

  1. ↑ "Arthur Christmas". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, Amy (November 24, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Breaking Dawn' to devour three new family films". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Arthur Christmas". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 DeMott, Rick (November 2, 2010). "Aardman's Arthur Christmas Lines Up All-Star British Cast". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Arthur Christmas (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (22 November 2011). "Making Arthur Christmas’ Sci-Fi Sleigh". Wired. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Michel, Brett (November 23, 2011). "Movie review: 'Arthur Christmas' delivers a sleighful of fun". Morning Sun. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  8. ↑ Hill, Jim (October 27, 2011). "Arthur Christmas Preview Reveals the Celebrities Who Are Hiding Under Aardman's Tree". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Aardman reveals new slate". Variety. June 18, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  10. ↑ Winning, Josh (November 3, 2010). "James McAvoy cast in Aardman Animation’s 3D flick". Total Film. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Gromit animators sign Sony deal". BBC News. April 2, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  12. ↑ Debruge, Peter (December 18, 2010). "Aardman charts new course with Sony". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  13. ↑ Moody, Annemarie (April 27, 2009). "Aardman Partners with Sony for Christmas, Pirates". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Arthur Christmas 3D Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Arthur Christmas (DVD)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ "13th Annual Golden Tomato Awards - Animation". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  17. ↑ "Arthur Christmas Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  18. ↑ Anderson, John (22 November 22, 2011). "'Arthur Christmas': Santa's helper". Newsday. Retrieved 28 September 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ↑ O'Sullivan, Michael (23 November 2011). "Arthur Christmas". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  20. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (22 November 2011). "Arthur Christmas (2011)". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Rodriguez, Rene (23 November 2011). "'Arthur Christmas' (PG)". Miami Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  22. ↑ "Arthur Christmas (2011) - United Kingdom". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Arthur Christmas tops UK and Ireland film chart". BBC News. December 29, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for November 25-27, 2011". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for Thanksgiving, November 23-27, 2011". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "2011 EDA Awards Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  27. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (February 4, 2012). "'Rango' Wins Annie Award for Best Animated Feature". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  28. ↑ "BAFTA Film Awards Nominations in 2012". BAFTA. January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  29. ↑ "17TH ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS (2012) – BEST PICTURE: THE ARTIST". The Broadcast Films Critics Association. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Chicago Film Critics Awards - 2008-2011". Chicago Film Critics Association. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Nomination & Winners 2011". The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  32. ↑ "15th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards Nominations". Online Film Critics Society. December 26, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  33. ↑ "2011". International Press Academy. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  34. ↑ "2011 Awards". San Diego Film Critics Society. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  35. ↑ "10th Annual VES Awards Recipients". Visual Effects Society. February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  36. ↑ Adams, Ryan (December 19, 2011). "The Women Film Critics Circle Awards". Awards Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Arthur Christmas - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  38. ↑ "Justin Bieber is Coming to Town: New Song and Video Debut with Upcoming Movie "Arthur Christmas"". PR Newswire. October 17, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  39. ↑ "Arthur Christmas: Elf Run". iTunes. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Arthur Christmas: Elf Run is the #1 Kids Game at UK App Store on First Weekend". PR Newswire. November 18, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  41. ↑ "iStoryTime Launches Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook for iPhone and iPad". prMac.com. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2012.

External links