Arthur Christmas

Ever wonder how 2 Billion presents get delivered all in 1 night?

2011 • 97 min • Drama · Animation · Family · Comedy

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Synopsis

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

Our family guide

Best from age 5

Movie Knight Score

1663 reviews

100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
68 Audience · 1661 · 49%

Arthur, Santa's clumsy son, embarks on an unauthorized mission to deliver one missed present before Christmas morning. With the help of his eccentric grandfather and an elf, he races against time to ensure no child is forgotten.

Violence & peril: 1/10
Language: 1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 0/10
Romance & sensuality: 0/10
Scary moments: 2/10

Heads up

Minor cartoon peril
Some characters are initially dismissive of Arthur

What it models well

Family unity and legacy
Compassion and selflessness
The spirit of Christmas
Belief in oneself

Talk about it after

What makes a "real" Santa?
Why is it important for every child to be remembered?
How can we solve problems creatively?
The importance of teamwork across generations

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Arthur Christmas. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

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Top billed cast

Director: Sarah Smith • Crew: Sarah Smith, Peter Baynham

Trailers & clips

Reviewer notes

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
It is actually quite hard to find innovative ways to tell Santa stories now, but this one does do quite well on that score. It all centres on Santa's now almost entirely automated delivery process using a sleigh clearly inspired by the starship "Enterprise".…
CinemaSerf, TMDB Community

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
A good watch. I had a fine time watching <em>'Arthur Christmas'</em>. The plot is a little light, with a fairly simple event taking a relative while to resolve itself, but it's still a pleasant festive animated film - with neat animation. There are a number of familiar names on the voice cast, too many to name in actual fact.…
r96sk, TMDB Community