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Arthur Christmas (2011)

Santa's clumsy youngest son has one night to deliver one forgotten bike.

Arthur Christmas (2011) — official movie poster
The official poster for Arthur Christmas (2011).

The Claus family runs Christmas like a military operation from a mile-wide sleigh — leaving Grand-Santa, a retired reindeer team, and kind-hearted Arthur to fix the one delivery the system missed. Aardman's wit meets real warmth: no child gets left behind, not on Arthur's watch.

Aardman asked a question nobody had: how does Santa actually deliver two billion presents in one night? The answer — a mile-wide sleigh run like a Bond gadget, with James McAvoy's Arthur as the one Claus who reads the letters — makes this the most inventive Santa logistics movie ever made. Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, and Bill Nighy as a gloriously reckless Grandsanta complete the family firm. It underperformed on release and has grown every year since, the modern definition of a word-of-mouth Christmas movie, powered by one lost present and one determined boy.

From the Film

Arthur Christmas (2011) — still from the film
Arthur Christmas (2011) — still from the film
Arthur Christmas (2011) — still from the film

The Facts

Year
2011
Director
Sarah Smith
Runtime
97 minutes
Genres
Animation, Family, Comedy, Drama

Cast

ActorRole
James McAvoyArthur Christmas
Hugh LaurieSteve Christmas
Bill NighyGrandsanta
Jim BroadbentSanta Claus

Good to know: An Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation film that was director Sarah Smith's feature-film directorial debut.

Where to watch Arthur Christmas

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