Arthur Christmas

Play trailer

2:26

Arthur Christmas

PG

2011

1h 40m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Comedy

Fantasy

Drama

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

166 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Everyone knows that, each Christmas, Santa Claus delivers presents to every last child on Earth. What everyone doesn't know is that Santa accomplishes the feat with a very high-tech operation beneath the North Pole. But when the unthinkable happens, and Santa misses one child out of hundreds of millions, someone has to save the day. It's up to Arthur (James McAvoy), Santa's youngest son, to deliver a present to the forgotten tyke before Christmas morning dawns.

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Critics Consensus

Aardman Animations broadens their humor a bit for Arthur Christmas, a clever and earnest holiday film with surprising emotional strength.

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Jake Wilson

Sydney Morning Herald

Dec 14, 2014

3/5

Parents may shed a nostalgic tear or two, while their children can enjoy spotting all the witty visual details.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

Dec 14, 2014

4/5

It's disarming, imaginative and genuinely funny.

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Scott Marks

San Diego Reader

Dec 14, 2014

3/5

This witty, handsomely appointed 3-D animated feature is the most delightful Santa biopic since Edmund Gwenn donned the fat suit.

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Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

Dec 20, 2024

4/5

Every clever, creative piece just keeps building on top of one another until you’ve got an infectiously sweet Christmas comedy and, even more surprisingly, a timelessly relevant look at adapting to and living with changing times.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 6, 2023

3/4

It softens your heart, makes you laugh, and provides a lighthearted time at the movies.

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Charlotte Harrison

Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies

Dec 12, 2020

A sweet and heart-warming tale, with some inventive animation and charming voice cast.

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Joshua

Dec 2, 2023

I absolutely loved this movie

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diogo13 T

@Tua_mera Jul 12, 2026

A decent Christmas adventure with a super fun initial concept about tech-savvy elves. The film loses some momentum and magic midway through, but remains a competent and charming piece of family entertainment for the holiday season.

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CadeandKit R

@CadeandKit Mar 23, 2026

Santa's dorky youngest son goes on an adventure to get a missing present to a child - sprinkled with misogynistic and ageist jokes while pointing out the worst parts of family dynamics. Doesn't land.

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vanessa R

@RT58567972 Mar 15, 2026

Muy bien película navideña donde ver : Claro Video, Sony One Clasificación G

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Sam S

@MovieExpertSam_182 Mar 7, 2026

A fun, jolly and underrated Christmas movie that is from my childhood. Enjoyed rewatching this movie Christmas 2025.

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Kellen L

@Kellmell Jan 4, 2026

Arthur Christmas is an upbeat, funny Christmas movie that presents (pun intended) a new spin on the Christmas movie format, focusing on the premise of forgetting to give a child a present on Christmas, leading to many wacky antics, ultimately ending with all of the Santa’s experiencing the true joy of making a child happy on Christmas.

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Sarah Smith

Director

James McAvoy

Arthur

Hugh Laurie

Steve

Bill Nighy

Grandsanta

Jim Broadbent

Santa

Imelda Staunton

Mrs. Santa

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Synopsis

Everyone knows that, each Christmas, Santa Claus delivers presents to every last child on Earth. What everyone doesn't know is that Santa accomplishes the feat with a very high-tech operation beneath the North Pole. But when the unthinkable happens, and Santa misses one child out of hundreds of millions, someone has to save the day. It's up to Arthur (James McAvoy), Santa's youngest son, to deliver a present to the forgotten tyke before Christmas morning dawns.

Director: Sarah Smith
Producer: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Carla Shelley, Steve Pegram
Screenwriter: Peter Baynham, Sarah Smith
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
Rating: PG (Some Mild Rude Humor)
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, Animation
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $46.4M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital

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