‘Arthur Christmas’ Should Be on Every Family’s Holiday Watch List

When it comes to 21st century Christmas classics the whole family can enjoy year after year, Jon Favreau’s delightful Elf is the reigning, defending, undisputed champion, but there are certainly other contenders. Netflix just added a new one with The Christmas Chronicles, of course, as did Illumination with their well-received new take on The Grinch. There’s another film out there, though, that’s been quietly delighting audiences for nearly a decade now, which never seems to enter the Modern Christmas Classics conversation nearly as much as it should. Despite a marvelous cast, a brilliant premise, and a heartwarming story full of Christmas magic, Arthur Christmas isn’t talked about or rewatched as often as Elf.

But it should be.

The film opens with a visually dazzling, funny, and effortlessly charming sequence that deftly sets up its premise. In this world, Santa Claus isn’t a man, but a title passed down through generations of a single North Pole-dwelling family. Santa is very real, but his operation no longer looks like what we’ve seen in Christmas movies past. This Santa (Jim Broadbent) is the near-retirement figurehead of a large, technologically advanced operation led by his ambitious eldest son Steve (Hugh Laurie). The classic sleigh and reindeer have been replaced by a massive craft called the S-1, which zips through the sky like a red alien spaceship. Most of the heavy lifting is done by the elves, Steve coordinates everything from a Christmas-themed smartphone, and when a single gift goes undelivered during the Christmas Eve flight, he views it as a minor statistical error.

Steve views Christmas as a businesslike affair, but his younger brother Arthur (James McAvoy) still has the spirit. To him, Santa is “the most caring man in the world,” and even though he’s relegated to working in the letters department, he decides something must be done about this undelivered gift. So, while his brother and father retire for the night, Arthur sets out with his Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) and an eager wrapping elf named Bryony (Ashley Jensen) to make sure the last remaining gift is given, so everyone has a happy Christmas.

The metaphor of all of this will hit parents right away, and children will catch on soon enough. In Arthur Christmas, the holiday has moved on from the days when it was magical and mysterious and all about joy. It’s become a game of quantities, in which happiness is not counted in smiles but in percentages. As Arthur argues that the last gift should still be delivered, Steve snaps at him that “Christmas is not a time for emotion.” The North Pole, like the rest of the world, has moved on to a place of colder, more cynical celebration. In a film that also heavily features light-up reindeer slippers as a significant plot point, that’s a heavy subject to tackle.

Arthur Christmas doesn’t make its message of bringing Christmas back to a place of simple generosity heavy-handed, though. For some viewers, it will be enough to just watch all the intricacies of this version of the North Pole and how it works, from the reveal of Grandsanta’s old sleigh to the S-1’s massive control room. The film is also jam-packed with rapid-fire jokes that hit viewers of every age just a little differently, including repeated reference to an incident in 1816 that nearly destroyed Christmas, and Bryony’s incessant ninja wrapping feats.

Like all the greatest Christmas films, what really makes Arthur Christmas worthy of classic status is the tremendous depth lurking beneath its glittery, holly-decked exterior. A very young child can watch it and see a bright, fun film about the importance of making other people happy and spreading joy on Christmas. A slightly older child can watch it and see a complex animated adventure about being true to yourself and discovering what you’re really capable of. An adult can watch it and see a warm, even tearjerking film (I will readily admit to crying more than once) about the often fraught ties between father and son, how our convictions are challenged as we age, and how we learn to rise above our limitations to find the joy we deserve. Like our own version of the Santa Claus story passed down from parents to children, it becomes a generational experience, and one rich enough in detail and emotional weight to be watched again and again.

So yes, Arthur Christmas deserves to be part of your Christmas marathon, as well as part of the pantheon of Modern Christmas Classics revisited year after year. It’s that good.

Matthew Jackson is a pop culture writer and nerd-for-hire whose work has appeared at Syfy Wire, Mental Floss, Looper, Playboy, and Uproxx, among others. He lives in Austin, Texas, and he’s always counting the days until Christmas. Find him on Twitter: @awalrusdarkly.

Where to stream Arthur Christmas