Arthur Christmas Movie Review

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Arthur Christmas: My Son's Verdict on the High-Tech Holiday Adventure

Whenever I first think of children's Christmas classics, the movies that first come to mind are Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, A Year without a Santa Claus, and to be honest the list could go on and on.  I tend to be a little skeptical of newer movies.  To be honest nostalgia goes a long way in how a holiday movie is chosen in my family.

Today's kids however are different.  Where my generation and older grew up without technology and didn't have many options to choose from.  Kids today are overwhelmed with choices.  They not only have too many options to choose from they want something that they can relate to.  My son is 7 and he is high functioning autistic.  My son enjoys technology like most children his age, but sensory overload is an issue I have to think about when choosing movies for us to watch together as a family. This movie caused quite a bit of sensory overload for my son.  In his own words.  "Mom, this movie was way too busy for me."

When I first heard about the premise of Arthur Christmas I was so excited! Santa’s operation is now run like a Christmas cartoon of Mission Impossible, one word EPIC!  Sometimes as a mom I forget that just because I enjoy the idea of something it doesn't mean my son will, and that is exactly what happened.

The film's central idea is pure genius: Santa has become an inherited corporate title, managed by the hyper-efficient, spreadsheet-loving elder son, Steve, while the current Santa, Malcolm, is basically a figurehead who gets all the credit. I think we can all agree that the oldest child in most families tends to be the overly type A organized sibling.   But at the heart of the movie is Arthur. He’s the clumsy, well-meaning younger brother whose job is responding to children’s letters in the mailroom. In this movie I felt the closest to Arthur.  As the youngest child I tend to be more relaxed, a little flighty, artistic, and I feel things very deeply. When one gift is accidentally left behind, Arthur is the only one who sees the crisis for what it is—a personal failure to one specific child.  My heart felt for Arthur as he was trying to explain the importance of never missing a single child.  It's not about productivity.  It's the feeling that child will have waking up on Christmas morning knowing that they were forgotten.

This in no way is me saying that my older sister is heartless and wouldn't care if a child went without.  In fact, my older sister is my hero.  The true compassion she has for others and her fearlessness towards life inspires me to strive to be more like her each day.

What I loved most was the conflict between the new and the old. Steve represents the efficiency and logistics of the modern world. Arthur, along with the gloriously grumpy, traditionalist Grandsanta (who hates the new technology and just wants his old reindeer and wooden sleigh back), embodies the true, sentimental spirit of giving. 

Watching Grandsanta and Arthur bumble across the globe in a dangerously dilapidated old sleigh to deliver one small bicycle was my favorite part. The film never lets you forget that the enormous scale of the operation is meaningless if even one child is forgotten.  

Arthur Christmas in my view is a modern day classic mixing in the new with the old.  It not only leaves you with the answers of who Santa is and how he does it all in one night.   The movie also answers the question about why Santa does what he does.

While I simply adored this movie, I will say this.  If you have a child who struggles with sensory issues this may not be the movie for them.  Yes, the movie has a wonderful and heartfelt message but with the business of the characters and the lights and sounds of the high tech atmosphere creating Santa's universe it can be a little overwhelming for some children.