Arthur Christmas
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: November 23, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 3, 2011
The action is swift and witty, and the 3-D effects are imaginative and not simply tacked on as with so many animated movies these days. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenNov 10, 2011
Leave it to the folks who brought us "Wallace & Gromit," "Chicken Run" and "Flushed Away" to bring a delightful blast of fresh air to the conventional Christmas genre. Aardman's Arthur Christmas is that and more - an endlessly amusing 3D, CG-animated Yuletide romp with lively innovation at every turn and a dream voice cast headed by James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Bill Nighy. Read full review
85
MovielineMichelle OrangeNov 22, 2011
Arthur Christmas is a Grinch-style story of rekindled Christmas spirit told from inside Santa's compound at the North Pole. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczNov 22, 2011
The resulting adventure, like most of Aardman's work (Chicken Run, Flushed Away), is more clever than outright funny, but it's also genuinely sweet, and the complicated relations among Santa's clan are surprisingly believable. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinNov 22, 2011
Arthur Christmas gets a little sappy toward the end - it is a Christmas movie, after all - but it otherwise strikes just the right combination of naughty and nice, reverent and irrelevant, holiday-sweet and Aardman dry. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichNov 22, 2011
It would be a Christmas miracle save for one lump of coal: an ear-shattering Justin Bieber song over the end credits. Gotta sell something to the kids at Yuletide. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 22, 2011
The real draw of Arthur Christmas is simpler: It's really funny. Read full review
80
EmpireOlly RichardsNov 17, 2011
A great, big joy. Even if you're a bit bah humbug, just delight in the supremely clever Aardman comedy. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeNov 10, 2011
Arthur Christmas embraces this unconditional faith and rewards it with creative explanations and a brisk computer-animated adventure clever enough to become essential yuletide viewing. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovNov 23, 2011
Sarah Smith pulls the various threads of this wholly original – well, as original as can be reasonably expected given the thousands of cinematic iterations Christmastime has provoked over the years – together into a very coherent, visually stunning, oftentimes laugh-out-loud hilarious holiday film. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenNov 23, 2011
For the kids, the action is always lively and, for the rest of us, the dialogue has a witty and even caustic edge. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 23, 2011
When it comes to Christmas movies, although most are quickly forgotten, a select few go on to become touchstones, beloved and re-watched by families year after year after year. Arthur Christmas may have what it takes to join the latter category. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellNov 23, 2011
Arthur is sort of a dull hero, but the grandfather is classic, hilarious Aardman -- a thoroughly British eccentric prone to weird nostalgic/fatalistic utterances. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 23, 2011
This is a world where training wheels are called "stabilizers" and where children leave something called "mince pies" for Santa. (Um. Ew?) As a result, the occasional line will fly over your little ones' heads. But you can also expect for them to be charmed by it all. Read full review
75
NPRTrey GrahamNov 23, 2011
The film does have a distinctly British cheek; even with a Sony Pictures co-credit over the titles, it's just un-Hollywood enough to feel like a breath of fresh North Pole air. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 22, 2011
A worthy addition to the Christmas movie canon. It's funny and good-looking, with an impeccable voice cast of U.K. actors. It's also unexpectedly fresh, despite the familiar-sounding premise. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliNov 22, 2011
There's nothing dark about Arthur: It's as bright and twinkling as a Christmas tree, decked with warmth and humor. Read full review
75
USA TodayScott BowlesNov 22, 2011
Crisply shot and voiced by a legion of Brits, the animated Arthur seems aimed at the Scrooge and caroler in all of us. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 22, 2011
The film's indefatigable holiday spirit is infectious. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 22, 2011
A tender and upbeat spirit informs the writing and the execution. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJody MitoriNov 22, 2011
Arthur Christmas stays sweet without becoming overly sentimental and is filled with sly details and smart action sequences. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreNov 21, 2011
In a genre - the animated holiday film - already overflowing with the sentimental, the silly Arthur Christmas is a most welcome treat to find stuffed into the cinema's stockings this holiday season. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineNick SchagerNov 19, 2011
A yuletide fable that boasts Aardman Animation's peerless mix of whip-smart comedy and cheery heart. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick PinkertonNov 22, 2011
Arthur was made, in co-production with Sony, by Aardman Animations, the U.K. company best known for Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit shorts, and the character animation has some of the same homely charm. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanNov 22, 2011
Watching Arthur Christmas is like doing your holiday shopping on Dec. 23: fun and frantic, exciting and maddening. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNov 22, 2011
All of the actors' vocal performances are spot-on, including McAvoy's gentle Arthur, Nighy's salty GrandSanta and Ashley Jensen's cute stowaway elf Bryony, a chipper little pixie that would make Rudolph's pal Hermey proud. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerNov 22, 2011
The plot may be a little too cluttered for the toddler crowd to follow, but the next age group up should be amused, and the script by Peter Baynham and Sarah Smith has plenty of sly jokes for grown-ups. Read full review
60
TimeMary PolsNov 22, 2011
Arthur Christmas is not ultimately a cynical movie – it comes together sweetly and rather movingly at the end – but it springs forth from a place of cynicism. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondNov 22, 2011
Aimed at kids, Arthur Christmas could be a little trying if you're over 10, but if you want an easygoing flick to get you into the mood for the holidays you could do a lot worse. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 23, 2011
The movie fails utterly at coming up with a story that merits all the eye candy. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesNov 23, 2011
The plot, though, is recycled from the Vince Vaughn comedy "Fred Claus" (Santa's duties are assumed by a goofy relative, in this case son Arthur) and the old Rankin-Bass special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Arthur goes on a rogue expedition with a couple other misfits). Read full review
12
New York PostKyle SmithNov 23, 2011
Ho-ho-huh? Arthur Christmas is an animated kiddie comedy that delivers all the wonder you'd expect in a movie about a guy delivering one package. Maybe they should have called it "UPS Man: The Movie." Read full review
More From This Movie

69 Critic Reviews

7.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL