Arthur Christmas
Arthur Christmas is a 2011 3D computer-animated Christmas science fantasy comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and Barry Cook. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen, the film is a co-production between Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman Animations. It is also Aardman's second entirely computer-animated feature film after 2006’s "Flushed Away." Set on Christmas Eve, the film centres on Arthur Claus, the clumsy but well-meaning son of Santa Claus, who discovers that his father's high-tech ship has failed to deliver  one girl's present. Accompanied only by his free-spirited and reckless grandfather, an enthusiastic young Christmas elf obsessed with wrapping gifts for children, and a team of reindeer, he embarks on a mission to deliver the girl's present personally. "Arthur Christmas" was released on November 11, 2011 in the United Kingdom, and on November 23, 2011 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and earned $147 million at the box office. Plot. Instead of a single individual, Santa Claus is a hereditary title belonging to gift-givers that has been carried on  for many generations. The current Santa, Malcolm Claus, is heading his 70th mission, but his role has largely been reduced to that of a figurehead. Although the traditional sleigh and reindeer were used in the past, they have now been replaced by the S-1, a high-tech vessel operated by hundreds of elves that use advanced equipment and military precision to deliver presents to children. The complex Christmas operations are micromanaged from a North Pole-based Mission Control by Malcolm's eldest son, Steve, who expects to be handed down the role of Santa following his father’s retirement. Meanwhile , Malcolm's younger son, Arthur, answers letters sent from children to Santa and is frequently mocked by the elves and looked down on by his family for his clumsiness. During one of the delivery operations in Poland, a toy is accidentally activated, waking a child and nearly revealing Santa. A tense escape operation ensues, during which an elf aboard the S-1 leans on a button, causing a present to fall from the supply line and go unnoticed. Another elf named Bryony Shelfley later finds the missed present—a wrapped bicycle for a young girl named Gwen living in Trelew, Cornwall , whose letter Arthur had personally responded to. Arthur is heartbroken to hear a child’s been missed and urges his father and brother to use the S-1 and deliver the final present but Steve argues that one missed present out of billions is an acceptable error, citing this year's Christmas as the most successful in history. Malcolm's cynical elderly father and predecessor, Grandsanta, whisks Arthur away to deliver it in EVE, the original wooden sleigh that is pulled by the descendants of the flying reindeer. Bryony is revealed to have stowed away and joins the pair, but they  get lost on three different continents, lose several of their reindeer and encounter many obstacles, ultimately being mistaken for aliens and causing an international military incident. Arthur is shocked and hurt to learn that Grandsanta only agreed to go on the trip to boost his own ego, Malcolm is indifferent to the missing present, and Steve refuses to help them because he believes Arthur's efforts could undermine his attempts to become the next Santa. Finally, stranded on an island in Cuba, Arthur becomes disillusioned with his family and nearly gives up. However, he realizes that so long as the  gift is delivered one way or another, the "Santa" Arthur and Gwen look up to exists in the hearts of children. Reinvigorated, Arthur manages to get the sleigh back and the trio sets off for England. Meanwhile, the elves grow increasingly alarmed at rumors of the neglected delivery and the Clauses' indifference, sending them into a panic. In response, Malcolm tricks his wife Margaret into believing Steve gave them permission to use the S-1 to deliver Gwen’s gift, only for a furious Steve to confront his father onboard and a dejected Malcolm recognises his inability to properly lead. Steve  drives the S-1 and delivers a superior present, only to realise that Malcolm had accidentally set the address to the wrong child, revealing Steve’s inability to connect with children. Arthur’s group reach England but lose the remaining reindeer. Furthermore, a Predator drone scrambled by Chief De Silva of UNFITA intercepts and opens fire on the sleigh, believing it to be an alien spacecraft. Grandsanta sacrifices EVE, while Arthur and Bryony parachute to the ground. All paths descend on Gwen’s house before she awakens, only to have everyone but Arthur quarrel about who gets to actually place the  gift. Noticing that Arthur was the only one who genuinely cared about Gwen’s happiness, the elder Clauses collectively realize that he is the sole worthy successor. As a result, Steve recognises his own shortcomings, forfeits his birthright and acknowledges his brother's worthiness to take up the mantle, with Malcolm admitting he’s truly proud of both his sons. Gwen glimpses a snow-bearded Arthur in a wind-buffeted sweater just before he vanishes up into the S-1. In a postscript, Malcolm goes into a happy retirement with Margaret - where he also becomes Grandsanta's much-desired new companion  - and plays Arthur's board game with him for many happy hours. Meanwhile, Steve finds true contentment as the chief operating officer of the North Pole. Bryony is promoted to Vice-President of Wrapping, Pacific Division. The high-tech S-1 is rechristened EVIE in honor of Grandsanta's old sleigh and refitted to be pulled by a team of five thousand reindeer led by the original eight, all of whom have returned home safely. And at the helm, Arthur happily guides the entire enterprise as Santa Claus XXI. Lead elves are voiced by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Robbie Coltrane, Joan Cusack, Rhys  Darby, Jane Horrocks, Iain McKee, Andy Serkis, and Dominic West. Voice cast. Elves are voiced by Pete Jack, Sarah Smith, Rich Fulcher, Kris Pearn, Kevin Cecil, Stewart Lee, Peter Baynham, Danny John-Jules, Adam Tandy, Bronagh Gallagher, Alan Short, Kevin Eldon, Seamus Malone, Cody Cameron and Emma Kennedy. Production. "Arthur Christmas" was first announced in 2007, under the name "Operation Rudolph". It was the first film made by Aardman in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment and its subsidiaries, after they parted ways with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the UK  before relocating to Sony's Culver City, US, for another 18 months of production. On 27 April 2009, it was reported that production had begun with Aardman and Sony Pictures Imageworks working together on animation. Release. The film was released on 11 November 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 23 November 2011 in the United States. The music video for Justin Bieber's song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", which plays over the end credits, was exclusively shown in theatres before the film. Home media. "Arthur Christmas" was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on  6 November 2012, in the US, and 19 November 2012 in the UK. Reception. Critical response. "Arthur Christmas" holds an approval rating of on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews, with an average score of . The consensus reads, "Aardman Animations broadens their humor a bit for "Arthur Christmas", a clever and earnest holiday film with surprising emotional strength." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". John Anderson of "Newsday" praised the film as "not only funny and fresh, but . . . a new way of tackling the whole yuletide paradigm : Santa as a high-tech hereditary monarchy." Michael O'Sullivan of "The Washington Post" described it as "unexpectedly fresh, despite the familiar-sounding premise". Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" wrote that "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." Rene Rodriguez of the "Miami Herald" stated that "the movie fails utterly at coming up with a story that merits all the eye candy." Box office. "Arthur Christmas  has earned $46,462,469 in North America, $33,334,089 in the UK, and $67,622,914 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $147,419,472. In the United Kingdom the film opened in second place with a £2.5 million weekend gross, behind Immortals". It topped the box office in its fourth week, by which time the cumulative gross was £11.5 million. The film returned to the top of the box office on week seven, during Christmas week, grossing £2.05 million and a total of £19.7 million. In the United States and Canada the film earned $ 2.4 million on its opening day and $1.8 million on Thanksgiving Day. It would go on to gross $12.1 million over the three-day weekend and $16.3 million over the five-day period. This was on par with studio expectations. The film went on to gross nearly $50 million domestically against a $100 million budget. Music. Arthur Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was composed and produced by Harry Gregson-Williams, who had previously worked with Aardman on "Chicken Run" (2000) and "Flushed Away" (2006 ), and released on 14 November 2011 by Sony Classical. Originally, Michael Giacchino and Adam Cohen were going to compose the score. Video game. An iOS video game titled "Arthur Christmas: Elf Run" was released in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2011, on iTunes App Store. On 18 November 2011, the game was released worldwide on the iOS and Android platform. Released as a free and a premium version, the game allows players to play as delivery elves, who must quickly and quietly deliver gifts to children. Another iOS app based on the film is "Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook", which  was released on 30 November 2011.