The trailer for Arthur Christmas is playing before The Smurfs movie right now. I didn’t know much about the movie, but perked up when I saw it was from Aardman Animation, the UK production company headed by Nick Park, Peter Lord and David Sproxton.
Aardman Productions is also the genius behind Flushed Away, Chicken Run, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (coming in 2012) and the Wallace & Gromit films. I loved Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. So inventive and fun.
Arthur Christmas reveals the incredible, never-before-seen answer to every child’s question: How on earth does Santa deliver all those presents in one night? The answer? Santa’s super-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole!
But at the center of the film is a story about a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning.
Sounds like a fun way to start the holiday season, especially with an all-star voice cast that includes Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Will Sasso and Ashley Jenson. It’s directed by Sarah Smith, who also wrote the screenplay and is the creative director for Aardman Productions.
Arthur Christmas flies into theaters on Nov. 23, 2011. It’s not yet rated, but I’m guessing G or PG.
Leave a Reply