Sometimes these movies that flirt with the question of whether Santa exists can be careless, heavy handed, or very confusing. This one wobbles around the edges but doesn't drop any major spoilers. The vibe is really more "The Incredibles" or "Despicable Me", rather than some focused defense or expose of "Santa".

Because it is so fast paced and because the characters have English accents it takes a while to get up to speed on hearing and understanding the dialogue. There are lots of whispers and snappy throwaway lines, which doesn't help. But my ears are just getting older; the kids followed the story quite easily and enjoyed it very much.

Ordered Arthur Christmas (Two Discs: Blu-ray / DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) for my children to enjoy the full experience of the Blu-Ray at home, DVD in the car and Digital Copy whenever/wherever they please. They LOVE this movie! However, it did not arrive with the UltraViolet Digital Copy.

I reached out to SONY for resolution on the missing UltraViolet Digital Copy Code to which they responded, "We certainly understand your situation. Regretfully, we are unable to issue a new code in this case because the movie was not purchased from any licensed Sony retailer". I've since requested a replacement/exchange through Amazon. Keeping my fingers crossed that the replacement will include everything as described, including the Digital Copy.

When this movie came out a few years ago I blew it off as just another lame Christmas movie. Fast forward to this year and I still had not seen it. A friend sent me a link for it when it was on sale and I bought it to watch during our Christmas movie marathon. This movie is fantastic. I wish I would have bought it when it first came out. The characters are quirky and funny. The dialogue is witty, and yes sometimes corny. The story is cute. Good wins at the end of the day... Or the beginning of the day as the case may be. I see a lot of myself in the character of Arthur. He is a big goober and nothing he does is right, but what he believes is important to him and he is willing to risk everything to do the right thing. He ventures out into the world for basically the first time to make sure one little girl gets her gift from Santa after Santa forgot her. Santa and Arthur's older brother both go to bed instead of going back for her. In the end they all try to get the gift to the little girl and everyone makes mistakes. They all end up seeing the good in Arthur where no one had seen him as anything but a misfit before. The story has charm and character. This movie is on my list of movies to watch every year.

I bought this at full price for my own use.

Bought this movie to add to my daughter's library of movies for when we travel as it offered the digital copy. The movie itself was interesting and kept my daughter's attention (2 1/2 years old) through the movie. I'm not going to go through the plot or story as others have done that in their reviews. I have to say, while we travel, I'm not sure if she's going to choose this movie but it is a good mix to have during the holiday season as she is starting to understand the concept of Santa Claus.

I did want to point out my experience with the UV Digital code as this may help others that have issues. I first tried to enter the code and on the flyer it says it was expired. I tried the code several times and noticed the expiration date. Not happy about this, I went to the website and tried to initiate the chat with Sony which I never got anyone on it (waiting 15-20 minutes). I searched on their site and found this number: 800-860-2878. I called it and the representative was super friendly and said they extended the codes so they don't expire yet. I gave her my code and she said it was still valid. I entered the code and it worked at that time. I would say if you run into any issues with the code, you might want to call the number as they are really friendly. I'm not taking any stars away from the movie as it was pretty good and kept my daughter's attention. I wouldn't say I love it because there are other movies I know she really enjoyed and you could tell because she would ask for them for days in a row.

I hope this review helps someone. Happy Shopping!

Santa is real! You knew it in your heart. He lives at the North Pole in an underground complex, the position of Santa being passed down from father to son. In the hallway is a long line of portraits, starting with "Santa Claus the First 295-369 AD", through a line including "Santa Claus the Thirteenth 1549-1634" and so on. The last portrait is of "Santa Claus the Twentieth 1941- _". It has no end date because he still holds the position.

But this may be his last year. It's traditional to retire and pass the baton after 70 years. This Santa has two sons. The younger, Arthur, is adorable, happy and enthusiastic, but too bumbling to be trusted with anything other than answering Letters to Santa.

The elder brother, Steve, has totally upgraded the Christmas Eve procedure. The sleigh and reindeer have been retired in favor of a giant airship with a cloaking device (whoo hoo!) and well-trained Field Elf Battalions. It is a wonderful imagining of how Santa delivers toys to every child in the world on a single night.

But this Christmas Eve, after everyone is back to Mission Control and Operation Toy is "Mission Accomplished", an elf named Briony finds that one toy was missed. There's a child in Cornwall who will not have a gift from Santa! Arthur is beside himself, but Steve is firm. It's 5:10 am, and there's no way to get the toy in place before sunrise: "Arthur. Christmas is not a time for emotion. We will get 4 double 7 85BXK a present... in the window of Christmas. We'll messenger the item - it will be there in 5 days."

This isn't good enough for Arthur. With his cantakerous GrandSanta (retired) they pull the sleigh out of mothballs and make sure Christmas comes true for every last child.

This is a great Christmas story with your usual feel-good vibe and ending. Steve is not an evil bad guy, he is merely focused on his military-like procedures and his 99.999999% success rate for the year.

There is so much humor in this movie. Such as when GrandSanta is not impressed with Steve's smugness: "Christmas 1941, WWII, I did the whole thing with six reindeer and a drunken elf."

Meanwhile, Steve is checking his messages on his HO-HO (like a phone) such as this one:
"You looked great today.
Siri"

"Arthur Christmas" premiered in 2011, 97 minutes of animated fun. The voice acting is top of the line, with Hugh Laurie ("House") as Steve, James McAvoy as Arthur, Jim Broadbent as Santa and a cackling Bill Nighy as GrandSanta.

The DVD is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital. You can listen to the movie, or watch with subtitles, in three languages: English, French or Spanish.

The DVD also has 3 Special Features which are fun to watch.
1. "Un-Wrapping Arthur Christmas" (13 minutes) Just about everyone involved as cast or crew has a say in this making-of featurette. Bill Nighy says, "It was one of the best scripts I've read for a long time."
2. "Progressive Reels" (15 minutes total) This is a look at five different aspects of the movie. I particularly enjoyed the animation people taking us through the initial "Invasion Sequence", where we follow a troop of elves delivering toys. "The camera style in this sequence was heavily from the Cinéma Vérité, a run and gun style of filmmaking." What is was was just like an action movie.
3. "Elf Recruitment Video" (1 minute) A cute trailer.
"They are the world's most elite team.
On the Single
Largest
Covert Mission
EVER."

Very recommended family Christmas movie!

Happy Reader

Charming, non-stop, diverse, heart-warming. Also slaved to the standard Hollywood formula (Hero's Journey; semi-trustworthy mentor; sacrifice; redemption) -- but it's a pretty good formula. :) Explicitly avoids the real meaning of Christmas (indeed all the protagonists seem themselves ignorant of it), which is a pity. Also, there's a fair bit of "family dysfunction" -- be advised -- but this is indeed part of the arc and does mostly get addressed. But just as filmmaking, it's very solid. No lags in the story; good setups; snappy dialogue when needed; silence and "pure acting" the rest of the time. Fun twists; lots of colorful locales; tons of verbal and visual gags. Lots of "cool factor"; but doesn't get dazzled by its own technical prowess: quite the reverse, in fact. In sum: right up there with Aardman's "Chicken Run."

This is a story about Santa Claus as Big Business. And not in a good way.
I didn't like it all that much but then, I am probably not in its target audience, being way older than the kids.
However, there are some clever bits, multiple versions of Santa Claus, and it tells a fine story.
And it's possible that I just don't like most non-traditional stories about Santa Claus.
But I'm not a complete stodge: if I were, I would applaud the film for making the whole thing look ludicrous.
There's a lot of humor in it, and it's well done, BTW.

Great movie! Will become annual classic in your home.

Kids will love this ... heartwarming ... tale.

Adults will too, very cleverly written ... gadgets are a hoot ... the actor list is quite impressive as well. Tells a story w/o violence and has a moral undertone ... about doing the right thing ... go the distance ... all the while being an enjoyable movie to watch.

So don’t hestitate purchase it and start popping the popcorn 🍿!