SYNOPSIS: The 3D, CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas, an Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation, at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic - a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns. 

REVIEW: Have you ever wondered how Santa gets all those presents delivered to all those boys and girls around the whole wide world? I know I have. When you go to see Arthur Christmas you will be blown away by how he does it. Who knew Santa had such an incredibly techy set-up! I mean, I thought I’d walked into a showing of Mission Impossible except Tom Cruise was animated. And that was just the first few minutes of the film. I took my Ralphie (10) to see this movie and usually he is quite the talker, I mean I have to constantly ask him to watch the movie and talk later, but during the opening scenes I looked over at him and his jaw was wide open! 

Santa (Jim Broadbent) has a totally sweet operation going on here. He has this incredible spaceship like “sleigh” that reminds me of the spaceship enterprise and thousands of elves behind computer screens help Santa and the soldier elves do their work within a precise time frame per city, per country and no child is left ungifted…well that is until this one night. Santa’s 70th mission, one child is missed. What does one child matter when millions were successfully served? 

It would not seem to matter to Santa, who at this point seems jaded and maybe a bit feeble. It certainly doesn’t matter to Steve (Hugh Laurie), Santa’s older son, master mind behind this incredible operation and heir apparent. 

But it does matter to Arthur. Arthur who sits and replies to all of the letters from all of the boys and girls around the world. Arthur can’t seem to let it go because little Gwen is counting on Santa showing up. And so the adventure begins! Arthur (James McAvoy) goes on the adventure of a lifetime and at times I just couldn’t see how he would get it accomplished given that he was depending on Grand-Santa (Bill Nighy) who is full of spirit but I’m not so sure much of a mind, and his old sleigh, Eve. This film is full of adventure, its fast paced and the 3-D really works with all that goes on.

I loved the animation, I loved that Santa is made all the more human because like the rest of us, his family is also comically dysfunctional. As a Cuban-American, I have to tell you there are a couple of little references to Cuba that brought a giggle out of me. There is an wonderful cast of voices such as Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Santa, Eva Longoria as Chief De Silva and Laura Linney as North Pole Computer voice to new a few. 

You will of course get your happy ending, I mean, it is a Christmas movie and you will learn the value of truly caring about each person as important, truly having Christmas in your heart.

Take your little ones to see this film and I would even go as far as to say, buy it when it comes out cause this one is going to become a Christmas family viewing tradition (at least in my home).