Arthur Christmas is an animated movie by Sony pictures that debuted in 2011. The movie starred James McAvoy who voiced the main character Arthur. Arthur Christmas follows Santa’s bumbling son Arthur on a mission to get a misplaced gift to a little girl before Christmas day.
The movie is a heart-warming, funny, and creative take on holiday movies. One of the unique twists in this movie is that there is no real villain or foe. The movie is more about the inner workings of Santa’s family and village. This one is worth watching at Christmas time and is a perfect family movie. The message of Arthur Christmas is simple, it’s all about the kids.
All Arthur Christmas Characters
Characters are presented in order of appearance.
Gwen Hines
Gwen is the very first character introduced in the movie as she struggles to get her letter to Santa into the mailbox. She is the little girl whose gift got misplaced during delivery.
Voiced by Ramona Marquez
“For Christmas, I would LOVE a Pink Twinkle Bike complete with stabilizers.”
Arthur
Arthur is one of Santa’s sons and is the hero character of the movie. He is on a frantic mission to deliver one last gift that got misplaced before Christmas dawn. Arthur is seen as the bumbling, screw-up of the family and is delegated to the mail room.
Voiced by James McAvoy
“We can’t leave a child out of Christmas”
Elf Battalion
The busy workers of every Christmas movie are of course Santa’s elves. We are introduced to the Elf Battalion as they go about their top-secret missions delivering gifts to every boy and girl. They must however confirm whether each child has been naughty or nice to receive a gift.
Santa
The big guy himself is portrayed as more of a commander-in-chief in this movie than a jolly old fat guy. The Santa family is really uniquely portrayed in Arthur Christmas as we are taking behind the scenes to see how the tradition of Santa is passed down from father to son.
Voiced by Jim Broadbent
“Ho-Ho-Ho!”
Steve Claus
Another one of Santa’s sons. Steve is portrayed in strong contrast to Arthur as the more stern, alpha male who is waiting to claim his throne as the next Santa after the old guy retires.
Voiced by Hugh Laurie
“It’s the North Pole! Shut the doors, For Goodness Sake!”
Kenneth
Kenneth is one of Santa’s elves and has a couple of minor appearances in the film. He is clearly the nerdy one with his big, thick-framed glasses.
“Is this your’s Arthur?”
Peter
Peter is the assistant to Steve Claus. He is a very fragile, pale-looking elf.
Voiced by Marc Wootton
“Coming right up!”
Awake Kid
A code red is called when this kid awakes in the middle of the night while Santa and the elves our tip-toeing through his room. It would be disastrous if he catches Santa with his own eyes.
“Santa, are you here?”
Captain Marino
The elf assigned to disable the toy in the awake kid’s room. He must perform emergency un-wrap surgery.
Grandsanta
The elder statesman of the Claus family. He is an old-fashioned, grumpy but lovable character. He loves to remind people that back in his day he did not need all the fancy equipment that they use today.
Voiced by Bill Nighy
“Reindeer are brave, powerful beasts, but they are also dappled creatures with twigs on their heads!”
Grandsanta’s Old Reindeer
One of the cute scene stealers is GrandSanta’s old, tired reindeer. He use to guide Grandsanta’s sleigh back in the day but now he spends his time lounging about Santa’s village.
Mrs. Santa
A plump-faced lovable character who keeps the household under control. She is the sweetest character in the film and cooks a great mince pie.
Voiced by Imelda Staunton
“I’ve got a sweater for Arthur, your Father’s pills and some sweet tea!”
Reindeer
The majestic beasts that get Santa’s sleigh off the ground. They also helped guide Arthur & Grandsanta on their mission to Gwen.
Leaping Deer Auto’s Owner
The owner of the Leaping Deer Auto store is awakened by the sounds of Arthur and Grandsanta trying to steal his rooftop reindeer statue. He comes prepared with a shotgun for the intruders.
Ernie Clicker
A now retired elf who was head of Polar Communications for 46 missions with Grandsanta. He helps Steve locate Arthur and Grandsanta on their mission.
Voiced by Michael Palin
“Toodle-loo”
Chihuahua
This cute little doggie goes on the attack on Arthur’s slippers when Arthur is tip-toeing through a house in Mexico.
Chief De Silva
Chief De Silva is the head of UNFITA, Hague. She is alerted to reports of aliens circling the skies on Christmas eve and meets with world leaders to determine the course of action.
Voiced by Eva Longoria
“We stand confronted by an unknown danger. Aliens. Aliens from space.”
World Leaders
All the most important leaders from around the world appear on a conference call with Chief De Silva. There is Doug Ikeler of the USA, Kris Pearn of Canada, Micaela Rose of Colombia, and Carla Connor of Australia to name a few.
“Blast Them! Blast them from the skies…”
