Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wooton, Laura Linney and more.
Directed by: Sarah Smith Screenplay by: Sarah Smith and Peter Baynham Original Music by: Harry Gregson-Williams
Premise: An accident knocks a gift out of the conveyor belt during the Christmas deliveries. As it is but a couple of hours until dawn, the child left behind is considered an acceptable loss, except by Arthur, Santa's second son, who tries to do something about it. (Rated PG)
Review: This movie is a blast! It's also a lot deeper than one might think from seeing the previews.
I totally cracked up when the first thing they do is basically list all the reasons (and scientific ones!) as to why Santa can't exist as Arthur reads a letter sent to the north pole. Then they show us how it's done in the modern world.
I wanted a pause button desperately. There are a ton of little jokes and bits of info seeded everywhere (buttons, levers, scan screens), but they go by too fast! A lot of in-jokes too, and strangely they're mainly from SF movies and TV shows. Too fun!
The animation and CGI work was excellent. The character expressions and the voice acting superb. Grandsanta was a hoot, but Bryony, one of the wrapping elves, slayed me. Once you see Mrs Santa at work, you'll see where Steve's efficiency came from. Arthur must take after his Dad. :P
If you cried at UP, I suggest dragging a hanky or two along, just in case. There were many touching moments. Several were quite poignant. All is not perfect at the North Pole and generational issues abound. Some of the tales they tell of problems during other Christmas runs were a hoot.
A definite must see! If this doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, nothing will. :)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission AGAIN!)
P.S. There's a music video as a bonus before the beginning of the film. Justin Beiber sings Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. And it disturbed me. It wasn't the song or the singing, and loved the steampunk look, but... Mr Beiber had a steampunk glove on his right hand and a ton of his moves were straight Michael Jackson moves. It was weird...even creepy. It may have been homage of some sort, but to me it was just disturbing. Hmmm.
No comments:
Post a Comment