Arthur Christmas

Directed by Sarah Smith. Voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen G cert, general release, 95 min

THE FACT THAT this film is arriving a full month and a half before Christmas is sure to scare up a degree of ill feeling from senior members of the Scrooge family. Stick a mince pie in it.

Arthur Christmasturns out to be a charming exercise in Santasploitation. Though nowhere near as impressive as Aardmann Animation's claymation projects, the movie should secure the studio a permanent place in the Christmas schedules. It's quite funny. It looks reasonably attractive. It has a charming protagonist. Don't worry, dead-beat dad. You won't feel the need to sneak into Tower Heist as the little ones are getting their 3D hit.

Arthur Christmasis one of those projects that, like The Santa Clause,seeks to find humour in the bureaucracy and logistical challenges of the North Pole project. This is a family business. While Grandsanta, the previous holder of the top post, scowls in his armchair, the current Santa – who's more of a figurehead – allows his brash eldest son, Steve, to dispatch the presents and deal with elf and safety issues (ha ha!).

The hero of the piece, Arthur Christmas, Santa’s younger, breezier child, is allocated the most menial and undemanding of tasks. When a child’s present goes missing, Steve’s arrogance is revealed and the inflexible nature of his soulless hyper-modern operation comes under pressure. Arthur and Grandsanta must return to the basics of the trade.

Every year, in this place, this writer points out that virtually all Christmas films are, at their core, versions of A Christmas Carol:grumpy people learn the true meaning of the season from more ingenuous good spirits. Arthur Christmascarries off the old tale with elan.

Though the animation is pretty enough, a great deal of the credit must go to the voice talent. Jim Broadbent brings distracted warmth to Santa. Bill Nighy is grumpy as Grandsanta. Only James McAvoy could have brought such bumbling charm to the hero. Cast him as Bob Cratchit now.