A new international and domestic trailer for Aardman’s (the folks behind Wallace and Gromit) new animated feature Arthur Christmas have debuted and while I can’t say it necessarily moves me any one way, the fact Aardman has something to do with it leads me to expect something great, even though I’m more excited for their upcoming 2012 offering, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (watch that trailer here).
As for Arthur Christmas, the story centers on the Claus family, primarily Santa’s clumsy son Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy) who sets out with Santa’s 136-year-old father, Grandsanta (voiced by Bill Nighy), to deliver a present to the one child in all the world who was unfortunately missed on Christmas Eve. With Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton and Ashley Jensen also making up the voice cast it’s hard not to expect something from this film, which will be hitting theaters on November 23.
You can watch the two trailers below and I’ve added six images to the gallery right here, five of which are featured above. As of right now, Arthur Christmas lands just outside my Best Animated feature predictions… Should I move it inside the top five?
James McAvoy leads the cast as Arthur, the good-natured but clumsy younger son of Santa. Arthur LOVES everything to do with Christmas; indeed, he is the only one in his family still captivated by the magic of the holiday. Laurie will play Arthur’s older brother Steve, heir to the reins, a cool, incredibly capable guy who has given the North Pole high-tech efficiency, military-style precision. Broadbent plays Santa, who pictures himself as the guy in charge at the North Pole, but is now more of a figurehead as the operation has outgrown him. Nighy plays Santa’s 136-year-old father, Grandsanta, a cranky old codger who hates the modern world, is always grumbling that Christmas ‘was better when I was Santa’ and has a tense relationship with Steve, who he calls ‘A postman with a spaceship.’ Jensen will play Bryony, a lowly elf from the Giftwrap Battalion, with an eager-to-please attitude and an obsession with wrapping and bows. Imelda Staunton rounds out the cast as Mrs. Santa, dedicated wife and mother to her husband and sons.
