Pros:
1. The animation is brilliant for the most part, particularly the vivid facial expressions of the human characters.
2. James McAvoy (Arthur), Hugh Laurie (Steve), Bill Nighy (Grandsanta), and Jim Broadbent (Santa) give fantastic voice-acting performances.
3. The costume and set design is great, especially the costumes that personify the characters, and the set design of the Eve and Christmas spaceship.
4. The score is never overbearing and helps to solidify the intended downcast and magical moments.
5. The film delivers an original take on the mythos of Santa Claus by treating it as a family business that runs, and has set objectives, like any other business.
6. The comedy never misses a beat as well as adding to the feel-good Christmas feel.
Cons: 1. The animated lions look outright awful and are therefore too distracting. 2. For some strange reason, the elves are multi-racial, even though the myth of Santa Claus and his elves belongs to European folklore. 3. There are occasions in the movie where Arthur, Grandsanta, and Bryony (Ashley Jensen) fall from miraculous heights, and yet somehow walk away unscathed.
Cons: 1. The animated lions look outright awful and are therefore too distracting. 2. For some strange reason, the elves are multi-racial, even though the myth of Santa Claus and his elves belongs to European folklore. 3. There are occasions in the movie where Arthur, Grandsanta, and Bryony (Ashley Jensen) fall from miraculous heights, and yet somehow walk away unscathed.