Arthur Christmas

Amid what has become a glut of 3D computer-animated features in the last decade, Aardman Animations has found its niche.

The British outfit that started with the hilarious Wallace and Gromit short films later expanded that idea into a feature, then followed with the high-spirited Chicken Run and Flushed Away with equal success, now has gotten into the holiday spirit.

The charming and offbeat Arthur Christmas has so much goofy energy and so many colorful characters that it doesn’t matter about the title character being such a dud.

Instead, there’s a sensational scene-stealing performance voiced by Bill Nighy that might be unmatched by anything in animation since Robin Williams in Aladdin.

The story begins at the North Pole, revealing the annual attempt by Santa Claus to deliver toys to children around the world in a single day as a high-tech NASA-style operation coordinated by elves and run like a major corporation, with traditional reindeer replaced with a high-powered spaceship.

The well-oiled machine is thrown into chaos, however, when the current Santa (voiced by Jim Broadbent), who is near retirement, forgets to deliver one girl’s bicycle. That leads to a perilous globetrotting quest for Santa’s nerdy son Arthur (James McAvoy) and his gung-ho father (Nighy) to rectify the error before time runs out.

Nighy’s Grandsanta is one of these spry, over-the-hill coots who still yearns to be part of the action, tossing off one-liners about the way things used to be in the old days (including a recollection of one misguided Christmas in which every child received “a sausage nailed to a piece of bark.”)

Arthur’s transformation from bumbling nerd to hero doesn’t achieve its intended emotional resonance, perhaps because his is the least original character in the bunch. Fortunately, what’s surrounding Arthur, both in terms of ensemble atmosphere, is amusing enough to pick up the slack.

Director Sarah Smith takes the reins of this slick production, which doesn’t boast many flashy 3D effects but benefits from crisply detailed animation throughout.

Arthur Christmas creates a unique imaginary world with a mildly dry sense of humor that hits the mark for both adults and children. And it has the guts not to resort to trite holiday cheer.

Rated PG, 97 minutes.