If I was given a quarter for every time a character in Arthur Christmas states the obvious, I’d be a very rich man. The dialogue in this Aardman Animation feels redundant for another reason. With all the leaps and bounds in the action sequences, having to listen to endless monologues from Arthur or one of the elves brings the film to a grinding halt. Quite frankly, there’s less speechifying in Hamlet.

It’s Christmas Eve and Gwen wants to believe in Santa Claus (voiced by Jim Broadbent), but she has her doubts. So she writes to him in the hope of getting a brand new bicycle. Her letter reaches the North Pole, a nerve center overseen by trillions of elves, who always deliver two billion presents over the course of one night. As fate would have it, Gwen’s gift goes undelivered. It then falls to Santa’s youngest son, Arthur (James McAvoy), to make the journey all the way to England before the sun rises.

Within Arthur Christmas, there’s plenty of promise for something memorable. Yet, writer/director Sarah Smith betrays her own story. The trouble begins with a muddled tone, extends to the soundtrack (by Harry Gregson-Williams) and rubs off on the entire voice cast, including Bill Nighy.

Gregson-Williams changes the pace on a dime. He’s guilty of accelerating and decelerating almost within the same scene. There’s no justification for such fickleness. His work here pales next to Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, a film with more heart than this production.

Arthur comes across as a bumbling ne’er do well. His annoying presence made the whole 90 minute excursion a painful one to say the least. Also, there’s something to be said about how syrupy animation has gotten in recent years. Along with Up, Arthur Christmas does not spare the audience one sentimental moment, it revels in it.

Despite appearances, Arthur Christmas never quite settles into a genre, the animators too willing to impress the audience with pyrotechnics and 3D effects. This may be the most underwhelming Christmas movie I have seen in a long time.

(Released by Sony Pictures and rated "PG" by MPAA.)