History Characters / ArthurChristmas

** Grandsanta is a grouchy and stubborn old man who cannot accept that the old ways he lived on for so long aren't really needed any more. He wants to be seen as the person he use to be since he really struggles to accept getting old and the real world has to move on in order to improve. This makes him shun his own son and grandson Steve and will even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur just to prove his way is the right way.

** Grandsanta is a grouchy and stubborn old man who cannot accept that the old ways he lived on for so long aren't really needed any more. This makes him shun his own son and grandson Steve and will even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur just to prove his way is the right way.

** Grandsanta is a traditional grouchy old man who is insecure about accepting that the old ways he lived on for so long aren't really needed any more. This makes him a guy who can shun his own son and grandson Steve and will even emotionally manipulate Arthur just to prove his way is the right way.

** Santa himself has some real identity issues and is insecure about knowing who he is and how useful he will be without his title as Santa. This can make him seem inadvertently selfish, ignorant, and emotionally neglectful, despite the fact he does mean well and does care for his family and the children around the world.

** Steve has a serious InferiorSuperiorityComplex which makes him come across as very stubborn and petty-minded.

* DysfunctionalFamily: Malcolm is an out-of-touch and unintentional emotionally neglectful father, Grandsanta is a stubborn and traditional man who will shun his grandson Steve's new advanced way of running the North Pole and even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur to get his picture just to prove his way is the right way. Steve has a serious InferioritySuperiorityComplex due to his dad never treating him any different than the millions of children all around the world, and Arthur is a good-natured but clumsy BrokenPedestal. Mrs Claus is the OnlySaneWoman that keeps her family in tact.

* TheAce: She's shown to be skilled at just about any task she does; implied to be because [[spoiler:she takes online courses on basically everything in her spare time]].

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: He tends to get this treatment. He's a bit clumsy and slightly buffoonish (especially as compared to Steve, whom they all admire), so the elves say things behind his back like "Send him to the South Pole." His older brother Steve is [[AloofOlderBrother somewhat cold towards him]], and even his father isn't quite sure what to do with him. As shown during his HeroicBSOD, he's fully aware of it.
* BadassSanta: In his own way, especially since until recently he's lived a rather sheltered life at the North Pole. He's determined to make sure that Gwen gets her present despite everyone else telling him that he can't do it, even when it means attempting to row across the Atlantic Ocean in nothing but a tiny boat. He even learns to ride a bicycle without stabilizers during the climax, just to make sure that Gwen has her present before she wakes up on Christmas morning. And of course, he is appointed as the new Santa at the end of the film.
* BrokenPedestal: His brother, father and grandfather are all victims of this. When Grandsanta helps Arthur get the present Gwen, Arthur is ecstatic. However, he later becomes disappointed to learn that [[SecretlySelfish he was only helping them in order to make a point to Steve about how his old-fashioned ways are superior to his technology]]. As for Steve, at first he showed great admiration to him at the start of the movie, but when Steve dismisses the error of Gwen's gift, Arthur is taken aback. As for his dad, when Arthur says to Steve that Malcolm must be worried about the present and the girl, Steve plays a voicemail that implies otherwise, which is the final straw and makes Arthur really upset.

* EpiphanyTherapy: Arthur snaps out of his HeroicBSOD by realizing that who delivers the gifts and how are not what's important; as long as the gift gets to the child on Christmas, the spirit of Santa Claus will come through.

* HeroicBSOD: After him, Grandsanta and Bryony are marooned in Cuba after losing the sleigh, he begins to lose hope of ever getting Gwen's present to her.

* TheKlutz: He's rather on the clumsy side. Wearing oversized slippers for most of the film doesn't help.

* RebuiltPedestal: When he sees his father in Gwen’s house, Arthur is overjoyed to see his father really does care for children and gives him a huge hug

* YoungestChildWins: In the end, it's Arthur who becomes the new Santa Claus instead of his older brother Steve, though the epilogue reveals that Steve has become Chief Operating Officer and is happy with his job.

* AloofBigBrother: Takes his job very seriously and as a result can come across as very distant towards his family, including Arthur.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Downplayed as Steve's ambition to be recognized doesn't really do anything too bad except complicate the movie's conflict a little.
* BadassSanta: While Steve isn't actually Santa, he more or less fills this role. Doubles as BadassInANiceSuit, since his version of the classic Santa Claus costume is a Versace.
* CharacterDevelopment: He slowly loses his pettiness and [[WellDoneSonGuy need to be acknowledged by his father]] as the movie goes along, as he eventually learns that being Santa is more than just a job where quotas need to be met.

* FreudianExcuse: When he was growing up, his father Malcolm didn't treat him any different from the countless other children in the world despite being his first-born son. Malcolm would even state that Steve should have written a letter to him about wanting a pool table when he was eight years old instead of ''talking to him''. His nearly-flawless execution of Christmas and his desperate need to be the best is done as a means to impress him and finally be acknowledged as his ''son''.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's the guy who wants to keep Christmas up and running but wants his family to acknowledge his accomplishments and respect him for it, understandably so. He also has the tendency to focus on the logistics of Christmas, overlooking the joy it brings to children. By the end of the movie he shows he really does love his family and gains the personal experience of seeing the delight that comes when a child opens their gift.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: When the elves begins to feel worried about Arthur and his mission, he gets angered about it to the point where he leaves his father in charge of dealing with it. He soon comes around though.
* StrawVulcan: To him, Christmas is a business, and he runs that business like a champ. Unfortunately, his focus on the "big picture" gets in the way of [[TrueMeaningOfChristmas the reason for the season]] and he fails to understand why everyone is making a big deal out of one child not getting a gift from Santa Claus on time.
--> '''Steve:''' Arthur, Christmas is not a time for emotion.

* VillainyFreeVillain: He's the closest the movie has to an antagonist, but he's not bad at all, just petty-minded, stubborn, and insecure.

* YouAreNotReady: Steve himself admits he's not the one to be the next Santa at the end of the film and allows Arthur to succeed their father, having been impressed by his determination in getting Gwen's present delivered in a timely fashion and learned a lesson in humility in the process.

* AintTooProudToBeg: He becomes a begging mess to Arthur when they and Bryony are surrounded by lions in Africa.

* CharacterDevelopment: He slowly comes to realize throughout the movie that his old-fashioned tendencies aren't really needed in the world and grows to accept change.

* HeroicSacrifice: He jumps ship when missiles are nearing his sleigh. He survives though, subverting the trope.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He appears grumpy and has a very self-centered ego, telling his grandson that he cares about Gwen getting her present while really just wanting to prove to Steve that his gift-delivering methods are better. He later proves to genuinely love and care about Arthur, and deep down, the rest of his family as well.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When he sees that his selfish ambitions have derailed Arthur‘s mission, he apologizes and eventually admits Arthur is a better Santa than he is.
* NoNameGiven: While the rest of the family has their ordinary names like Margaret and Arthur, everyone just calls him Gransanta.
* OlderIsBetter: Grandsanta believes that the traditional delivery methods are better than the newfangled technology that Steve is now using and this pretty much constitutes one of the major conflicts of the film. Arthur doesn't mind the new technology but is very much attached to the traditional ideals of the Santa mystique: That somewhere in the world, there's a wonderful man who knows and dearly loves each and every child, wanting nothing more than for them to be happy.

* SecretlySelfish: He offers to help Arthur deliver the bicycle to Gwen and claims he's worried about a child being missed, but it's later revealed that he was mainly doing it to show Steve how he thinks delivering presents should be done, not out of good will. Though he changes his tune as the film progresses.

[[folder: Malcolm/Santa]]

* CharacterDevelopment: When he visits Arthur's mail office and reads some of Arthur's heartwarming responses to the letters children have written to Santa, Malcolm is motivated to try and finish the job and actually do something rather than just lay around. Later on, he also comes to terms with the fact that he's no longer fit to be Santa, and decides that Arthur is his most worthy successor.

* HappilyMarried: To Margaret, the two adore each other.

** Before being talked out of it by Steve, he is quite ready to go out and give Gwen her bike, showing he really does care for the children of the world despite his other flaws.
** Choosing Arthur over Steve as his successor shows he can be surprisingly wise.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When he enters Arthur’s mail office and reads the responses Arthur has written to various children over the years, he realizes he has completely failed to live up to Arthur’s lofty view of him. He is then quickly motivated to get the job done.

* ParentalNeglect: Unintentional but still apparent. Malcolm does love both of his sons but it's implied he was never a very attentive or self-aware father. He didn't treat his first born Steve any different than the millions of other children around the world when he was growing up. As a result, Steve spent his life wanting to impress him and be acknowledged as his ''son'' for a change. Malcolm loves Arthur too but he pays less attention to him in favor of working with Steve who runs the operations. He even forgets what Arthur does at the North Pole at one point.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: Downplayed; he has shades of this, since he tends to be forgetful and wants to keep being Santa despite obviously not being fit for the position anymore, having become little more than a figurehead while Steve and the elves do most of the work on Christmas eve. It's later revealed that he's well aware he's getting too old to be Santa, but doesn't want to let go of the position since he [[LossOfIdentity doesn't know who he'd be]] if he retired.

The MrsClaus of the Santa family who is revealed to be very capable in her own right.

* TheAce: She's shown to be skilled at just about any task she does, implied to be because she takes online courses on basically everything in her spare time.

* OnlySaneWoman: She's the most sensible out of her family as she keeps a level-head throughout the entire conflict.

* NiceGirl: She is nothing but kind and supportive to everyone, and one of the few people who is kind to Arthur

[[folder: Bryony]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: She's very eccentric, but man can she wrap a present.

* GenkiGirl: She's very enthusiastic, especially when it comes to gift wrapping.

Steve's personal assistant.

* ProfessionalButtKisser: He's basically a yes-man to Steve,and when Arthur manages to deliver the present [[spoiler: and declared the new santa]]. He makes it clear that he will try to win his favor.

* CompromisingCall: When he tries to contact Arthur, Grandsanta, and Bryony with his gadget, it makes several loud noises that wake up the lions they had just put to sleep.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Is the elf who notices Arthur delivering the present, he lets the other elves know thereby saving the North Pole from melting down.

* NiceGirl

* ProfessionalButtKisser: He's basically a yes-man to Steve.

* FreudianExcuse: When he was growing up, his father didn't treat him any different from the countless other children in the world despite being his first-born son. His dad would even state that he should have written a letter to him about wanting his pool table instead of ''talking to him''. His nearly-flawless execution of Christmas and his desperate need to be the best is done as a means to impress him and finally be acknowledged as his ''son''.

* WellDoneSonGuy: All Steve wants is to have his contributions to helping his family acknowledged.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite their obvious flaws and toxicities, it's clear this family means well and clearly loves each other, which makes them much more believable and relatable.

* DysfunctionalFamily: Malcolm is an out-of-touch and unintentional emotionally neglectful father, Grandsanta is a stubborn and traditional man who will shun his grandson Steve's new advanced way of running the North Pole and even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur to get his picture just to prove his way is the right way. Steve has a serious SuperiorInferiorityComplex due to his dad never treating him any different than the millions of children all around the world, and Arthur is a good-natured but clumsy BrokenPedestal. Mrs Claus is the [[OnlySaneMan only level-headed one]] that keeps her family in tact.

* DysfunctionalFamily: Malcolm is an out-of-touch and unintentional emotionally neglectful father, Grandsanta is a stubborn and traditional man who will shun his grandson Steve's new advanced way of running the North Pole and even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur to get his picture just to prove his way is the right way. Steve has a serious SuperiorInferiorityComplex due to his dad never treating him any different than the millions of children all around the world, and Arthur is a good-natured but clumsy BrokenPedestal. Mrs Claus is the OnlySaneWoman that keeps her family in tact.

* AwLookTheyReallyLoveEachOther: Despite their obvious flaws and toxicities, it's clear this family means well and clearly loves each other, which makes them much more believable and relatable.
* DysfunctionalFamily: Malcolm is an out-of-touch and unintentional emotionally neglectful father, GrandSanta is a stubborn and traditional man who will shun his grandson Steve's new advanced way of running the North Pole and even emotionally manipulate his other grandson Arthur to get his picture just to prove his way is the right way. Steve has a serious SuperiorInferiorityComplex due to his dad never treating him any different than the millions of children all around the world, and Arthur is a good-natured but clumsy BrokenPedestal. Mrs Claus is the OnlySaneWoman that keeps her family in tact.

* CoolOldGuy: Remarks that he and Grandsanta had been through a a lot of adventures.

* CharacterDevelopment: When he visits Arthur's mail office and reads some of Arthur's heartwarming responses to the letters children have written to Santa, Malcolm is motivated to try and finish the job and actually do something rather than just lay around. He later comes to terms with the fact that he's no longer fit to be Santa, and decides that Arthur is his most worthy successor.