Arthur is Santa’s youngest son, responsible for replying to all the letters that are written to Santa at Christmas.  He is a little ‘accident prone’ but a very likeable character.  The film begins on Christmas Eve as we watch Santa, his eldest son Steve and the army of elves embark on the giant task of delivering presents to all the children.  The traditional ‘sleigh’ has gone and they now use a modern space ship type vehicle and have a state of the art control centre, built to ensure every child receives a Christmas present.  Unfortunately the discovery is made that one child has been forgotten and has not received her Christmas present.  Although Steve agrees to deliver the forgotten present a few days after Christmas, Arthur knows that this is not good enough and that the child must have her present on Christmas day!

Clip 1: Scene 6 from 22 minutes and 53 seconds to 26 minutes and 37 seconds.   Clip 2: Scene 6 from 27 minutes and 50seconds to  28minutes and 55 seconds.  (Approximately 5 mins in total)

The  first clip I have chosen is where the missing present is discovered and we see the different reactions of Santa, Arthur and Steve.  It ends with Arthur finding the letter that the child had originally written to Santa.  The second clip shows Arthur’s grandfather suggesting that there might be a way to deliver the present after all!

Steve cannot see why Arthur is so upset about one child having been forgotten, when millions of children did receive a present on time.  To Steve, the child is just a number on the computer.   Arthur, however,  knows that the child is more than just a number and that she is an individual who will be so upset if she hasn’t got a present on Christmas day.  Arthur finds the letter that the child sent to Santa and finds out the name of the child and from then on refers to her by her name, rather than her computer number.    

Arthur knows that even though millions of children have received their present, if just one has been ‘forgotten’ then they have failed in their mission.  He knows that every child matters.  He sees them as individuals, not as just numbers on a computer system.

For the remainder of the film we watch Arthur set off on his mission to ensure that the child receives her present in time for Christmas day.  As you would expect, the journey is not straight forward but Arthur does not give up and does everything he can to reach the child in time.

Can some of Arthur’s characteristics be likened to God?   Even though there are millions of people in the world, God still knows each of us by name.  We are not just a ‘mass of people’.  We are God’s children.  He knows us as individuals.

You could also link this film in with Psalm 139.

This film follows a brother and sister’s attempt to rescue all the abandoned dogs in their city and to provide a home for them in a derelict building that they have discovered.  With a little help from their friends they make some daring rescues.  Every dog has a different ‘story’.  Some were unwanted, some didn’t want their owners, some were lost, some were injured and so the list goes on.  The children invent all sorts of gadgets to cater for the needs of every single dog that comes into their care.  For the dogs who like to go on car journeys they provide a car door, wind machine and film clips of journeys, for the dog who barks every time the door bell rings they provide some chiming doors and even the dog who loves to chew has his very own vending machine full of old shoes!  The children think of everything and look closely at the needs and character of each dog to ensure they are provided for.

Eventually the authorities discover what the children have done and are keen to close it down.  The day is saved by a friendly social worker who manages to convince those against the idea that the children have not just gathered together the ‘strays’ in the city but that they have created a ‘family’ of dogs, each of whom have a name, a story and a personality.   The film has a happy ending where this derelict building is turned into a hotel for dogs!

From 44 minutes into the film until 50 minutes and 56 seconds (Approximately 7 minutes)

This clip shows the children rescuing some of the dogs before ‘animal control’ catch them and  highlights the different characters of each dog by showing some of the gadgets that the children have invented to cater for the needs of each dog!

I would link this clip to the fact that God knows each one of us individually.  Just like the children in the film gave each dog a name and discovered that each dog was different and had a different character, so God knows our name, he knows our history and he knows our personality!  We are not all the same!  We are all very unique and special to God.

From 1 hour, 21 minutes and 14 seconds into the film until 1 hour, 25 minutes and 40 seconds (Approximately 4.5 minutes)

In this clip, the social worker has discovered a book that the children kept, detailing the name of each dog and how it was rescued.  It becomes obvious to all watching that this is a very special ‘family’ that the children have created.

A great clip to introduce the concept of being part of God’s family.  The dogs were not related to each other, however once a dog was ‘rescued’ by the children, it became part of a family with all the other dogs in a similar situation.  The social worker tells the listeners that “no one was turned away and no one was abandoned”.   Remind the children that when we make the decision to follow Jesus, despite the fact that we are not all related, we are, all part of ‘God’s’ family.  God sees us as his children and we are able to call him ‘Father’.  You could also talk about ‘brothers and sisters’ in the church and how we should care for one another.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child.”    (1 John 5:1)