Denny's and "Arthur Christmas" Deliver Some Holiday Magic

SPARTANBURG, S.C., Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Looking to spread season's greetings across America, Denny's has partnered with Aardman and Sony Pictures' upcoming family comedy "Arthur Christmas".  With a wide variety of family fun to be enjoyed over the festive period, Denny's and Arthur are set to deliver some holiday magic not to be missed.

An Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation, "Arthur Christmas" at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?'  With all the ingredients of a Christmas classic – a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Santa's youngest son, Arthur – the film follows Arthur as he embarks on a hilarious, exciting mission against the clock, with a mission to deliver the last present before Christmas morning dawns.

Kids can enjoy Arthur's very own festive favorites on Denny's new "Taste of the Holidays" menu; Arthur's Milk and Cookies Shake and his Christmas Cookie Pancakes are two delicious dishes to which every kid wishes to wake up to.  The new menu also includes classic holiday items and seven new taste sensations including the Build Your Own Holiday Grand Slam®, Denny's Holiday Turkey Melt and new Red Velvet Pancake Puppies® with Cream Cheese Icing.  

As Santa's son, Arthur will be giving children the opportunity to tell him exactly what they want for Christmas with the exciting "Letters to Santa" game.  Kids can tell Arthur just how good (or bad!) they've been this year and what they're hoping will be waiting for them under the tree on Christmas morning.  Arthur will make sure Santa sees their very special request and as a thank you for writing to him, he'll even let them use his reply letter to get a free kid's meal at Denny's.

Knowing that every child deserves a gift at Christmas, Arthur and Denny's will also be teaming up to help less fortunate children get something special this year by participating in the "12 Days of Arthur Christmas" events around the country, leading up to the Nov. 23 movie release.  

Marking the 10th day of the celebration, from 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21, through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, Denny's restaurants in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas/Ft. Worth, St. Louis, Phoenix and San Diego will be hosting a 24-hour toy drive to support the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation.  Customers will be encouraged to drop off a gift on those dates and the first 100 donors at each location will receive a free Original Grand Slam® breakfast coupon as a thank you for their generous contribution.  

"Denny's is delighted to be partnering with 'Arthur Christmas' over the holiday season and we hope that America enjoys our efforts to sprinkle around some festive spirit," said John Dillon, vice president of marketing and product development for Denny's.  "In the movie, Arthur believes every boy and girl should have a gift on Christmas Eve; with Arthur's help we'll also be ensuring all our diners get delicious dishes over the holidays, with some exciting activities along the way."

For more information about Denny's holiday menu or to find a restaurant near you, please visit www.dennys.com.

About Denny's Corp.

Denny's is one of America's largest full-service family restaurant chains, currently operating more than 1,600 franchised, licensed and company-owned restaurants across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Puerto Rico and New Zealand. For further information on Denny's, including news releases, please visit the Denny's website at www.dennys.com.

About Aardman

Aardman, based in Bristol (UK), co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is a world leader in animation. It produces feature films, television series and television commercials for both the domestic and international market. The studio has won over 400 international awards including 4 Oscars®.

About Sony Pictures Animation

Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits, the 2011 hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster, The Smurfs (3D) and the 2009 mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (3D), with the family comedy Hotel Transylvania (3D) in Fall 2012. The division is also in production with Aardman Animations on two feature films, the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D) in theaters November 2011 and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D) in March 2012.

SOURCE Denny's