Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8616 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-25
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
First released in France, Luc Besson's Arthur and the Invisibles is a touching computer animated adventure that makes up in look and in character for what it lacks in narrative originality. As a direct hybrid of Excalibur and A Bug's Life, Arthur stars a heroic ten year-old, Arthur (Freddie Highmore), who draws a sword from a stone to fight a miniature battle in the garden before finding treasure valuable enough to save his grandfather's farm from purchase by developers. Arthur's grandfather, Archibald, having long ago discovered the miniscule world of Minimoys, garden gnome-like elves that lived in his yard, shrunk himself in order to hunt elusive rubies that were hidden in their evil Mecropolis, headed by Maltazard (David Bowie). Now Arthur must assist the benevolent Minimoy clan, ruled by The King (Robert De Niro) and Princess Selenia (Madonna), in challenging Maltazard for possession of the jewels. Shots taking the viewer down through grass blades into the microscopic, yet gigantic yard world readjust one's sense of size, as do scenes, for example, in which a small, elven Arthur fights mosquitoes with catapulted tomatoes. Meanwhile, live action scenes of Arthur's worried grandmother (Mia Farrow) provide respite from a completely computerized world. Bowie, as he did in Legend, steals the show, bringing to life his Darth Vader-like character who chose evil over good in a past adventure. Corny one-liners sometimes spoil the mood, but overall the film's thematic blend of fantasy and environmentalism, like Princess Mononoke, will delight children with its positive message. --Trinie Dalton

Synopsis
Based on his book ARTHUR ET LES MINIMOYS, Luc Besson tries his hand at directing a kids’ film for the first time. The result is as vibrant and enchanting as one might expect from the man who gave us THE FIFTH ELEMENT. The adventure gets underway when 10-year-old Arthur (Freddie Highmore) discovers a set of notebooks belonging to his grandfather who went missing four years ago. In them, he wrote of an ‘invisible’ people no taller than half an inch - a people so small that they are dwarfed by insects! Are these just the fanciful stories of an eccentric old man, or is the truth stranger than fiction? Arthur finds the answer hidden in one of his grandfather’s clues and is magically transported to the Invisibles’ realm. It’s at this point that the film shifts gear from live-action to beautifully rendered computer animation. Joining forces with Madonna’s feisty Princess Selenia, Arthur attempts to outwit the dastardly wizard Maltazard (voiced to villainous perfection by David Bowie), and foil his plans to destroy their tiny kingdom. The film boats an impressive array of talent including Mia Farrow--as Arthur’s concerned grandmother--and a trio of musicians-turned-actors (Madonna, Snoop Dogg, and Bowie). Other standouts include Robert De Niro, Jimmy Fallon, Harvey Keitel, and Jason Bateman, while Highmore brings the same wide-eyed wonder to the screen as he did in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. In fact, ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES shares a similar imaginative spirit with the works of Tim Burton and Roald Dahl. Though Besson’s previous films have been grown-up fare like LA FEMME NIKITA, he brings a sense of childlike awe to this project.

Customer Reviews

Good french film /Bad US edition
This film is the biggest european animation so far. Besson spent 5 years on it, and while it failed in the english speaking market it went fairly well in the international marke, enough to secure the two sequels already in production.

Why the diference?

When Besson casted Maddona (a long time friend) whe did not know the problems involved.

A lot of the problems in pace and plot of the US edition of the film are result of the eforts of the Weinstein company in removing half of the plot: The love story of Arthur and Selenia, which due to Maddonas voice, became "inapropiated". In the international editions all this was left and the film has received good notes.

So the falling in love, kissing and marrying of Arthur and Selenia were cut, along other sections that were considered inapropiated for small kids. This left some plot holes and the motivation of the characteres became unconvincing.

I recomend to try the French DVD editions (it includes the undedited enlgish version) and also inlcudes a beautifull "making of" of the film, in french.

Oh do shut up
I don't know what the above fella is on about. I'm fifteen and I went to see the film at the cinema with my father. Call me a kid but I just couldn't resist going to see a film with such a fantastic cast. Freddie Highmore, Madonna, David Bowie and Snoop Dog lead an impressive cast in a wonderfully glossy and beautifully animated fantasy adventure. My father's forty five and both myself and him throughly enjoyed it. Madonna is feisty and sassy as the beautiful princess/empowered female, Freddie Highmore is charming if scary-looking as the hero, ten-year old Arthur and even though he appears about three quarters into the film, David Bowie still manages to steal the show as the deliciously evil villain, Malthazar, ahem, sorry, Evil M. I've read the books upon which the film is based and they were equally brilliant although the film modernises it a bit more, exchanging the ancient tavern for a flashy night-club. 'I like this kid' declares the evil wizard as Arthur flatters his vanity in an attempt to save his friends lives. Of course it would have been good if at the end of the film, the Minimoys had gotten transformed into humans the same way Arthur had been turned into a Minimoy and Madonna and Snoop Dog had led the cast in a smash hit ending number ala Shrek. Furthermore on the subject of musical numbers I thought David Bowie's character should have gotten his own evil song. Something reminiscent of the Evil Fairy Godmother's Bonnie Tyler impersonation perhaps. Nevertheless, well worth watching and once the critics have spent their feeble arrows it will do very well.

Fantastic Fun
I rented this film from our local rental store on a whim. (after being told they couldn't find the disc to the movie we wanted to rent, and we couldn't be bothered to search all over again) However I was very pleased with what I saw. I thought the animation was whimsical, and took me back to movies like A Bugs Life. The characters were all very well voiced, especially Bowie's character. The story was also wonderful and in my opinion would appeal to children and adults alike. Although this is probably not the most advanced film, or the best written script, I appreciated the movie, as something which was very reminiscent of the past.