Arthur et les Minimoys (2006)

Director:

Luc Besson

Writers:

Céline Garcia (written by) &
Luc Besson (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Adventure awaits in your own backyard.

Plot:

Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

Plot Keywords:

Miniaturization | Water Tank | Elf | Waterfall | Grandmother

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Freddie Highmore	...	Arthur
Mia Farrow	...	Granny
Ron Crawford	...	Archibald (voice: English version)
Penny Balfour	...	Arthur's Mother
Doug Rand	...	Arthur's Father
Adam LeFevre	...	Davido
Jean Bejote Njamba	...	Massai Chief
Saul Jephcott	...	Police Officer #1
Lee de Long	...	Saleslady
Christian Erickson	...	Antique Dealer
Eric Balliet	...	Mover #1
Oxmo Puccino	...	Mover #2
Robert William Bradford	...	Baliff
Jerry Di Giacomo	...	Repairman (voice: French version)
Bienvenue Kindoki	...	Matassalai #1

Also Known As:

Arthur and the Invisibles (Philippines: English title) (USA)
Arthur and the Minimoys (Hong Kong: English title)
Arthur et les Minimoys (France)
Arthur y los Minimoys (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Artúr és a villangók (Hungary) [hu]
Arthur e il popolo dei Minimei (Italy) [it]
Arthur e os Minimoys (Brazil) [pt]
Arthur et les Minimoys (Canada: French title) [fr]
Arthur i els Minimoys (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Arthur ile Minimoylar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Arthur ja Minimoit (Finland) [fi]
Arthur kai oi Minimoy, O (Greece) [el]
Arthur och Minimojerna (Sweden) [sv]
Arthur og Minimoyene (Norway) [no]
Arthur og Minimoyserne (Denmark) [da]
Arthur und die Minimoys (Germany) [de]
Artur i Minimki (Poland) [pl]
Artur ja Minimoid (Estonia) [et]

MPAA:

Rated PG for fantasy action and brief suggestive material.

Runtime:

103 min (French version) | 94 min (US version)

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:7 | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:6 | Norway:7 | Finland:K-7 | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Australia:PG | USA:PG (certificate #43224) | Singapore:PG | Germany:6 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:I | Argentina:Atp | Ireland:PG | UK:U | Denmark:7 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Director Luc Besson said that this will be his last movie as a director.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Granny hangs up the lite lamp on the porch, she is unable to reach as its too high. Then the next scene, and another later, she is able to reach it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#38.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Let's Dance

Wildly uneven movie where the animated bits almost make up for not so good live action ones

Based on the book by Luc Besson and rumored to be his final directing project this is the story of Arthur who is spurred on by the tales of his missing grandfather to find the land of the Minimoys where a great treasure is hidden. The treasure is needed because a developer wants the land for apartment buildings. Arthur is shrunk and begins a journey to Necropolis where he hopes to find his grandfather and the treasure.

Set seemingly in "America" with lines of dialog that are filled with British English this is a mixed bag of a movie. Most of the live action stuff isn't very good. Its poorly written and not very interesting on the whole, though the stories of the grandfathers inventions and adventures are pretty neat.(I'm sure kids will have a better time with the film since they won't have seen it before). The animated sequences, which make up the bulk of the film, do have some wonderful bits. Some of the dialog is knowingly funny in the right sort of way (I loved the forlorn Arthur bemoaning that the princess was too old for him, he being 10 and she being 1000). Bits such as Snoop Dog at a club are often scatter-shot funny,though I wonder if the Snoop sequence will date badly. The animation is often quite good with some bits being better looking than others(though I suspect that what looks to be the marrying of animated bits to live action plates is what got the film yanked from Oscar contention-not that it ever really had a chance.). I liked the character designs which are very Brian Froudish. I also liked the voice cast which included Robert DeNiro as the old king and David Bowie as a delicious villain.

Yea I know how is it? Its okay, As I said better in pieces. There is a really good story in there somewhere, its just not all on the screen. I think somewhere it got dumbed down or changed around. I blame Besson who must have been counting on the visuals to carry the film. You're not going to love it. I doubt anyone other than a small kid will love it- and odds are when they grow up they won't know why they loved it. Adults (or those passing as adults) will find it an okay time killer- though I do recommend waiting for video where the fast forward will make it easier to zip through the tough spots.

If you're curious worth seeing- though wait for video