User Reviews

If you're seeing this with your kids, my opinion is to ignore this review. However, watching as an adult, I found this movie annoying. The character and plot development at the beginning of the movie is first-rate. It's only after Arthur descends into the world of the Minimoys that the movie also descends in quality. At that point, the plot gives the characters only 36 hours to complete their mission. For whatever reason, director Besson goes into speed-reading mode with the plot. Mentally, I kept saying to myself "what just happened?" as scenes come and go like you're flipping through a magazine. Correspondingly, the character relationships lack depth - most importantly for me, how does the Princess go from barely tolerating Arthur to my-god-he's-my-soul-mate? Personally, I also found the celebrity voices intruded upon the characters - I kept picturing Madonna and Bowie talking to each other rather than the story's actors. As with previous Besson movies, the scenery is not just eye candy but integral to his story-telling style so he does not disappoint there. This is a good movie to see with children and I have no complaints there.

I've had the privilege of watching the worldwide premiere of Arthur and the Minimoys on Friday, December 1st 2006. French director Luc Besson (Leon, The Fifth Element) arrived at the "Yes Planet" theater in Ramat-Gan, Israel early afternoon, to attend the show. Right before the screening began, he asked the audience to open it's heart, and added something about the film being aimed mainly for kids. He was right.

Maybe it's that bitter 26-year-old guy in me that just couldn't let go of that aching sarcasm that prevented me from really enjoying this half CGI animated/half live action film. Maybe it's the fact that i've just seen so many similar products through the course of my life, that I found it heard to be excited or (god forbid) enthusiastic during this one. Whatever the cause, I couldn't help but reaching the eventual conclusion that Arthur and the Minimoys didn't live up to it's potential. If Besson had just moved one step forward with his imagination, if the twists had been just a tad more original, if the ending hadn't felt so quick and rushed - I could have had a much better time.

The plot line is easy to follow: 10 year-old Arthur, played by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate fame, lives in a small town with his grandmother, portrayed by Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby, The Purple Rose of Cairo). It's the early 1960's and Arthur, who is neglected by his parents, escapes his loneliness by hearing stories of his absent grandfather's journeys to imaginative lands. Reality, however, is grim, as Grandpa has been missing for three years and Grandma must raise a large sum of money in 48 hours, or her land will be seized by the local authorities. Determined to save the property, Arthur sets out on a journey to the land of the Minimoys, extremely small beings who live in his garden, in search of expensive rubies that can put an end to Grandma's debts. From here on out the story turns CGI, as Arthur is shrinked to the size of an average Minimoy himself. On his journey, he falls in love with princess Selenia (voiced by Madonna), befriends a rastaman underground dweller named Max (Snoop Dog) and faces the evil being referred to as "M" (David Bowie).

While the animation is colorful and filled with imagination, the plot moves so fast you don't have much time to really notice the details. Also, there are some supposedly subtle remarks about sex, marriage and corrupt leaders which I don't think are fully appropriate for kids.

Bottom Line, Arthur and the Minimoys is an OK ride, but nothing we haven't seen before. From the recent animated The Ant Bully, through the classic 1980's Honey I Shrunk the Kids, the famed story of King Arthur and even The Matrix - it's all homaged, if not copied, in this new entry.

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

'Arthur et les Minimoys' is a charming little children's adventure film. The world of the Minimoys is well created and it is the animated sequences that are much more fun than the acted sequences even though Mia Farrow and Freddie Highmore keep the latter sequences alive while the rest of the actors don't. There has been some nice creative input behind the making of the world of Minimoys. The animation is lively, the vibrant colours and detail are fascinating, the characters are lovable, especially Princess Selenia and her brother and the voice casting (that includes Madonna, Harvey Keitel, Jason Bateman and more) is great. The adventure with Arthur, Selenia and her brother is fun and engaging. How often do you get to see characters sleeping on a cosy bed of pollen, straws being used as a water supply or figures dancing on a moving LP disk? The romance between Selenia and Arthur is well handled. Moreover the film balances the comedy, fantasy and adventure feel very well. Overall, 'Arthur et les Minimoys' is a cute little fun film. Clearly, Luc Besson's intention was to make a children's film and he has succeeded in making a nice one.

Filmmaker Luc Besson is famous for both his stunning visuals and his not-that-great story lines. But in every movie there is at least one scene that becomes a classic, so his contribution to movies in general is not to be underestimated. The fantasy CGI tale Arthur and the Minimoys – based on his own books – is his latest project and I must sadly tell you that it is not a good movie. Unlike films like Shrek, Finding Nemo or even Robots it is strictly for children and I guess adults will not find that much to enjoy.

The story begins in the real world. Ten year old Arthur finds out that his back garden is populated by miniature creatures called Minimoys. In order to save his grandfather's farm he must go to the world of Minimoy to find the treasure his granddaddy buried there. Unfortunately that world is dominated by the evil Malthazar and Arthur has to team up with a princess and an her annoying brother to reach his goal.

Let's start with the good. The movie actually starts off in a nice way. Mia Farrow as Arthur's grandmother is fragile, sympathetic and even comical. Young Freddy Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland) is experienced enough to carry off his role convincingly. His entrance in the Minimoys world is very well done and all the tiny fantasy creatures look great. Princess Selenia is perhaps one of the most beautiful CGI creatures ever created on film. Okay, we have at least one great Besson moment!

But in the Minimoy world all goes wrong. For the viewer that is. Starting as a lonely nerd, Arthur is suddenly able to do all kinds of heroic stunts. That's a bit illogical. In true Arthur fashion he pulls a sword from a stone and that seems to give him great sword fighting skills. But that scene comes too late. It doesn't explain all the things that happened before. When the princess and Arthur team up the story gets blurred. Arthur wants to find the treasure, that's clear. But what is the goal of the princess? Does she want to kill the evil Malthazar? And why doesn't she do that when she finally meets him? And what is the thing about getting married in two days?

There are a lot of loose ends in Arthur and the Minimoys and that makes the ultimate feeling very unsatisfactory. It is clear that director Besson had to skip a lot of pages from his novel in order to make a film out of his book. The explanation why Malthazar is the evil person he is, is very thin. The interaction between Arthur and the princess could have been a lot better and more screen time would certainly have helped. I guess children will like the movie though – despite the lack of real funny moments. The best scenes take place in the open field , when the three heroes must travel over the river to cross the country. But most of the scenes were 'shot' in caves and this gloomy look doesn't make the viewer more happy. Too bad, but I think Arthur and the Minimoys is an expensive mistake.

What a car crash.

This film almost sparks under the weight of it's own arrogance. Arthur & The Invisibles takes the impossibly high bar set by the likes of Pixar, Blue Sky and throws it into a subterranean pit of film making ineptitude.

Never before have I seen so many quotes and steals from so many other films (Star Wars, Antz, Bug's Life, The Borrowers and surprisingly Besson's own Fifth Element among others) without the film benefiting from any lessons learnt in story telling, comedy, action, and ways of engaging family audiences. One must fully look to the top for blame here, as this is where the problems start. From an absurdly confused children's tale that would have Roald Dahl mount a rotisserie in his own grave and would make even Tolkien scratch his temples (script that had enough dialogue, characters and back story to keep an audience busy for an entire trilogy). Into some remarkably absurd casting (is a 50 year old singer really the best actor available to play a romantic lead opposite a 12/13 year old boy?). Following through production design that simply stole from other features and brought nothing of its own. Coming to rest on picture and dialogue editing that was lamentable not only in it's sloppiness, but also for having presented two cumbersome reels of syrupy live "action" followed by four reels where every breath had been sheered out (and presumably a few good laughs), leaving nothing but an intoxicating maelstrom of indecipherable plot.

You will notice something I haven't mentioned so far. The animation..... and herein lies the heartache on seeing this film. So much work has gone into this aspect. There are some fantastic moments and beautifully constructed scenes. The characters work well and have motion that responds to their characterisation beautifully. The sound design is also strong, and both these factors come together to form a body of immensely hard toil. So much pity that the more traditional departments of this film let the side down with inept mistakes, and poor creative decisions. The live action aspects and performances in this film were hideously directed, with bemused looking actors who didn't seem to know what on earth was going on, and camera composition that looked rushed and shoddy compared to the CGI action. There were points in the live action where the actors had been ADR'd, but the lip sync was out. What an insult to the animation department that had managed to lip sync insects and rodents into convincing performances effectively. Shame on you.

I do hope this film goes to show the amount of incredible hard work, creative vision, and team spirit that goes into more successful CGI animations. For it's lack of these facets are plain to see on the screen in this production. I hope this film also acts as a warning to future directors considering CGI as a change in direction. It's an art form. Without study, understanding and years of real hard work you will end up with a Turkey. I just feel sorry for all those animators who must have spent months, plucking, basting and roasting this one.

We rented this movie as one that we could watch with my three year old and I can't tell you how many times she's requested to watch it again in the few days that we've had the movie. It's very cute, the animated parts quite entertaining. I found the script to be very bizarrely written. The kid doesn't talk like any other kid I've met of that age, it's as if some thirty year old is speaking through him but that happens when an adult tries to write a child's perspective. There are a few plot holes that made me arch my eyebrow but besides that, it was very enjoyable. It's one of those fungus movies where my initial reaction was "it's okay but not one I would care to own". Now, after being conned into watching it multiple times, I wouldn't the least bit annoyed if it joined our collection.

The movie in the theater was wonderful...however now we have watched the DVD and the children are quite disappointed as many of the funny scenes have been cut out...this is the first time I have seen this happen. For example the two kisses between Arthur and Selinia...the dance with Max...when the parents are digging for the treasure...the part where the buyer tries to steal the treasure....the part where the coconut breaks and Arthur asks Selinia for the string on her top for him to climb...when they were almost kissing and Selinia's brother said she had to wait for the next ten years....when they are sleeping in the flower and Selinia wakes Arthur has his arm around her...these are just a few of the scenes the children have noticed on our first viewing.

Luc Besson's first ever foray into animation, and only second foray into film-making as a whole for six years, provides us with a curious little piece called Aruthr et les Minimoys. The film is not without its flaws nor annoyances, but overall I found it to be quite an enjoyable little romp through a number of subjects, issues and themes playing out under one of those umbrellas of live action mingling in with cartoon animation. The film offers wonderful entertainment for kids as it shoots along its fantastical route of warm, family infused environments; some threat in the form of an outside force attempting to put pay to the set up; an escape into an alternate universe in which a colourful array of characters and rules govern that particular space; as well as a series of animated scenes acting as sheer spectacle once the narrative has got rolling.

The film is primarily concerned with a young boy and his escape from one world, or 'reality', into another. The case here is Freddie Highmore's titular role Arthur, a young and curiously English boy living in early 1960s rural America with his Grandmother, on a farm. In terms of friends and contact with those outside of his domain, his parents are nowhere and his Grandfather has been missing for a good while. As far as openings go, the child friendly setting of Arthur's farm is colourful, peaceful and set away from most other dangers creating a wide open space for Arthur to enjoy all by himself. He enjoys reading of his grandfather's exploits in foreign territory and is at a curious age in which the world around him is beginning to become more and more noticeable. This somewhat ideal setting is disrupted when some of those typically nasty suit-clad men arrive with the goal to shut the whole thing down. It turns out, the family have a few days to pay rather-a large sum of cash or face eviction.

Armed with a developing brain; some might say a sprawling imagination and knowledge there is priceless treasure buried somewhere on the grounds that would pay off the debt, Arthur goes on a quest to uncover the truth and save the day. Arthur's transformation into a creature known as a 'Minimoy' as he burrows below the grounds of the farm and into an alternate world could quite easily be read into as a psychological 'escape' from one horrid situation into a dream-like Utopian setting. Only, both the transformation and study that worked so extraordinarily in the previous year's Pan's Labyrinth, isn't rendered quite as ambiguous this time round as the young lead attempts to escape from their predicament, and into a fabricated world which is further distilled by the horrors they're already living with. Besson even renders the villain of the piece here, Emperor Malthazar, voiced by David Bowie, as a sort of imitation of the Pale Man himself.

Within this new world, Arthur is somewhat of a superhero; so much so that when the fatal and extremely dangerous quest is undertaken, it's deemed he's able to go it alone without the aid of any sort of backup nor guards of any description – just he and two select others. One of these is Princess Selenia (Madonna), the daughter of the leader of the Minimoys – a character that Arthur, up on surface level whilst in human form, took to somewhat in that innocent and young manner only he could, when he found her in cartoon form drawn on some paper and kissed it. Again, the lines between maddening reality and what would act perfectly fine as a out-and-out fantasy is toyed with when we assume the character of the princess and her appeal to him might be a fabrication of his own imagination.

At worst, Arthur and the Invisibles a reasonably good child's fare that cracks along at a healthy pace. The trend of updating fairy stories and incorporating other texts and popular culture references, thus rendering the text of a post-modern kind is close to vacant, offering a refreshing change to a lot of other, recent animation films attempting to branch out to the widest possible audience. It's additionally refreshing to have a female character as strong as the lead, as she works with the lead, in their attempt to thwart evil; while I think there's a knowing element to the protagonist's task of having to rescue another character locked away in a dungeon - not a maiden but someone else this time. It's good to see a lead female in this type of film, not as a prize to be rescued and won, but as an action infused side-kick.

Along the way, very basic but necessary ideas linked to team-work will sprout up with the aim to target any kids watching, I'm sure. There is also time for Besson to stamp an authoritarian and somewhat personal mark on the piece when a large-scale fight scene plays out at a disco. A recent reading of Susan Hayward's 1998 book on Besson sees her write about 'violence as performance' in Besson's films; acts that are often carefully choreographed within the film and thus resemble some sort of dance or performance: think the opening hit in Léon; the SWAT team assault during the finale of Léon as well as a certain fight scene in The Fifth Element involving Milla Jovovich's character, inter-cut with an operatic performance. Written before this film was made, similar sorts of ideas and aesthetics are played out once again by the Frenchman. But the film is no disaster on the whole. I'm don't think whatever rumoured or planned sequels are entirely necessary, as the tale; the ideas and messages have been explored here to the point of satisfaction. This is one for parents and kids alike looking for a break from the strenuous glut of Shrek films and others that feature talking animals.

That is personal opinion of course. There are things to admire about Arthur and the Invisibles but the flaws that are brought up by those who didn't like the film are valid. The best thing is the animation, which is great, with lots of beautiful colours(bright and colourful as well as dark and foreboding) and detail. The music fits very well too, the fantasy elements sparkle and the adventure ones rouse while it is also in a style accessible to the target audience(family). The action sequences are reasonably fun, exciting and well and inventively animated, if a few too many, the film's lessons and messages are good and don't feel preachy, and there are a few amusing and sweet moments, the grandfather's journal was a beautiful touch. Most of the voice acting/acting is commendable, faring best are a very likable Freddie Highmore and a sinister yet suave David Bowie. Chazz Palminteri and Jason Bateman shine in bit roles, and Snoop Dog is hilarious. In the live action parts Mia Farrow is appropriately kindly and compassionate. Robert De Niro is quite good also though deserving of more to do. Not all the acting is entirely successful, Jimmy Fallon is annoying and Madonna trying to sound younger than she actually is takes some getting used to. Harvey Keitel is pretty wasted in an underwritten role that does nothing for his talents. The live action parts are rather awkwardly written and staged, and the narration feels out of place and not really that unnecessary. David Suchet though does do a nice job admittedly. The dialogue has its moments, but can feel trite and under baked, while the story can have a tendency to move too fast. With more room to breathe it could have been developed more and elaborated more on some its ideas, which were good ones that were at times somewhat of a convoluted muddle. The characters are likable but not much more. Overall, Arthur and the Invisibles' good points were great but with a stronger story and writing it could have been more. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I first purchased the version made for England, locally as a second hand DVD. It was a speculative purchase, it seemed like it might be okay.

I liked it, but mostly when I re-watched it I started from when Arthur was preparing to go into the Minimoys' land and ended at the start of the journey to Necropolis.

I noticed that many UK reviews either were not impressed or considered that the French soundtrack was way superior. Those views did not make much sense to me.

I then purchased the Blu-ray of Arthur And The Great Adventure and found it to be fairly empty. A wasted purchase. But I remembered the comment about the French language. It was a long shot, but I checked out the Arthur series in Amazon France and purchased the triple DVD box set from there. My plan was to listen in French but watch with the English subtitles on, just the subtitles are only in French so I put my disk set to one side.

December, the horror season. For Christmas I decided to check through my disks for Barbie stuff that I had not watched much yet and I also added the Arthur set to the collection, together with seasons 3 and 4 of Trachenberg's Gossip Girl. Apart from bits of GG, Christmas turned into something other than horror. I do like Barbie movies.

None of the Arthur disks from France were anything like the stuff that I purchased in England. Feature 1, Arthur Et Les Minimoys is longer and includes a different dialogue to the version for England. It gels as a story. I tend to watch it all the way through, not just the middle bit.

My Blu-ray of Arthur And The Great Adventure turned out to be a weak edited version of the two remaining stories, Arthur Et La Vengeance De Maltazard (2009) and Arthur Et La Guerre Des Deux Mondes (2010). If I do not re-watch episode 1 so much is because I tend to head to these as well. I also look to the final 15 minutes of Arthur Et La Vengeance De Maltazard as that has a lead in to a magnificent end credits song.

One big difference between the French and the English is the romance between the 10 year old Arthur and the thousand year old Selenia. In English one accepts that there is a romance because it says so, the French version shows it. It is a real romance type adventure story, in the first feature especially.

From other reviews, I get the impression that the version made for France is the cinema release version that was shown in England.

1st watched 1/25/2008, 7 out of 10(Dir-Luc Besson): Fun and entertaining live-action/animated movie based on a beloved book. The movie begins as live action explaining that a boy's grandfather is missing and the grandmother, played by Mia Farrow, tells the boy stories that the grandfather had told her about miniature people living in their backyard. Mia's character thinks that she is just telling "stories" but Freddie Highmore's character believes her and pursues how to enter that world to find grandfather and to save the farm that's about to be taken away. After magically being put into the underground miniature world, the story is animated and has a wide variety of memorable and funny characters to keep children and adults interested. What I liked about this movie is that the boy was very confident and understood his purpose from the beginning to the end. His purpose is also very noble and helped the entire family. Besides this, the movie was fun and had some danceable tunes and had a formidable enemy who represented all evil in the movie. The character's voices were not so recognizable except for "Snoop Dogg" playing one of the comic relief characters. Another area that was nice about the movie was the relationship between the main character and the princess, voiced by Madonna. He obviously liked her but they didn't go into an all-out romance(which is more realistic for people that age) and didn't fall into the silliness that could have happened with that. All in all, this was a wonderful fantasy with good morals and a good feeling in the end, and I did say it was also "fun."

Arthur is a little kid that stays over at his grandmothers farm while his parents are doing their things. Arthurs grandfather has been missing for a while and that is leaving its effects on grandmother. Arthurs grandfather also left a strange riddle in the house that Arthur feels like chasing. And so the adventure begins.

Starting as a normal film this film turns into animation and then goes back and forth between normal and animation a couple times. I went to see this with my kid and saw a Dutch overdub. I don't think the overdub made the film a lot worse - it just wasn't very good to begin with. The animation sequences were good - very good even. But the real actors in between played out so badly that the whole of the film came down to the ground like a brick falling from the sky.

The kid, a nearly 8 year old, loved it. The film kept his attention and given his insanely short attention span that was no small feat. It couldn't keep me awake though - the non-animated bits just weren't good enough.

6 out of 10 adventures in the garden

This movie was okay. The story and plot weren't horrible. The animation was actually pretty good, with great characters. One thing that bothered me was the choppy editing. There will be something happening, and then all of a sudden, they cut to another shot. Then you're thinking "Wait, what happened?". There were some really cheesy, dumb parts as well that made me want to cringe. It seemed too fast, and everything happened too easily, without much conflict at all. The dumbest thing of all, was the fact that Arthur had a British accent, and nobody else in his family did. Neither his parents, nor grandparents. Younger kids might enjoy this movie more, seeing as it has a cute story and plot, but if you are by yourself or with a friend, I don't recommend it.

First of all, the rating of this movie doesn't do its justice. I just finished watching this movie and truly enjoyed the experience.

The story sets in the era of great depression in US. A brave young kid took upon himself the task of saving the family house from the aggressive developer . Though the backdrop of the story were presented in real world (verses animation), the main adventure and action took place in a fantasy realm done in computer animations. This contrast, while a unique and fresh take on movie making, brought its main criticism I guess. Some may find the plot defies logic and common sense because of the realistic premises. Others like me doesn't find it a hindrance but rather a nice change of pace and perspective.

Technically speaking, the animation was really nicely done and the world has a unique look and artistic touch to it. The flow of the story goes really fast and sometime I felt that things are all happening at too much an opportune moment. It is as if the big events in the world of Minimoys has been waiting just for the arrival of Arthur. It is the catch 22 of movie making I guess. On one hand you want to pack in all the stories and actions in less than 2 hours. On the other hand, you don't want audience feel like the world was just created in a hurry so you can tell the story.

The characters are all very likable. Especially the minimoys, even the bad guys has certain feel of cuteness to them. Some humor are lost in translation I guess consider it's done by a French director. Still there are nice touches in detail here and there that give the characters the kind of Charm and personality you may not find in the usual Hollywood characters. There are moments of awkwardness and disarray that made me burst out in laughters, which I find them to be a better kind of humor than most of the physical comedy in other animated movies.

In the end, this is the kind of the feel good movie that brings warmth and smile for the whole family. In the process, it takes you on a magical ride that filled with wonders and unexpected laughters. It defied some logics, broke a few physic laws, and filled some background stories in a rush. But it never dampened the infectious spirit, of a courageous young boy, who still wanted to believe in miracles and would never give up even in the most desperate moment. If you are like me, you would find yourself walk away with a little bit of that spirit in you.

OK, I was reading on internet, and I finally understood the problem, the US and UK version were edited!!!!! more than edited, they were raped, seriously, there were 9 minutes of the movie that were deleted 9 minutes really important for the story.

I'm Mexican and I had the chance to watch the original version, and I must say it's not my favorite children's movie but it has a lot of good points, so I'm expecting the sequels. Really, check the original version is way lot better.

Changing topic (because this thing won't let me post until I complete ten lines and I've already said all that I wanted to say) the principal actor Freddie Highmore is really surprising me, I loved him on the Charlie's Chocolate Factory and he's been doing a great work since then, I think is just matter of time for this kid to make the big jump to the great leagues, I think he will surprise us on a maybe not so far future.

eccentric, seductive, nice. a film for every age because Luc Besson gives not only a quality animation but a lovely story. adventures, small mythology, seductive characters and a not complicated plot. and presence of Madonna or Mia Farrow in cast is an important detail. but the most important is Freddie Highmore who, like in many other cases, creates a splendid character. yes, it is not the best movie and many critics are expected from viewers but to be a masterpiece is not the purpose of director but a form of entertainment who gives to children nice story, to adults memories about golden age. a film who can not enthuse but gives a cute story and a lovely universe.