Arthur and the Invisibles (Arthur and the Minimoys) (2006)

21% of critics liked it
(90 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(132,160 ratings)

On the heels of his first foray into romantic comedy, versatile French filmmaker Luc Besson breaks new ground yet again with this computer-animated, family-friendly adaptation of his own children's book Arthur and the Minimoys. Arthur is a wide-eyed ten-year-old whose vivid imagination is fueled by… More On the heels of his first foray into romantic comedy, versatile French filmmaker Luc Besson breaks new ground yet again with this computer-animated, family-friendly adaptation of his own children's book Arthur and the Minimoys. Arthur is a wide-eyed ten-year-old whose vivid imagination is fueled by the colorful bedtime stories his grandmother reads to him each night. His dreams are filled with images of African tribes and the remarkable inventions detailed in the enigmatic book that his grandfather left behind after mysteriously disappearing four years ago. Arthur and his family are in danger of losing their home to an unscrupulous real-estate developer, but if there is any truth to the tales of a treasure hidden deep beneath their garden and the tiny, fairy-like creatures that his grandmother so frequently sketches, there may still be hope of saving their home before it's too late. Now, with nothing to guide him but the clues left behind by his grandfather, Arthur will set out to find the mythical world of Seven Kingdoms, where the Minimoys are said to dwell, and ensure that his troubled family always has a place to call home. An imaginative children's fantasy in the vein of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Arthur and the Invisibles features the voices of David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Mia Farrow, and Freddie Highmore. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Luc Besson
Written By: Celine Garcia
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Jan 12, 2007 Wide
On DVD: May 15, 2007
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Strange and kind of meandering.
Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly
Luc Besson has made a fair share of artfully bad movies. Arthur and the Invisibles -- half-live-action, half-CG kid's adventure -- is (by a hair) more bad-bad, like The Fifth Element, than good-bad, like The Big Blue.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
While technically polished and adequately executed Arthur, like most of Besson's movies, is a strangely soulless experience.
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
Besson is a pro when it comes to action movies, but this part live, part animation effort is a mess, highlighted by creepy animation, derivative plot points and a child star who speaks way too fast.
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
Luc Besson serves up a hybrid of live actors and computer-generated figures to tell a not-endearing-enough story about a boy who shrinks to microscopic size to find his missing grandfather.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
There's a reason American animated filmmakers don't use the great Robert De Niro, Jason Bateman and Madonna to voice their cartoons. These big names add nothing to this frustrating goulash of fairy tales and fantasy-film ingredients.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
A candy-colored fusion of Dahl, Dr. Seuss and the director's own mischeviousness
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Uneven animation-live action combo may bore kids.
Scott Collura, IGN Movies
Is it time for director Luc Besson to become invisible too?
Anton Bitel, Film4
In a clear-cut case of arrested development, the film that crowns Luc Besson's career is a magical phantasmagoria for the kids, and a derivative mess for their parents.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Madonna's first good movie since Dangerous Game. Word of advice to the singer: Work with notoriously bratty directors more often.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Uma fábula divertida e inocente que conta com uma eficiente animação digital e traz Besson em um bom momento, o que é algo cada vez mais raro.
Brian Tallerico, UGO
In a year when a lot of big-screen animation felt like it came rolling off the video game assembly line, a little originality goes a long way.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
Things unfold in rote fashion, with nature-based gadgetry no more clever than those of The Flintstones.
Uri Lessing, eFilmCritic.com
The Minimoys are teeny-weeny kind folk with a keen fashion sense and a wicked-cool lair. They're just like what the Borrowers would have been like if they had lived in the field behind the Urban Outfitters production factory.
Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York
A lazy fairy-tale pastiche reveling in mite-size cherubs, which cribs from gnomic mythology, elvish lore, Harry Potter, Arthurian legend and can't-pay-the-rent melodrama.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Here is an overproduced, oversugared semi-animated children's fantasy adventure from Luc Besson that made me want to cringe into my plush seat, never to re-emerge.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Brightly coloured fantasy adventure with a decent premise, but the animated sections don't really work, despite the efforts of a talented cast.
Angela Baldassarre, Sympatico.ca
I'm not sure what creeped me out most in Luc Besson's "Arthur and the Invisibles," the awful animation or Madonna lending her voice to a "child" princess.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Michael E

they take the animation very seriously with this film and the end result is a pretty entertaining film thats not saying it was good but it had enough cheese factor to keep me watching
Dead A

The movie seemed a little bit rushed to me. It's basically a good one for the kids. And the character "Maltazard" reminded me of "Voldemort" from <i>Harry Potter</i>. It's watchable. I like Freddie Highmore's accent. He always seems… More
The movie seemed a little bit rushed to me. It's basically a good one for the kids. And the character "Maltazard" reminded me of "Voldemort" from <i>Harry Potter</i>. It's watchable. I like Freddie Highmore's accent. He always seems decent and into this sorta movies. Cute kid.
KJ P

I thought that it was inventive and from going to animation from real life was a real cool treat! It seemed like it was going back and forth into two different movies theatres but seeing the same conecpt in animated form, which was a really cool effect!
Anthony L

Nice kids film this! Although most of the story is pinched from lots of other fairytales and legends and the actors voices don't quite match the characters, its a nicely made film. I cant help but wish Mr Besson would start making adult movies instead though (Not those kind of… More
Nice kids film this! Although most of the story is pinched from lots of other fairytales and legends and the actors voices don't quite match the characters, its a nicely made film. I cant help but wish Mr Besson would start making adult movies instead though (Not those kind of adult movies!)
Sanjaya &

Luc Besson make a pretty good movie that combines the real world and the animation world... The animation itself was pretty good, yet the story was easy to understand and enjoyable to be watched... Freddie Highmore shows his quality as the most shining young star right now I think...… More
Luc Besson make a pretty good movie that combines the real world and the animation world... The animation itself was pretty good, yet the story was easy to understand and enjoyable to be watched... Freddie Highmore shows his quality as the most shining young star right now I think... Not just he was pretty good in acting, but he was great in lending his voice to an animation movie... It's been a pretty nice movie to be watch by the family...
Dean M

Fantastic and dazzling new combination of live-action and ground-breaking CGI technology in this magical tale. The Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature, were cute even Princess Selenia looked so beautiful. Totally original, hilarious and happy ending.
Aliyanto L

Not bad for a combination of animated & realistic characters. Quite long not watching this kind of movie!
Red L

A bit of fun. I had no idea of there were so many star-power voices until the credits.
A.D. V

Luc Besson doing a kids movie?! It might sound like a bad idea but this was actually a surprisingly entertaining family film with great voice-over performances from Madonna, Jimmy Fallon and especially David Bowie.
Dedy N C

you may call this Child movie, but The meaning in this movie are for STOP Destruction on our planet... maybe you cannot save a huge forest, but you could start saving your backyard or frontyard to a nice green view...
Jeff B

Served well by his inspired lunacy in crafting the deliciously intoxicating sci-fi/fantasy guilty pleasure The Fifth Element, director Luc Besson has smartly honed his obvious gift for designing trippy alien landscapes and their unique backstories on a family franchise. Fantastically… More
Served well by his inspired lunacy in crafting the deliciously intoxicating sci-fi/fantasy guilty pleasure The Fifth Element, director Luc Besson has smartly honed his obvious gift for designing trippy alien landscapes and their unique backstories on a family franchise. Fantastically inventive, Arthur and the Invisibles certainly demonstrates a richness of these impressive trappings, meaning it has the potential to delight even the brattiest of children…but it ultimately proves to be an over-abundance of riches, a wealth that could potentially make the audience a bit bratty. Based on Besson’s children’s book “Arthur et les Minimoys,” this PG-rated story follows a ten year boy (Highmore) who, in an effort to secure a treasure that will save his grandmother’s (Marrow) house from being demolished, ventures to a world where the inhabitants are a tenth of an inch high. Though not wholly original (think The Secret of Nimh meets TV’s The Littles), Besson’s Minimoy world is buoyed by the writer/director’s laudable infusion of his signature smart-alecky humor. Better yet, the winning characters responsible for voicing these gems are piped by celebrities who-although overly marketable (Madonna, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie)-perfectly fade into the beautifully-animated elfin landscape. This goes doubly so for Highmore, who does awesome turns in both live action and cartoon form. Besson, however, overworked himself. There is simply too much exposition and backstory to effectively accommodate the running time. What should be a breezy thrill-ride turns into a frenzied rush to cram it all in, causing a number of the film’s seminal moments to become anti-climatic. Bottom line: Better off invisible.
William G

Actively atrocious.
Laurence C

Lively, enjoyable CGI comedy that has plenty of wondrous visuals but a fairly dodgy script. The voice acting is rather lazy, and the live action parts pretty much blow. I did not hate it one bit, though-- I know, right?! Either way, this one's for kids-- and it's not… More
Lively, enjoyable CGI comedy that has plenty of wondrous visuals but a fairly dodgy script. The voice acting is rather lazy, and the live action parts pretty much blow. I did not hate it one bit, though-- I know, right?! Either way, this one's for kids-- and it's not insulting to them, nor to you. You will probably be just a wee bit bored.
Marion R

What a waste of talent. Whats the point of having all these actors in your film if you don't use them? Everything is so rushed the animation is sub par. Also the relationship between Selenia and Arthur unnerved me, if they are the same age in the world of the invisibles why is… More
What a waste of talent. Whats the point of having all these actors in your film if you don't use them? Everything is so rushed the animation is sub par. Also the relationship between Selenia and Arthur unnerved me, if they are the same age in the world of the invisibles why is she developed, she looks like something from a video game, oversexed with a tight waist and he looks like a little kid. the whole thing just felt weird. The story was predictable goonish, same old, same old, I expected more from Luc Besson.
Sarah P

A really cute movies - the live action and animation were equally well done - the cast of voices was also excellent!