Arthur and the Invisibles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arthur and the Invisibles |
|
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Luc Besson |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Story by | Luc Besson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Éric Serra |
| Cinematography | Thierry Arbogast |
| Editing by |
|
| Studio |
|
| Distributed by | EuropaCorp |
| Release date(s) | November 29, 2006 (France) |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | €60 million ($85 million) |
| Money made | $107.9 million |
Arthur and the Invisibles (French: Arthur et les Minimoys) is a 2006 English-language French adventure comedy fantasy animated/live-action film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur and the Forbidden City, written by filmmaker Luc Besson, who also directed the film.
It premiered in limited release in France on 29 November 2006, and received wide releases in a number of countries in the following weeks. With a budget of €60 million, Arthur and the Invisibles was briefly the most expensive French film production until surpassed by Astérix at the Olympic Games.
The film received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the animation and script, while praising the performances (particularly the voice acting) and visual aspects, and under-performed in the United States. It was nevertheless successful enough in France and in the rest of the world to have two sequels, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard and Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds. The film received the Imagina Award in the category Prix du Long-Métrage. The movie's soundtrack album was released on 9 January 2007.
Contents
Plot
In 1960, protagonist 10-year-old Arthur lives with his grandmother Daisy in a quiet farm house on a dirt road, in a small rural community in Northeastern Connecticut (based on Sterling). His grandfather Archibald has recently gone missing and he sees little of his parents (who are away looking for work). Daisy entertains Arthur with stories of his grandfather's adventures in Africa, featuring the tall Bogo Matassalai and the minuscule Minimoys, of whom the latter now live in Archibald's garden, protecting a collection of rubies. Arthur becomes enamoured of a picture of Selenia, the princess of the Minimoys. When Daisy receives a two-day deadline to pay a large sum of money to a building developer named Ernest Davido, who plans to evict the two, Arthur looks for the rubies to pay off the debt and discovers various clues left by his grandfather. He is met in the garden by the Bogo Matassalai, who reduce Arthur to Minimoy size. From the Minimoys, Arthur learns that they are in danger from Maltazard, a Minimoy war hero who now rules the nearby 'Necropolis', after corruption by a weevil, by whom he has a son named Darkos.
Arthur, reflecting his legendary British namesake, draws a sacred sword from its recess and uses it to protect the Minimoys from Maltazard's soldiers; whereupon Sifrat, the ruler of the Minimoys, sends Arthur to Necropolis, with the princess Selenia and her brother Betameche. En route, they are attacked on two occasions by Maltazard's soldiers. In Necropolis, Selenia kisses Arthur, marking him as her husband and potential successor, and confronts Maltazard alone. When Maltazard learns that she has already kissed Arthur and thus can no longer give him her powers and cure his corruption, he imprisons all three, who discover a Minimoy form of Archibald. Thereafter Arthur and his grandfather escape and return to human form, with little time to spare before Maltazard's flood reaches the Minimoys. With the help of Mino, a royal advisor's long-lost son, Arthur redirects the flood to Necropolis; whereupon Maltazard abandons Necropolis and his son, and the water ejects the rubies above ground. Archibald pays Davido with one ruby; and when he tries to take them all, the Bogo Matassalai capture him and give him to the authorities (scene deleted in the U.S. edition). The film ends with Arthur asking Selenia to wait for his return, and her agreement to do so.
Cast
- Freddie Highmore as Arthur Montgomery. The main protagonist. A ten-year-old boy who journeys through the invisible world of the minimoys to find the treasure his long-lost grandfather had hidden. Brave, idealistic and clever, Arthur craves for adventure and falls in love with Selenia.
- Madonna as Princess Selenia, the daughter of Emperor Sifrat. Rebellious, fiery and at first appearing as aloof and arrogant, Selenia is courageous and actually cares for her people’s safety. She first views Arthur as “ordinary”, but she grows to love because of his bravery and kindness. character was dubbed by French singer Mylène Farmer in the French version Arthur et les Minimoys, German singer Nena in the German version Arthur und die Minimoys, Finnish pop singer Paula Vesala from PMMP in the Finnish version and Greek Pop singer Tamta in the Greek version, Swedish pop singer Robyn in the Swedish version.
- Jimmy Fallon as Prince Simono Matradoy de Betameche, or simply Betameche, Selenia's younger brother. He is the first minimoy Arthur befriends and is the first of the Minimoy royal children to whole-heartedly accept Arthur. Humorous, yet good-hearted, he provides some of the films’ comic relief.
- Mia Farrow as Daisy Suchot, Arthur's long-suffering grandmother. She is overprotective of Arthur and is distraught when Arthur travels into the Minimoy world.
- Robert De Niro as Emperor Sifrat XVI, Betameche and Selenia's father
- Snoop Dogg as Max, the leader of the Koolamassai, a race of beings similar to the Minimoys, who supply Maltazard's people with a 'candy fruit' and are therefore left relatively free
- David Bowie as Emperor Maltazard (also known as the Evil M, Maltazard the Evil, or Malthazar the Cursed), antagonist. Although the film refers to him as Malthazar, his name in the book was "Malthazard" and some film versions refer to him as Maltazard. For the Japanese release, he is voiced by Gackt who is also a singer and actor.
- Harvey Keitel as Miro, the royal advisor.
- Christian Erickson as Prince Darkos, Maltazard's vicious but dim-witted son. He has cat-like eyes, a mouthful of fangs and speaks with a lisp.
- Anthony Anderson as Koolamassai
- Ron Crawford as Archibald Suchot, Arthur's grandfather and Daisy's husband, who disappeared into the Minimoy world to get his treasure that he got in his travels in Africa but was captured by Malthzard.
- Erik Per Sullivan as Mino, Miro's long lost son who was captured by Malthzard and forced to work for him.
- Chazz Palminteri as Travel agent
Soundtrack
See also
In Spanish: Arthur y los Minimoys para niños
