The 2006 English-language French fantasy animated/live-action film Arthur and the Invisibles, also known as Arthur and the Minimoys (French: Arthur et les Minimoys), was directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is based on Besson’s Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City, the first two volumes in the Arthur children’s book series. The actors are Freddie Highmore, Penny Balfour, Adam LeFevre, Ron Crawford, Mia Farrow, Douglas Rand, and Jean Betote Njamba. On November 29, 2006, EuropaCorp released Arthur and the Invisibles theatrically in France. The movie did well at the box office in France but poorly in the United States. It won the Prix du Long-Métrage category of the Imagina Award. The film’s soundtrack album debuted on January 9, 2007.
Plot
Arthur (Freddie Highmore) is visiting his grandmother (Mia Farrow) in a rural Connecticut town during the summer of 1960. Arthur, who attended an English boarding school, is spending the summer at home. Archibald, his grandfather, is enigmatically missing, and his parents have relocated to the big city in search of employment. Grandma is prepared to lose everything as a result of the difficult times. Arthur was depressed and largely alone with his dog and grandmother on his tenth birthday. He learns that locating the hidden treasure his grandfather brought back from Africa is the key to preserving everything when he comes across his grandfather’s journals and sketches. By chance, Arthur discovers the Minimoys (Invisibles) and sets off on an adventure to save them and the hidden treasure alongside Princess Selenia (voiced by Madonna) and her younger brother Betameche (voiced by Jimmy Fallon). The last portion of the film takes place in computer-animated land as Arthur and the Minimoys attempt to preserve the farm from being turned into an apartment building with concrete covering everything.
Following his mythical British namesake’s example, Arthur uses a sacred sword to defend the Minimoys against Maltazard’s forces. As a result, the Minimoys’ monarch, Sifrat, sends Arthur to Necropolis along with princess Selenia and her brother Betameche. They are attacked again by Maltazard’s forces as they travel. Selenia approaches Maltazard alone in Necropolis after kissing Arthur, designating him as her husband and prospective heir. All three are imprisoned after Maltazard realizes that she has already kissed Arthur and cannot grant him her powers and reverse his corruption. While they are there, they find a Minimoy version of Archibald.
Shortly before Maltazard’s flood reaches the Minimoys, Arthur and his grandfather manage to flee and transform back into people. When Arthur leads the flood to Necropolis with the aid of a royal advisor’s long-lost son named Mino, Maltazard abandons Necropolis and his son, and the water ejects the rubies above the ground. When Davido tries to take all the rubies that Archibald has paid him for, the Bogo Matassalai catches him and hands him over to the authorities (scene deleted in the U.S. edition). Selenia agrees to wait for Arthur until the movie ends after he asks her to.
The IMDb rating for the film Arthur and the Invisibles is 6.0 out of 10. Luc Besson never disappoints his fans. You must try this film if you are an animation or live-action lover.
