PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 1/11/07)

A blend of live action and a miniature cartoon fantasy world, Luc Besson's Arthur and the Invisibles may not be the next Cars, but it's a refreshing, and, frankly, welcome, twist on the current glut of animated films for youngsters with the same-ish CGI aesthetic.

Based on the French director's best-selling books Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City, which derive from childhood memories of the boys in the director's family, the film has a story that feels fresh as well when you get past the surface. With grandfather away, a family is about to lose its property until a kid saves the day and brings grandfather home. That all sounds rote until you consider the fact that grandfather is being held captive by a microscopic Hitler-esque villain, and the kid (Arthur) saves him by entering the land of the Minimoys — a microscopic people that can only be visited by jumping through a telescope.

Arthur, voiced by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Freddie Highmore, is joined in his adventure by Princess Selenia (Madonna) and her screwball brother Betameche (Jimmy Fallon). While scenes of tiny creatures grappling with the enormity of a blade of grass may be new to the tiny kids in the audience, they'll make anyone older nostalgic for Rick Moranis and his crazy inventions in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Arthur's impressive vocal roster also includes Robert De Niro, Mia Farrow, and even Snoop Dogg. Highmore and Farrow, who plays Arthur's grandmother, both give stilted performances — too theatrical for a children's film. Highmore's lines sound more like things an adult might say, as if he's a man trapped in a boy's body, but that's fitting because it's the central metaphor of the movie. Besson's vision illuminates childhood wonder through his own eyes — the eyes of an adult.

Part live action, part CGI animation, this film is visually stunning, thanks to the artistic direction of Patrice Garcia and Philippe Rouchier and CG director Pierre Buffin. However, the adaptation from Besson's book is choppy, leaves the audience with bizarre scene cuts and unrealistic plot progression (even for a kid flick). But it provides plenty of satisfying references to The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, and The Frog Prince.) There's even a nod to the classic Pulp Fiction dance scene, or perhaps rather to Besson's countryman, Jean Luc Goddard's Bande à part.

Ultimately, Besson has made an interesting, if shaky in places, homage to childhood.

— Monica A. Reyhani