movies: arthur and the invisibles

One of the downsides to writing up these little movie "critiques" is that sometimes when you over analyse a movie or look at it too much after you've seen it, even though you really enjoyed it while it was happening, you kind of realise that there probably wasn't a whole hell of a lot TO the movie...

Even if it happens to be a movie aimed at kids like Arthur and the Invisibles...

Now don't get me wrong... I very much enjoyed it... in some ways it reminded me of a movie I used to like when I was a kid, The Incredible Mr Limpet, insofar as it starts out in live action, turns to animation (although in Arthur's case it's CG versus Mr Limpet's traditional animation) and crosses over at various points between the animated and live action "worlds"...

I have to say this about the CGI too... with the possible exception of maybe a little lip sync issue at the beginning, the animation in this movie can best be described in one word... LUSH! From the Minimoys themselves with all the hair and freckles and big pretty eyes, to the world around them, everything is super detailed and super realistic... so much so that in a couple of shots involving water I'm still not sure whether it was a mixture of live action and animated water or just 100% animated... and according to the experts, water is one of the hardest things to do... so I was singularly impressed.

There's also some solid acting, both voice-wise (so much so that there were four quite well known actors voices used who I didn't recognise at all), as well as in the live action segments... and, I have to say, Freddie Highmore has some serious acting chops... I thought it in Finding Neverland, I thought it in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... and this movie hasn't changed my opinion one tiny little bit... particularly his ability to turn on the emotion at a moment's notice... if he manages to be one of those child actors who develops an adult career, I think he's going to be a dramatic force to be reckoned with. Although it was a little bit of a shock at first to see him starting to sprout into a teenager with much longer arms and legs... it shouldn't have been that shocking when you stop and think about his age I suppose, but initially it was a slight surprise.

So the acting was good, the CGI was amazing... but on reflection, the story was a little weak in places... actually, when you stop and look at the story as a whole it was something of a mix of various plot ideas from things like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Antz, Legend, and bits and pieces from the whole Arthurian legend (although only slightly really, and not overly surprising given the name of the main character)... but there were a few parts that either felt tacked on (the whole scene with the Max character in the "dance club" for example) or else weren't resolved properly (the fate of the villain at the end of the movie). Possibly the ending was left a little open in case they decided to do a sequel, but it just felt like sloppy writing more than anything else.

But, as I said, visually the movie is quite stunning, and, to be honest, for the most part you really don't notice the lack of any real plot until you think about it afterwards.

yani's rating: 2 Minimoys out of 5