Arthur And The Invisibles Review

When we see the words 'Directed by Luc Besson', we tend to know exactly what to expect from a film - stylish visuals, plenty of action and a whole heap of guns and explosions. But the French filmmaker has opted for a bit of a change of pace with the very family friendly "Arthur & The Invisibles". The film follows young Arthur (Freddie Highmore), who lives with his grandmother (Mia Farrow) in their country home in America's Deep South. With the home under threat from a local developer, Arthur decides to try and set out to find a legendary treasure hidden by his missing granddad somewhere in their garden. But in order to do this he must enter the world of the 'Minimoys', a tiny race who live in harmony with nature just beneath the ground.

Filmed with both live action and animated segments, "Arthur & The Invisibles" is certainly an impressive sight. Besson has beautifully re-created small-town '50s America for pieces which bookend the body of this mainly animated movie. And impressive animation it is too as Arthur, after teaming up with a Minimoy Princess and her young brother, explores this fantasy world which is firmly rooted in reality but populated by strange elfin creatures and mosquito riding baddies. Besson too has been able to bring together a quality voice cast including the likes of Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.

However there are parts of "Arthur & The Invisibles" that miss the mark. By trying to please audiences on both side of the pond, you get the feeling that Besson wasn't entirely sure how to balance the film while everything seems to whiz by at a million miles an hour. But saying that Besson has good intentions here - he wanted to make a kids film exclusively for kids - so maybe his target audience will be more in tune with his efforts.