Arthur and the Invisibles 2 & 3: The New Minimoy Adventures
Directed by Luc Besson
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Year: 2009-2010
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 95/101 minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
MSRP: $ 26.98
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Review Date: April 10, 2011
The Films
2.5/5
Appearances to the contrary, these two installments in the Arthur and the Invisibles series are actually one long film split into two parts (think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in two parts). A continuation of the adventures of characters established in Luc Besson’s 2006 French fantasy film, these two movies, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard and Arthur 3: The War of Two Worlds, all constitute one long story, a tale that’s actually hardly worth telling. As with the original film, the plucky hero must face obstacles in two different worlds – the human world of his understanding grandparents and his confused and obstinate parents and the miniature world of the Minimoy (rendered in CGI animation) who live in the backyard, gardens, and forest of his grandparents. As was the case in the last installment, there is a struggle for power that Arthur and his Minimoy friends must combat, and these efforts constitute the exposition of Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard and the realization and resolution of the tale in The War of Two Worlds.
In the first film in this set, Arthur (Freddie Highmore) receives a grain of rice from a friendly spider onto which the word “help” has been scratched alerting him that one of the Minimoy is in trouble. He suspects it’s Princess Selenia (Selena Gomez) on whom he has a tremendous crush. With typical interference from his bumbling and rather hysterical parents (Robert Stanton, Penny Balfour), it takes him some time to actually make it into the miniaturized world, and once he’s there, he finds out the message wasn’t from Selenia or her brother Betameche (Jimmy Fallon) but was actually a trap set by his evil nemesis Maltazard (Lou Reed) to get Arthur out of the human world so he can enter it.
Once there, the second film concentrates on Maltazard’s efforts to form an army in order to conquer the Earth. To do this, he’s going to need more growing potion from Arthur’s kindly grandfather Archibald (Ronald Crawford) which he’ll have to trick out of him, all the while Arthur, Selenia, and Betameche (voiced in this film by Douglas Rand) are trying to get to the surface and return Arthur to his normal size so he can better combat Maltazard. They also have to combat Maltazard’s son Darkos (Iggy Pop) who’s determined to beat them and be reunited with his father, something that won’t happen unless Darkos, too, can grow to his full height.
There is plenty of forced action in both of the films, but the action all seems like filler to draw out the running time of the movies to feature length (there really isn’t enough story in the two films to make one real feature without these noisy but pointless sequences). In the first, there is a long sequence about Arthur’s father trapping a bee and Arthur’s setting it free (there is a payoff to this in the second film, but it’s a small one). The fire department is called to the woods to eliminate a bee hive, and slapstick prevails. There are several roller coaster-style chases and action scenes to exploit the 3D photography which gets rather tiresome to watch in 2D. Our heroes have to drive toy airplanes, trains, and model cars, and there is plenty of tedious mayhem throughout. When your narrative is weak and you must try to hold the interest of the audience with elaborate special effects (a giant mosquito army, a busy bee hive the heroes are taken to while still tiny) and lots of roaring destruction, the desperation of the filmmakers becomes very noticeable indeed.
Most of Freddie Highmore’s work is voice only in these two films though he’s certainly effective enough with his voice alone, but in the live action scenes, he sometimes seems a bit awkward as if he’s not receiving any direction. Robert Stanton and Penny Balfour make irksome parents, he being overly didactic and she overly hysterical. Far better is Ronald Crawford’s grandfather. He alone among the principals seems at ease and in charge of his character, by far the most ingratiating performance in the movie. As she was in the first film in the series, Mia Farrow often seems befuddled and tentative as Arthur’s grandmother. For some weird reason, Selena Gomez takes a very haughty air in the War of Two Worlds, quite a change from the more amorous and welcoming princess she played in the Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard. The voice work of Lou Reed as Maltazard and Iggy Pop as Darkos makes those characters memorable villains.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The two films are presented in their theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and are anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. With only a couple of exceptions, sharpness is stunning in these films, and color saturation is gorgeous. So good are these transfers, in fact, that I had to keep reminding myself that they weren’t Blu-ray transfers. (This set is available in Blu-ray though Fox provided only the DVD review copies.) The live action sequences are also wonderfully realized in terms of sharpness, color and flesh tone accuracy, and black levels. The animated sequences reveal no banding, and overall, the results are simply splendid. The film was prepared for 3D presentation, but these transfers are 2D, of course. The first film has been divided into 24 chapters while the second film has 28 chapters.
Audio Quality
5/5
As good as the soundtrack of any Pixar or Dreamworks CGI film on DVD, the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is reference quality all the way. There are wonderful pans, swoops, and zooms across and through the soundfield, and the music has a terrific resonance throughout both films. Bass levels are quite deep and most impressive. Dialogue shows up clearly in the center channel. For added fun, Iggy Pop in his Darkos persona sings David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” over the closing credits.
Special Features
0/5
Apart from trailers for Rio, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Gulliver’s Travels, and Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, there are no bonus features on either disc.
In Conclusion
2.5/5 (not an average)
The CGI animation effects are impressive, and the video and audio transfers here are first-rate, but these next two installments in the Arthur and the Invisibles series are both unworthy sequels. The first is all exposition with very little payoff, and the second is overflowing with numerous throwaway action scenes that serve little useful purpose. Young fans of the series will want to see these undoubtedly, but there is far better animated fare out there than these films.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
