Elevation Pictures
As much as I sometimes use the idiom “tripping the light fantastic,” it applies doubly to a French animated film titled Arco. This is also the name of a young boy (Oscar Tresanini and Juliano Krue Valdi in the English version) who accidentally finds himself in the past after misusing a time-travel device in a post-modern future.
All he wanted was to go play with dinosaurs. Instead, things go sideways, and he lands in an unfamiliar era where he meets Iris (Margot Ringard Oldra; Romy Fay in the English version). She’s about his age, ten, and together they must avoid a group of conspiracy theorists convinced the boy is proof of alien visitation.
The present still offers a few comforts Arco recognizes, including a nanny robot named Mikki (Ugo Bienvenu, who also wrote and directed) who looks after Iris and her baby brother. There’s a genuine innocence shared between the three, a dynamic that recalls early Studio Ghibli films. The background design reinforces that feeling, and even the other automatons resemble something that might keep Laputa, Castle in the Sky floating above the city. Whether intentional or simply fondly recalled, the influence feels affectionate rather than derivative.
Those visual nods become more pronounced in the final third, yet thankfully never overwhelm the film’s identity. This is very much a
Jean Mœbius Giraud-styled work, something made clear right from the introduction. The future is imagined as a landscape of floating homes and open skies, a place I’d happily visit. Concerns about solar radiation aside, I’m sure the architects of this world thought that part through.
But I digress. What makes Arco so engaging is its gentle Return to Witch Mountain energy, an adventure about a child displaced in time who finds friendship where he least expects it. And here, I’m not talking about the remake. There’s a gentle early Disney charm at work, one that invites easy smiles. When both Arco and Iris seem a little alone in the world, their growing bond and fondness for each other is especially telling.
Although the rainbow motif is a little overused, what it represents lands better for those familiar with its symbolism rather than folklore. Either way, the happiness waiting at the end is clear, and suggestive of the long road ahead, especially for Arco’s parents, who are no doubt searching for him.
As for the bumbling trio chasing “the truth,” they’re more endearing than threatening. Misguided but persistent, they provide plenty of laughs while keeping the story in motion. They aren’t quite the Three Stooges, but closer to The Lone Gunmen, for those who know their X-Files lore. Written and directed by Bienvenu, Arco delivers far more than what we’ve come to expect from standard Disney animated fare. There’s wonder here, along with joy, excitement, and even grief. Most Ghibli of all is the quiet environmental subtext. It never lectures, but once noticed, it’s impossible to ignore.
3½ Stars out of 5
Arco Movie Trailer
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