Arthur and the Invisibles

La Femme Nikita, The Professional, and The Fifth Element. Three of my top ten movies when I graduated from high school. They have since been usurped by other, slightly more intelligent fare. But I will always hold a deep and abiding love for these films, and the man who made them: Luc Besson.

Now, Mr. Besson has spent the last 8 years producing and writing what seems like hundreds of different projects, here and around the world. But he hasn’t directed anything since The Fifth Element (we’ll just ignore The Messenger, even if it has Spiffae’s girlfriend in it). And that is really a shame, as he is a truly visionary director.

Scoff if you want, but the man directed the two finest hitman films ever made! Also, I dare you to watch The Fifth Element and show me any film from the 90s that comes anywhere near the level of creativity shown even if the most throw-away shots in that film. It is just breathtaking.

So it is with great excitement that I watched the trailer for the Besson directed Arthur and the Invisibles (Arthur and the Minimoys if you are some country cooler than America). And I really like it. It is clearly different from everything else he has done, but that is what makes it so much fun! It looks bright, beautiful, and sharply animated. The design is somewhere between Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Oddworld, the jokes are simple but effective, and most shocking, it looks like a kid’s movie that is actually made for kids. I enjoy this current crop of slyly self-referential, meta-joke making “kid’s” movies just as much as the next 20-something post-hipster, but what the hell happened to movies like Honey I Shrunk the Kids or The Neverending Story? Movies for kids that don’t care whether they entertain the grown-ups that brought them. Arthur and The Invisibles looks to be that kind of kids movie.

I am a little wary of is the rather uninspired vocal talent. I love David Bowie, but its not like he has some amazing speaking voice that needs to be showcased in some ridiculous super villain. The same goes for Madonna, not to mention that she seems to be voicing the romantic lead for a 12 year old. Does that seem inappropriate to anyone else? And Snoop Dog? Yikes.

But, you take the bad with the good.

So, watch the trailer and enjoy it for what it is. The triumphant return of one of the best directors out there.