OSCARS 2026: Arco (2025)

From my position as a lowly nerd here in the United States, French science fiction has always meant something very specific. In the world of comic books, French artists like Jean Henri Giraud and publications like “Metal Hurlant” pushed forward visually innovative, graphically intense, and creatively detailed work. On the cinema side of things, filmmaker Rene Laloux would gain a cult following with surreal, wildly expressive animated films like “Fantastic Planet” and “Gandahar.” I don't know how many people are keeping that tradition alive today. We certainly don't get too many imports of that nature over here. However, we did get a prominent example this year with “Arco.” Thanks to a heavy advertising push from U.S. distributor NEON, which includes a star-studded dub of debatable quality, the film has gotten a lot of attention. That includes nominations for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. 

The film begins nearly 900 years in the future. Environmental disaster has led humanity to living in elaborate elevated structures in the clouds. Robotics have been outlawed but technology has still advanced to a fantastical level. This includes the ability to travel through time, which people do casually via flying rainbow-patterned suits. Time travel is off-limits to children but Arco Dorell, a ten year old boy, is still eager to experience it. He steals his older sister's flight suit, the gemstone that powers it, and sets off for the distant past. He arrives in the year 2075. In this time, humanoids robots perform most basic labor. Increasingly violent weather sees people living in domed cities. While her parents are away for work, young girl Iris is left with the family's robot butler to tend to her infant sibling. That is when she discovers Arco, who has crash-landed in this time and requires a new crystal to return home. The two youths grow closer, soon pursued by a mysterious trio of criminals and a local robotic police force, unaware of the circumstances surrounding Arco's arrival. 

While never quite as wild looking as “Fantastic Planet,” “Arco” does feature some impressive visuals. Befitting a narrative so concerned with rainbows, the colors are exceptionally vivid. The film delights in putting as many flashy colors next to each other as possible. The trio of buffoonish antagonist all wear shiny, single color suits and prismatic sunglasses. The bright colors are paired with fluid animations, the characters moving in an expressive and stylized manner. This is further emphasized by the film moving at a higher frame rate than is traditional, making the movements more dynamic and striking. That “Arco” looks so darn nice is good, as it did take me a while to adapt to the particular character designs. Giving everybody such full, defined lips was a bit of an odd choice. 

“Arco” pairs its brilliant colors with some imaginative science fiction settings. 2932 is so far off in the future that it allows the filmmakers to create truly fantastical technology. There are those cool sky structures, sloping straight lines with vegetation and homes build into them. People sleep in special cones of light that cause them to float. I do wish more of the movie took place in this time, where we could have seen more far-out ideas executed. That doesn't mean the slightly more contemporary 2075 setting doesn't also include some neat ideas. While Iris' parents are away, they communicate with her via life sized, interactive holograms. The everyday presence of robots is an interesting one, speaking with a voice that blends both parents and being powered by heart-shaped ports in their chest. I like that Mikki, Iris' family robot, is both so committed to protecting his charges but also a somewhat glitchy oddball who doesn't relate totally to human kind. 

The film's ideas are imaginative but not too hard for the viewer to understand. This is reflective of how “Arco” pairs its science fiction premise with a more universal, simple idea. Despite being from different eras, Iris and Arco have a lot in common. They both feel unseen by their families. Her parents are always away and his status as the youngest excludes him. We only get a brief peek at Iris' life at school but she seems to be a bit of an outcast. Arco, stranded in a time that isn't his own, is similarly on his own. These are two lonely kids who, in each other, find someone who can finally understands them. The film gently bends towards a precocious romance between them, without overdoing it. An amusing detail includes one of Iris' classmates also having a crush on her, which the girl seems totally unaware of that. 

Unfortunately, “Arco” is one of those movies with an interesting premise and a strong beginning that can't nail the last act. The film's antagonists are never truly fleshed out. They aren't a very serious threat, bickering among themselves and stumbling more often than they succeed. The English dub goes so far as to have Will Ferrall and Andy Samburg (plus, inexplicably, Flea) voice them, making it clearer that we aren't suppose to take these goofballs seriously. A race against time creates some high stakes for the finale but the film falls increasingly into a series of mostly farcical chases. The first time the movie does this, the trio's van flipping all around as it plummets down a hill, I was a amused. By the time everyone is outrunning a whole horde of robots through the winding halls of a high tech facility, it starts to feel a bit much. The story then concludes on an oddly low-key note, an epilogue taking up more screen time than was probably advisable. 

I would have preferred to watch the film with its original French audio. The English dub is distracting at times. I like Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo but neither seem that committed to the material, once again a studio making the mistake of favoring big name actors who might not have much experience with voice work over performers more suited to these techniques. Despite that and a second half that doesn't totally work for me, “Arco” is still a lovely, creative, and often touching adventure. I look forward to what director Ugo Bienvenu does next. The film arose out of his sketches, which proves that his imagination is a strong one. [7/10]