A French Animated Force: Why Arco Is A Must-See

Sitting in the Regal Gallery Cinema in Washington DC the other day, a feeling of supreme delight washed over me. Sure, part of it had to do with the leather recliner I was sunk into, but far more of it came from the images and sounds spilling from the screen in front of me.

French animated feature Arco was rolling. It’s a story about a boy from the future who lives in the clouds with his family — a kid who yearns to take to the skies in a rainbow cape and travel through time and space, just like his parents and elder sister. One morning, before the rest of his family has woken, Arco steals his sister’s suit and cape and launches himself from their family platform to experience the thrill for himself. Given Arco’s a rookie in the flying and time-travelling departments, he accidentally jettisons himself into a forest in the year 2075, where a young girl by the name of Iris discovers him. Unfortunately, three scatterbrained conspiracy theorists (voiced by Will Ferrell, Flea and Andy Samberg in the English dub) are hot on Arco’s chemtrails, eager to prove these technicoloured people exist.

Trust me, it will all make sense when you’re kicking back in an air-conditioned theatre.

Directed, illustrated, and created by Ugo Bienvenu, Arco is built on graphic-novel foundations. Imagine a comic book that gradually learned the gift of movement. What struck me first was the animation, it’s 2D and flat-looking, with settings that reminded me of drinking in oil paintings. I later discovered this was intentional; Ugo wanted it

In the long run, this does the film a world of good. Free from hyper-realism and Pixar-style rendering, I found myself fixating on the finer details – gestures and moments of silence, especially between the two main characters. Since Arco and Iris come from completely different eras, they don’t fully understand each other; it’s body language, not words, that moves mountains between them.

The feature also excels at portraying children as emotionally complex and resilient. Both Arco and Iris are self-reliant and deeply attuned to their own feelings. For much of the film, Iris navigates a series of trying situations while caring for her baby brother, Peter, showing a quiet strength and determination. Meanwhile, Arco confronts every challenge head-on, his bravery unwavering.

Another moving and strangely comforting presence is Mikki (voiced by Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo in the English dub), Iris and Peter’s nanny robot, who looks after them while their parents are snowed under with work in some far-off city. What I love about Mikki is his loyalty; he goes to extraordinary lengths to keep the family safe. In a time when everyone is banging on about the potential dangers of AI, the fear that machines might outsmart us or take over, Mikki is a reminder that technology can also embody care and devotion. He’s genuinely sweet and very likable.

Surprisingly, it was the film’s sound design that resonated with me most. It’s incredible. From the flap of Arco’s cape cutting through high-altitude winds, to the scratch of Iris’s ballpoint as she sketches, to the clatter of tracking gadgets lobbed into a van by the three stooges, every sound is pinpoint. The effect is immersive, making the world Ugo has created feel alive and ultimately possible.

While the film paints pictures of a climate that’s far from happy – out-of-control wildfires, violent storms and sea levels rising to insane heights, Arco envisions a time where humans have adapted and stopped resisting weather change. The urge to fix things has faded, replaced by a management approach that shields people from whatever Earth dishes out. Homes are enclosed in protective domes, and at school, Iris learns about the origins of the universe, our planet, and how to live in harmony with the natural world.

For many years prior, Ugo had been dreaming up a story — one that explored time, memory, childhood, and a rapidly changing world. A story with sci-fi bones yet an intimate heart. This 90-minute production explores these themes beautifully, not shouting them from the rooftops, but instead gently whispering them in your ear.