Arthur and the Invisibles

I took my eight-year-old son to see Arthur and The Invisibles, having no idea what it was about or who starred in it as the voices. I was surprised at the end credits to see Madonna was the voice of the Princess and David Bowie was the voice of The Evil M, with Snoop Dogg also playing a part! Had I known these great artists were involved with this film I probably would have expected them to sing at some point, which they did not. This was certainly no disappointment as the film was a joy to watch. It was exciting, but not too scary for younger children.

The film begins with young Arthur's (played by Freddie Highmore) family struggling to live, his parents had gone to the City to look for better paid jobs and he was being looked after by his Granny (played by Mia Farrow). His Grandfather had disappeared and their beautiful but humble home was about to be taken over by some mean property developers. Somewhere in the garden Arthur and his Granny knew his Grandfather had hidden some treasure and the only way they could save their home was to find these rubies. Arthur's Granny was a little worried about Arthur, afraid of what lengths he would go to in order to save the situation. And rightly so. He was determined not to lose their home to the Property Developers, and worked out the coded messages his Grandfather had left in the house. Grandfather had discovered a whole new world while deep in the African jungle and was the only one who knew about the little world of the Minimoys. He had kept a log of some of his adventures and Arthur and his Granny had read through the logs. When Arthur had worked out the code, with the help of some African friends who had appeared, he looked into his Grandfather's telescope to ask permission to enter the world of the Minimoys so he could look for the Treasure.

As he entered Minimoy territory through the portal he changed into a Minimoy. These were cute tiny little beings with elf-like ears. Minimoys were terrified of water, they could not swim, so into the film you will see what plans the Evil M has to wipe them all out by drowning them!

Arthur meets Princess Selenia, and together with Selenia's little brother they set off to find the treasure, but they have to get past the Evil M...

There was something in this film that reminded me a little of the old 'Labyrinth' film, I think it was the appearance of some of the creatures and the voice of David Bowie playing the part of the Evil M. In Labyrinth, David Bowie starred as the Goblin King, another baddie! The creatures in Labyrinth were, of course, created by Jim Henson (of The Muppets fame) whereas the creatures in Arthur and the Invisibles were 3d animation. The film is beautifuly made and rather like the old 'Wizard of Oz' combines real actors with animation and back again.

I would say this film is suitable for children aged six upwards, although younger children may enjoy watching the characters they may not be able to follow the storyline quite as well. But as a parent, you will probably most certainly enjoy it! If you do get a chance to take the kids now half term is over, they will not be disappointed and neither will you. If you don't get the chance to see it at the Cinema, look out for it when released on DVD. I think it is a film children will enjoy watching over and over!