Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

After my depressing trip to Dallas earlier today for The Voice of Hind Rajab, I needed a cinematic pick-me-up, and Arco with Liz and Gabe was the perfect prescription. I’d had this movie on my watchlist since like September, so it was great to finally see it and check off the last of the Best Animated Feature nominees for this year. I’m glad to report that I continue to take Liz and Gabe exclusively to good movies.

While I noticed more than a few narrative similarities to E.T. in Arco, there was plenty different enough to make Arco feel distinct. The story was hopeful, endearing, and somewhat deep for its short runtime, too. Looking back, the thesis of the film was clear—“be the change you want to see in the world”, essentially—but it took me a while to catch onto that one. The film tied it all together clearly at the end, which put a smile on my face, and while I didn’t identify that thesis until the end of the film, I was enjoying the story even without it. Arco, Iris, and Mikki were a very engaging group to follow, equally cute and comedic and well-acted, too. Most characters were, and the English voice cast—from Portman to Sandler and Ferrell—ate.

One of the things that the four of us discussed at dinner was how lived-in and plausible the multiple futures of Arco felt, from the implementation of robots to climate and weather differences and each time’s responses to them, from Iris’s protective shelters to Arco’s elevated homes after the “Great Fallow”. In the past, Gabe has mentioned how much he appreciates when fantasy and science fiction movies create feasible and logically sound worlds and elements—like well-designed alien life—and I have to agree with him here. The natural feel of almost everything in this world was really satisfying—nothing was ever too much of a stretch, but everything still felt fantastical and interesting.

Lastly, as was to be expected from a movie with such a pretty poster and trailer, the animation was outstanding. Be it wide shots or close-ups, most every shot oozed with life and color; the wides in particular were breathtaking. The humans at times looked a little funky, mostly in the face, but I can forgive that, considering the rest of the movie. I also enjoyed the music, the sweeping score accentuating the momentous events of Iris and Arco’s story and “Clouds Away” at the end getting me to listen closely to see if we have another elementary choir banger on our hands. Following in The Wild Robot and “Even When I’m Not”’s footsteps; nice play, Arco!

I was quite impressed with Arco, and it’s clear from this year of Oscar nominees alone that not only is France a big awards player, but French animation is legit. Between this and Little Amélie, American animation studios may be in trouble. These studios are going to need a KPop Demon Hunters-level giant every year to keep up with the foreign competition. Though it didn’t quite measure up to Little Amélie for me, Arco was still great—better than most of what Disney and Pixar have put out in recent years—and very deserving of its Oscar nomination. I hope more kids get a chance to see this one!