Arthur and the Invisibles
Metro Goldwyn Distributing Company | Release Date: December 29, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
10
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
The movie--while it doesn't knock you out--doesn't self-destruct either. Besson may never rise to the level of his best American models here, but it's fun watching him try. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This semianimated adventure is enjoyable and imaginative despite its formulaic qualities. Read full review
63
PremiereMonica A. Reyhani
Ultimately, Besson has made an interesting, if shaky in places, homage to childhood. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
"The Professional's" Luc Besson has made a fair share of artfully bad movies. Arthur and the Invisibles -- half-live-action, half-CG kid's adventure -- is (by a hair) more bad-bad, like "The Fifth Element," than good-bad, like "The Big Blue." Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The result isn't an unpalatable pudding but rather a fair-to-middling children's film that is half CG-animation and half live-action. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Luc Besson, a sort of French version of Steven Spielberg without the intuition, has tried a lot of genres in his young career and has had his greatest success with slick action films like "The Fifth Element" and "La Femme Nikita." Animated movies for kids he should stay away from. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
This is director Luc Besson's first attempt at combining animation with live-action, and while the look of the film is impressive, he should have focused more of his efforts on fleshing out the script that he adapted from two of his own "Arthur" books. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Arthur and the Invisibles tries way too hard. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Arthur and the Invisibles may be a tale for children, but it's got the bad habits of a profligate adult -- the thing borrows shamelessly from its betters and then pretends to be self-sustaining. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
This inventive family movie sets up the most delightful premise, then squanders it on the kind of yawn-inducing CG adventure you might expect from one of those long, plot-heavy cut scenes that slow down video games. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
None of the characters are compelling, despite the star-studded vocal cast behind them, including Madonna, Robert De Niro, Snoop Dogg and Jimmy Fallon. Our attitude toward them is casual interest, not anxious concern. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
There are cute flourishes, but much of the cleverness is smothered by tired dialogue and doughy animation, which gives the animated characters the personality of mannequins and the look of cheap merchandising knockoffs come to life. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyJean Oppenheimer
Predictable and overly busy, this sci-fi adventure should nonetheless appeal to computer-game-savvy tots, especially those familiar with the source material, while boring their parents silly. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Watching Arthur and the Invisibles is like sticking your head in a Gallic pinball machine: It's hectic, technically impressive, and your skull starts to pound after a while. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
What a mess. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It's a film for kids who want to know what headaches feel like. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesAlex Chun
Director Luc Besson, best known for "La Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element," admits he knew nothing about animation before he started this project, and it shows. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNeil Genzlinger
The computer-generated world is visually rich, but short on the droll humor that makes good children's films bearable for adults. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Besson is a pro when it comes to action movies, but this part live, part animation effort is a mess, highlighted by creepy animation, derivative plot points and a child star who speaks way too fast. Read full review
20
VarietyRobert Koehler
Haplessly blends live-action and visually repellent computer-animated work. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
The real problem is that the story is just incoherent, and the faster it moves, the more frantic it seems. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle Smith
This kids' cartoon from France is such a surreally demented attempt to connect with children that it's the equivalent of foie gras breakfast cereal or a bleu cheese milkshake. Read full review
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