Arco
A kaleidoscope of imagination and heart fill Ugo Bienvenu’s hopeful hand-drawn journey over the rainbow.
Starman: Arco (Juliano Valdi) and Iris (Romy Fay).
Image courtesy of Neon.
by CHAD KENNERK
Outside of Studio Ghibli, traditional animation has been basically left behind by the major studios — though Disney has indicated an exploration of the medium again. With Arco, French filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu delivers a prominent example in favour of that tradition, illustrating a lush, imaginative world in 2D. Walt started with a mouse; Bienvenu started with a rainbow. Like Latvia’s Flow, Arco is another triumph of independent animation. It’s an astounding feature directorial debut from a filmmaker who grew up across the globe, inspired at a young age by the likes of Dragonball Z and Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki. With a background in comic books and short-form animation, Bienvenu creates perhaps the most Studio Ghibli-like film not actually made by the studio. You’ve heard of the descriptor Hitchcockian; well this is Miyazakian. Co-produced by Natalie Portman’s MountainA, Arco went from sketch to screen in five years. Following a world premiere at Cannes, it won the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at Annecy and arrived in US theatres newly minted as an Oscar nominee.
Arco echoes Miyazaki’s dreamlike fantasies, imagining a future where civilisation survives under glass. An environmental disaster known as the Great Fallow has rendered Earth largely uninhabitable, but in the words of Dr Ian Malcolm, life finds a way (and dinosaurs do technically drive the plot here.) Humanity now occupies massive protective domes, where residents barbecue, garden, and bask in sunny, artificial tranquillity while violent storms rage beyond the pane. Lesley Gore’s 1963 confection ‘Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows’ sets the tone for a 2075 defined by stark contradiction, with its sugar-sweet optimism underscoring the planet’s fragile status quo. Into this precarious historical moment falls Arco, an underage time traveller whose chance meeting with ten-year-old Iris sets off a coming-of-age adventure that frames a quietly urgent message about imagination and the hope for a brighter future.
Thoughtful across the board, one expects nothing less from a project produced by Portman. Bienvenu’s singular vision is a refreshing experience in animation, a medium that feels routinely manipulated by corporate hands for the purpose of selling toys and merchandise. Among the most thoughtfully conceived touches is Mikki, Iris’ in-home robot caretaker, whose voice is a blend of Iris’ absentee parents (Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo in the English version). Remembers’ beautiful, hand-drawn animation pairs seamlessly with Arnaud Toulon’s exemplary score, grounding Arco’s soaring ideas in genuine emotion. While some may interpret Arco as a ‘message’ movie, it’s ultimately a hopeful one, rejecting the pessimism of most dystopian sci-fi in favour of something more illuminating. Bienvenu asks vital questions about who we are as a species and what kind of legacy we want to leave behind, without pandering to kids or leaning on frenetic action and fart jokes. As Walt once understood with Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi, Bienvenu trusts that children can confront big, existential themes. In doing so, Arco offers an invitation to believe in the power of imagination again — and that is, perhaps, where every better future begins.
Voices of: (English dubbing) Romy Fay, Juliano Krue Valdi, Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, Flea, Roeg Sutherland, America Ferrera.
Dir Ugo Bienvenu, Pro Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Ugo Bienvenu, Screenplay Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Ed Nathan Jacquard, Music Arnaud Toulon, Sound Nicolas Becker.
Remembers/MountainA/France 3 Cinéma/Fit Via Vi Film Productions/Sons of Rigor-Neon (US), Picturehouse Entertainment (UK)
89 mins. France/USA. 2025. US Rel: 23 January 2026, UK Rel: 20 March 2026. Cert. PG.
