‘Arco’ review: If you love animation, you need to see this gorgeous climate change fable

i have fallen in love with her Arco From its first frame.

In these opening moments, a flock of birds flies toward a cluster of towers extending into the clouds, each holding platforms covered in greenery and wind turbines. The image is utopian, yet slightly foreboding. What inspired humanity to reach for the sky? What’s beneath the clouds? The answer, surprisingly, is an ecological disaster of our own making.

The tension between beauty and difficult truths fosters perfection ArcoAs French director Ugo Bienvenu pairs a charming tale of friendship with a sobering look at the realities of climate change. It’s a glorious sci-fi journey, told through some of the most remarkable animation you’ll see this year.

What is? Arco About this?

people who live on the platform ArcoThe opening scenes of Are Able to Time Travel. They fly into the past with the help of colorful cloaks and light-refracting crystals, bringing storms and rainbows as they go.

Children under 12 are not allowed to use this technology, which does not sit right with 10-year-old Arco (voiced by Juliano Valdi in the English-language dub). So what does this aspiring adventurer do? He steals his sister’s cloak and heads to 2075, but finds himself trapped there. Thankfully, he’s found a new friend in the form of Iris (voiced by Romi Fey), who is determined to help him get back to his own time.

Arco Another awesome animated film about climate change.

Credit: Courtesy of Neon

While Arco’s future is one of an idyll, filled with renewable energy and a deep connection with nature, Iris’s version is far more disturbing – and hits closer to home.

Iris lives in a suburb that appears exactly like home in our present day, except for a few changes. Her robot caretaker Mickey (voiced by Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo), as well as her town’s hordes of robot laborers, speak of significant technological advances. So, her workaholic parents (also voiced by Portman and Ruffalo) use holograms to communicate while they’re away at work.

But the biggest difference between our present and Iris’s future is the protective bubble that constantly pops up around people’s homes during devastating weather events. A deadly storm threatens the town, while the children casually talk about their families preparing for disaster in the face of a wildfire. Clearly, this is a society that is living with the effects of climate change, yet makes no large-scale efforts to mitigate its impacts for future generations. (sound familiar?)

Arco knows that climate change – and the acceleration of it by humans – is what helped its ancestors make their way above the clouds. Through her eyes, everyday elements of Iris’s world become accelerators of coming ecological collapse, such as the city’s cars, or the overabundance of grocery stores, in contrast to her family’s domestic view.

Bienvenu is never too harsh in his message about climate change. Still, each of these world-building details combine to create a growing background sense of dread, which makes Iris and Arco’s friendship seem all the more sweet by comparison. They bring hope to a rapidly deteriorating world.

ArcoThe treatment of climate change is reminiscent of two of 2024’s most excellent films, Flow And wild robotLike ArcoEvery current world is affected by ecological disasters. However, these are not grand, sweeping stories of saving the world, but rather stories of innocents – e.g. Flow And wild robotanimals of, or ArcoYoung Iris and Arco – who have no choice but to endure these storms. except for Flow And wild robot, Arco Another testament to animation’s ability to communicate the realities of climate change to audiences young and old alike.

Arco Absolutely shocking.

and what animation is displayed in it ArcoBienvenu is a comic book artist himself and brings his 2D illustration style to the big screen. The effect is spectacular, reminiscent of the fantasy works of Jean Giraud (aka Mobius) and the films of Studio Ghibli.

In addition to Arco’s futuristic rainbow and solarpunk sky towers, Bienvenu finds a surprise in the 2075 timeline. The forests of Iris’s town are a lush wonderland, while her school offers unexpected opportunities for escapism. Each classroom can transform into a variety of environments, from galaxies to underwater landscapes, providing Bienvenu and his team the opportunity to flex their animation muscles and take Iris and Arco’s adventure to new heights.

Another highlight of the animation is the mysterious trio of men (voiced by Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg and Flea) who are tracking Arco. They’re each wearing colorful suits, bowl cuts, and rainbow glasses, and their bumbling attempts to find Arco are one of the funniest and most idiosyncratic moments of the film.

In a mainstream animation landscape dominated by 3D-animated films, ArcoThe visuals are a testament to the enduring power of 2D work as well as French filmmakers’ commitment to the medium. If you like animation, run, not walk, to catch it – or even better, fly near the rainbow.

Arco Now in theatres.