Arthur and the Invisibles

Chicago Tribune Michael 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.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

This semianimated adventure is enjoyable and imaginative despite its formulaic qualities.

Premiere Monica A. Reyhani

Ultimately, Besson has made an interesting, if shaky in places, homage to childhood.

Entertainment Weekly Gregory 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."

TV Guide Angel 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.

Washington Post Desson 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.

New York Daily News Jack 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.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Arthur and the Invisibles tries way too hard.

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.

Miami Herald Peter 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.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk 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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean 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.

LA Weekly Jean 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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

What a mess.

Boston Globe Ty 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.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

It's a film for kids who want to know what headaches feel like.

The New York Times Neil Genzlinger

The computer-generated world is visually rich, but short on the droll humor that makes good children's films bearable for adults.

Los Angeles Times Alex 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.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter 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.

Variety Robert Koehler

Haplessly blends live-action and visually repellent computer-animated work.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

The real problem is that the story is just incoherent, and the faster it moves, the more frantic it seems.

New York Post Kyle 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.