Arthur becomes a tiny animated thing and goes on a quest to save a miniature kingdom hidden on the estate of his grandparents. He finds romance, friends, courage, and rubies. Isn’t that nice? Yeah, and that’s about it.
The movie’s titular Arthur is a ten-year-old boy who lives with his grandparents and is enamored with the adventures his grandfather had in Africa. Grandpa has disappeared, though, so the signal was raised for ruthless real-estate developers to come and threaten eviction if some debt is not paid in a matter of days.
One evening, Granny reads to Arthur about his grandfather's treasure, a cache of rubies, which is rumored to be buried somewhere on the family's estate. Do you see it coming? Ah, the answer to the problem - if the rubies can be found, the debt can be paid. Of course, savvy old Granny has come to this conclusion and has already searched - unsuccessfully. Arthur is convinced that the answer lies in the clues left in his grandfather’s stories, and it has something to do with the Minimoys, a tiny African tribe transplanted to the family’s estate.
So Arthur begins his quest. In an afternoon, he puts together all the clues and magically becomes one of the Minimoys. He is quickly embroiled in a royal quest into the territory of the Minimoy’s great enemy. He accompanies the princess of the Minimoy’s (voiced by Madonna) on this quest, along with her little brother (Jimmy Fallon).
They, of course, meet sundry other characters as they seek the evil bad-guy type and the rubies. Arthur is smitten with the princess, she is not so fond of him - at first. The younger brother is a mess, but he finds his own special talents along the way.
Arthur and the Invisibles is a fun family movie even though it feels very familiar, as if you‘ve seen it before. It contained shades of Star Wars, Sword in the Stone, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. This will make the story somewhat dull for parents and maybe for the kids. But, if you don’t expect anything groundbreaking, it’s a nice movie. It’s got a very good pace, the action is quick, the story moves along very well (even if it is a bit nebulous).
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