Critics reviews

ARCO may be a bit too intense for kids, especially in its back half. Yet, the sheer imagination and artistry of the picture are so strong that it could potentially resonate with all ages, even if the climax is quite emotionally disturbing.

Arco is special. It’s not just about time travel; it is a visual feast for the eyes, opening up minds to more than the same old sci-fi stories. For once, the future is bright.

A stunning feature debut... It's a delight from its visually resplendent start... to its emotionally charged conclusion. Arnaud Toulon's musical score is fantastic, too, making this meditative environmental fable as easy on the ears as on the eyes.

With Arco, Bienvenu has created a delightful and nostalgic outing that offers a hopeful outlook on a possible future. For all its incredible strengths, though, the tale it tells is one that’s all too familiar.

[Bienvenu is] a sprightly storyteller who pings Iris and Arco on a trippy multicoloured adventure, with obvious debts to Hayao Miyazaki (the look is pure anime)... It doesn’t all work. Iris and Arco are slightly bland, and a third-act chase sequence seems superfluous. But the bleak ending, the key character killed and the brutal twist? Bravo!

[Arco] has lots going for it: expressive character design, a delicately melancholy musical score, and plenty of strong emotional beats, but the script is a touch too derivative for its own good.

Arco’s hand-drawn animation gives major ‘Gallic Ghibli’, although the story itself ducks and weaves without the soaring ambition of a Miyazaki tale... More affecting is the Spielbergian preoccupation with missing parents... and those threads come together beautifully in the final moments.

Bienvenu’s colourful, soulful sci-fi animation threatens to make skygazers and daydreamers out of anyone who deigns to take the trip... [Arco] is equal parts polished and particular, whimsical and weird.

Stirringly pretty... [Arco] is a surprisingly optimistic yarn, bursting with charm and warmth, even as a clear and stark warning quickly emerges.

Though the mechanics and technology of Arco’s future make little sense, the imagination behind them carries the day. Much here is a wonder to behold... Arco proves a moving, thrilling experience, filled with genuine, earned emotion and wildly enjoyable flights of fancy.

The sheer earnestness of director Ugo Bienvenu’s elegiac, even mournful tale feels as appealingly anachronistic as its lush 2D animation... More patient kids, and more openhearted adults, will just as probably be moved to tears by this oddball enchantment.

There are some truly enchanting moments in Arco, moments of flight and friendship, and the comedy between the three brothers is surprisingly light and charming. The underlying issue is exactly who the film... is intended for... [The film] feels like an adult’s idea of a sophisticated kids’ movie.