- Oscar-contending French animated film Arco imagines two contrasting climate futures: a gardened sky world and a disaster-wracked present.
- Natalie Portman produces and voices in the English-language release, distributed by Neon.
- Director Ugo Bienvenu blends hope, time travel and AI to explore childhood, imagination and environmental care.
What is Arco?
Arco is a French 2D animated science-fiction film from first-time director Ugo Bienvenu. The film won the top prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and is now in English via distributor Neon. Actor-producer Natalie Portman helped bring the film to anglophone audiences and also lends her voice to a key character.
Two imagined apocalypses
The film splits its world into two distinct futures. One is an elevated, Eden-like society in the year 3000 where humans live among clouds and cultivate extinct plants on sky platforms while Earth heals below. The other is a near-future, environmentally ravaged 2075 where suburban life is shielded behind protective bubbles and everyday technology — robots, hover scooters and holograms — masks deeper social disconnection.
Arco, a curious child from the sky world, steals a magical cloak intending to see dinosaurs and instead falls back to 2075. There he meets Iris, a local youngster, and together they embark on an adventure to send Arco home. Their friendship becomes the emotional center of a story about imagination, responsibility and the choices that shape future worlds.
Natalie Portman and the English cast
Natalie Portman serves as both a producer and a performer in the English-language version. The voice cast also includes Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Mark Ruffalo and Andy Samberg, giving the film significant star power as it circulates in awards season discussion.
Director Ugo Bienvenu’s vision
Bienvenu, known for graphic novels and visual work, designed Arco to offer a hopeful take on science fiction. Rather than present only doom, he constructed contrasting worlds so audiences can ask which future they want. He framed artificial intelligence in the film through a nanny-bot character who comforts yet raises questions about machine-grown companionship and human experience.
Visually, Bienvenu mixes global influences from Paris to Mexico and Chad, using vivid color and simple emblematic shapes — like the cross-shaped sky garden — to make each world immediately readable to children and adults alike.
Why it matters
Arco uses accessible storytelling and kid-centered imagery to tackle large themes: climate change, technology’s role in parenting, and the power of imagination. By pairing a transcendent sky-world with a damaged, band‑aid-protected present, the film invites viewers to weigh short-term fixes against long-term care.
As awards season continues, Arco’s combination of hand-drawn artistry, topical themes and an English-speaking star cast led by Natalie Portman positions it as a film to watch for both critics and families seeking thoughtful animation.
Image Referance: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-12-22/arco-animated-feature-climate-disaster-fires-floods