Adult Animation Revolution: ‘Arco’ Could Be a Breakout For French Animation
by Tito W. James
Arco takes the visual iconography of a kid superhero story and grounds its characters within an atmospheric world reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. Director Ugo Bienvenu has a background in Metal Hurlant Magazine and his graphic novel, System Preference, will release this September from Titan Comics. The film is animated by French studio Remembers Productions and is produced by Natalie Portman. Arco has an impressive amount of talent behind a debut feature film and I highly anticipate its theatrical release.
“Arco is a dazzling adventure about a 10-year-old boy from a peaceful, distant future who accidentally travels back to the year 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As Arco develops a charming and touching friendship with a young girl named Iris, they band together and along with her trusted robot caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco home, while the two children may also be the only ones who can save our planet.“
I’ve been shouting at the top of my lungs that French Animation is avant garde and deserves a passionate fandom as large as anime viewers. Creature Commandos, Arcane, and Primal were all animated by French animation studios. The French have a commitment to mature animated storytelling but eschew the visual tropes and nerd-culture trappings that permeate the majority of popular anime. French animation is its own glorious animal and if Arco succeeds in US theaters, there will be plenty more to come.
Arco is slated to release October 22nd.
