Humanity’s last refuge drifts among the clouds, where arboreal platforms stretch into a pastel sky after Earth enters a “Great Fallow.” In this far-future tableau, 10-year-old Arco aches to join his family’s time-travel missions but remains grounded by age-based regulations. One night, he borrows his sister’s rainbow-woven cape and its refracting crystal, hurling himself into the unknown—and crash-lands in the year 2075.
There, he meets Iris, a young girl sheltered beneath transparent domes that rise at the first hint of climate-driven storm. Her only constant companion is Mikki, a caregiving robot whose gentle humor offers warmth against the dome’s cool interiors. When Iris discovers the disoriented traveler, she faces a choice between obeying safety protocols and answering a deeper call to friendship.
This sequence frames a dialogue between high-concept science fiction and intimate coming-of-age drama. Arco’s skyborne colonies echo the grand visions of Studio Ghibli’s floating cities, while Iris’s sheltered suburb hints at Bollywood’s lush depictions of community resilience. Together, they chart a course that honors both regional traditions and transnational storytelling.
Chromatic Dreams and Sheltered Realms
The film’s hand-drawn 2D animation unfolds with crisp lines and intricately painted backdrops, recalling the storytelling clarity of French bandes dessinées while nodding to the painterly warmth found in Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy. Everyday life in the skyborne colonies pops with bold primary hues—sunlit blues, leafy greens—while Arco’s flight sequences unfurl into prismatic rainbow trails, a visual flourish akin to Bollywood song-and-dance set pieces that burst with color.
In contrast, storm scenes on 2075 Earth adopt a muted palette—steely grays, burnt oranges—emphasizing the tension of climate extremes. Suburban neighborhoods nestle beneath transparent domes that rise like palace pavilions in regional folklore, protecting families from tempest winds or wildfire embers. These arboretum-like platforms combine vine-entwined terraces with gleaming metal supports, inviting comparisons to Studio Ghibli’s floating worlds yet grounded in a uniquely French sensibility.
Tech details feel lived-in: holographic parents shimmer with soft edges, domestic robots bear screen-like faces that echo the gentle presence of Bollywood’s supporting sages, and the time-warp garments—rainbow-adorned cloaks and crystal brooches—blend comic-book bravura with functional costume design. Throughout, Bienvenu’s comics background emerges in playful panel-inspired framing, even as he carves out fresh terrain for animated worldbuilding that bridges European ligne claire and global cinematic color traditions.
Heartstrings Across Time and Cultures
Arco begins as an impulsive dreamer, his impatience flickering to awe when he glimpses prehistoric life—his wide-eyed wonder echoing the youthful curiosity in Indian parallel films like Taare Zameen Par. A pivotal scene finds him tentatively feeding barnyard animals before disaster, marking the moment he shifts from reckless boy to protector of Iris’s fragile world.
Iris carries a quiet ache beneath her dome—her parents present only as holograms—until Arco’s arrival rekindles her spirit. Her first storytelling exchange with Mikki, where she asks for a cowboy adventure, reveals how her bond with the robot caregiver fills an emotional void, much like the surrogate parent figures in Bollywood dramas.
Mikki’s gentle humor and roundabout wisdom anchor Iris’s days, his mechanical gestures recalling comic-relief characters in Indian sci-fi. In contrast, the triplet brothers arrive in primary-colored suits, their slapstick chase providing moments of levity before they heighten suspense in forest sequences.
Trust blooms when Iris hides Arco from these pursuers, then strains during a misunderstanding over time-travel rules. Their friendship peaks in the rain-lashed clearing, where Iris defies protocol to ignite the twin suns of hope and responsibility. This emotional climax cements their bond, setting the stage for the film’s final test of loyalty.
Time’s Arc and Cinematic Craft
Act I unfolds high above a rejuvenating Earth, where Arco chafes under time-travel age limits—his longing captured in lingering wide shots that echo slow-burn setups of Indian parallel films like Masaan. Act II plunges him into Iris’s 2075 suburb, forging their bond amid triplet chases and sudden storm sequences, much as Bollywood often balances songful respite with crisis. Act III builds to a drenched clearing where rain-sun synchronicity powers Arco’s return, delivering an emotional release through matched cuts and swelling orchestration.
Moments of pastoral calm—Arco feeding barnyard animals, Iris studying holographic lessons—sit alongside jolting weather-shield activations. These shifts mirror rhythm patterns in South Indian cinema, where serene montages precede frenetic action, ensuring viewers ride each tonal wave.
Environmental stewardship surfaces in the “Great Fallow” decree and wildfires that threaten Iris’s home, reflecting real-world climate concerns akin to Marathi eco-dramas. Hope versus hardship threads through youthful resilience, echoing the optimism of classic Bollywood family sagas. Both children wrestle with parental distance—Arco’s scientist family, Iris’s holographic guardians—finding surrogate kinship much like found families in regional storytelling.
Arnaud Toulon’s score alternates between ethereal strings during rainbow flights and percussive drums in storm scenes, recalling A.R. Rahman’s dynamic contrasts. Sound design layers mechanical whirrs of Mikki with forest ambiences, creating a lived-in soundscape.
Editing stitches time-warp flashes to close-up reactions, sustaining narrative momentum. Bienvenu’s graphic-novel roots show in panel-style framing—sweeping panorama to intimate detail—while his seamless camera moves honor both European ligne claire traditions and global cinematic language.
Arco premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section and is also featured in the official competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Full Credits
Director: Ugo Bienvenu
Writers: Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry
Producers: Félix de Givry, Natalie Portman, Sophie Mas
Cast: Oscar Tresanini, Margot Ringard Oldra, Alma Jodorowsky, Swann Arlaud, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel, William Lebghil, Oxmo Puccino
Editor: Nathan Jacquard
Composer: Arnaud Toulon
The Review
Arco
Arco’s vibrant hand-drawn imagery and sincere partnership between its young leads anchor a film that mesmerizes with wonder and warmth, even as its narrative sometimes treads familiar ground. The inventive worldbuilding and emotive score sustain engagement, though the comic-triplet diversion weakens stakes on occasion. The result is a hopeful sci-fi fable that balances spectacle with intimacy.
PROS
- Vibrant hand-drawn 2D animation that feels tactile and alive
- Worldbuilding that marries futuristic tech with pastoral warmth
- Central friendship grounded in genuine emotional stakes
- Score and sound design that shift gracefully between wonder and tension
- Artful framing reflecting the director’s graphic-novel roots
CONS
- Comic-triplet subplot undercuts narrative urgency at times
- Science-fiction rules around time travel lack full clarity
- Pacing dips when transitioning between leisurely and action-driven scenes
- Some thematic threads (cultural preservation) feel underexplored