Arco Review: A Lush, Heartfelt Sci-Fi Adventure About Growing Up Too Fast

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Arco (American Dubbed) (2025)

Directed by Ugo Bienvenu

Written by Ugo Bienvenu

Starring Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Will Ferrell, Andy Sandberg, Swann Arlaud, and Alma Jodorowsky

Release Date November 14th, 2025

Future Boy With One Big Dream

Arco, directed by Ugo Bienvenu, is a wildly imaginative animated adventure about a little boy who can’t wait to fly. Ten-year-old Arco has spent his whole life watching his family soar through the skies of the year 2932, living in floating homes above whatever remains of Earth. When his older sister begins flying for the first time, Arco’s jealousy reaches its breaking point.

One night, while his family sleeps, Arco steals his sister’s rainbow cloak and glowing gem—items that grant flight—and makes a dramatic leap off the edge of his home. He immediately plummets, barely catching himself, and soon finds himself caught in a violent storm.

A Jump Back to 2075

Before we see where Arco lands, the film jumps back to the year 2075, where young Iris is being raised by a kindly robot named Mikki. Voiced with a blend of Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo, Mikki carries the personalities of Iris’s parents, who are away on business and communicate only through daily hologram calls. Mikki cares for Iris and her baby brother with meticulous attention—and genuine affection.

Arco’s arrival from the clouds crashes directly into Iris’s life. Rescued by Chloe and brought to Mikki for repairs, Arco stuns the robot’s advanced systems: Mikki can’t find a single record of his existence. The overload briefly shuts him down, leaving Arco and Iris to bond—and giving Arco space to share his unbelievable story.

A Missing Gem and Three Well-Meaning Idiots

Iris is eager to help Arco return home, but there’s one major problem: he’s lost the gold gem that makes his flying possible.

What neither child knows is that the gem has been picked up by a trio of lovable nerds searching for alien life: Dougie, Stewie, and Frankie (Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Flea). Having watched Arco fall from the sky, they’re convinced he’s extraterrestrial and begin tracking him across the countryside in the most harmlessly bumbling ways possible.

A Story About Identity, Independence, and the Parents We Need

With this setup, Arco becomes a magical blend of gorgeous animation, inventive world-building, and emotional storytelling. Both Arco and Iris are at ages where they crave independence yet still deeply need parental love and reassurance. They’re pushing against the boundaries of childhood—one from the distant future, the other from a near-tomorrow.

Caught between them is Mikki, a robot bound by Asimov’s legendary Three Laws of Robotics but infused with the emotional core of Iris’s parents. Mikki’s mix of duty, programmed compassion, and genuine parental warmth makes him one of the film’s standout characters—funny, tender, and surprisingly moving.

A Beautiful, Bittersweet Sci-Fi Fable

Arco is warm, curious, sweet, and often very funny, but it isn’t afraid to brush against heartache. The film’s ending serves as a reminder that choices—whether made by children, adults, or sentient machines—have consequences. Still, Bienvenu ensures the final moments land with hope.

The animation is lush and striking, evoking shades of Miyazaki and the best of Pixar without ever feeling derivative. Writer-director Ugo Bienvenu clearly has a gift for visual poetry and emotional clarity, crafting a sci-fi fable that feels both timeless and fresh.

Arco is ultimately a film about moving forward—sometimes before we’re ready—and the people (or robots) who help guide us as we learn to fly.

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