‘Arco’ Takes You Somewhere Over the Rainbow

There’s something about rainbows that captures the imagination of children, but what if there were more to rainbows than meets the eye?

“Arco” is a new animated film from writer-director Ugo Bienvenu. The original French version of the film came out in 2025, but the English dub was released Jan. 23.

The film starts out in the future, where people fly around and travel through time using powerful crystals and rainbow supersuits. A boy named Arco is jealous of his family and wants to fly too, but he’s not old enough. So, he sneaks out, takes his sister’s time crystal and rainbow suit and flies so fast he accidentally goes back in time. 

He meets a girl named Iris, and they go on a mission to get Arco back to the future. All the while, three conspiracy-theorist brothers, convinced rainbows are fake, try to track down Arco after finding his crystal.

What makes the “Arco” so unique is it has two futures. When the title character goes back in time, he crashes into 2075. Arco’s time is a solar-punk inspired utopia, meanwhile 2075 is portrayed as a high-tech suburbia. 

Both are stylistically stunning. The far future Arco is from is veiled in majestic clouds and dramatic lighting. The 2075 in this film is animated beautifully, contrasting simplistic, smooth technology with intricate and diverse nature. The entire film is vibrantly colored with gorgeous yet quirky animation.

The English cast — featuring Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Roeg Sutherland, America Ferrera, Andy Samberg, Will Ferrell and Flea (the drummer from Red Hot Chili Peppers) — brilliantly expresses these characters, as if they were written for them specifically. 

The real stars, however, are the child actors. Romy Fay plays Iris, and Juliano Valdi inhabits the titular role of Arco. Valdi (“9-1-1,” “The Loud House”) expertly plays the honest emotions of his character. These characters are so charming you never want to see them in harm’s way.

The comedic trio of Flea (“Baby Driver,” “The Big Lebowski”) Samberg (“Palm Springs,” “Saturday Night Live”) and Ferrell (“Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Blades of Glory”) is genius. They’re the perfect blend of oddball and slapstick humor that’s sure to have audiences laughing. 

However, the dubbing is most obvious with them. The big facial expressions and lip movements of these kooky characters don’t always match what the actors are saying.

The story of this movie is a brilliant sci-fi fantasy. The film combines fairytale storytelling with a futuristic setting. The result is one of the most imaginative stories to come out in recent years. In an age of constant IP grinding, “Arco” offers some much appreciated creativity.

The film has some obvious but worthy commentary on our own times. 2075 is ravaged by forest fires and super storms caused by climate change. Robots have replaced humans in several sectors — Iris is even nannied by a robot named Mickey. However, in Arco’s future, robots have been forgotten and humanity survived the climate apocalypse. 

“Arco” is a fascinating, thought-provoking combination of sci-fi and fantasy. The style is colorful and intricate, with a clash between technology and nature. The characters are charming and unique. The story is, at its core, a story about change and hope.

“Arco” is in theaters now.