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Hoping to save his grandparents’ house, young Arthur (Freddie Highmore) shrinks himself and heads below ground. There a race of tiny (but not invisible) elfin folk called Minimoys may help him find some buried treasure. After a live-action set-up, Luc Besson’s oddly skewed family film goes animated. The cartoon Arthur suddenly looks like Billy Idol circa 1986, complete with ripped leather gear and a noticeable man-package. Besson rounded up an A-list crew of voices for this English-language version (DeNiro, Madonna, Harvey Keitel, Snoop Dogg), but the film stumbles about: The above-ground set-up is dull, and the mystery world beneath is never fully fleshed out; the Minimoy adventures feel rushed; and what kid is gonna get the disco-flashback sequence? Movies that split the kid-adult difference just irk both groups. The last reel is buoyed by the deliciously hammy tones of David Bowie, who voices the Voldemortish villain. (AH) 
This article appears in Jan 18-24, 2007.
