Review: Arco – The Rainbow Connection
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu and Gilles Cazaux
Starring Juliano Krue Valdi, Romy Fay, Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman
8.5/10
There’s an old question (and associated joke) in animation circles, questioning if something is anime if it’s not animated in Japan, or is it just sparkling animation? The French have certainly been at the forefront of posing this question since the ’80s with works such as Gandahar, Time Masters, and Ulysses 31. They add a more recent addition to this question with the beautiful and award-winning Arco.
A ten-year-old child from a far future accidentally travels back in time to the year 2075 and finds himself trapped there. With the help of a young girl (Romy Fay) and her robot (Mark Ruffalo and Natalie Portman), Arco (Juliano Krue Valdi) attempts to return to his peaceful future and loving family.
A dose of anime retro-futurism filtered through a European lens. This is strongly reminiscent of Miyazaki or Tezuka, capturing both their childlike innocence, strong moral compass, and sense of wonder at a fantastical world. Yet Arco is clearly its own thing, cut from whole cloth rather than relying on a manga adaptation (although it shares a setting with a previous work, allowing Ugo Bienvenu’s experience as a creator of graphic novels to shine through). It draws from past masters but presents something that is unique and dynamic in its tale of childlike adventure.
At its heart, Arco is a very humanist film, treating all of its characters with compassion. It may be an adventure aimed at children, but it doesn’t abandon character motivation to do this, giving them all a sense of believability in their arc. At times this is almost devastating in the sacrifices that have to be made in Arco’s quest to return to his family. This is a simple story, with a lot going on beneath the surface. While the main storyline concentrates on the bonds of friendship, love, and family, beyond that are questions of humanity’s purpose, environmental catastrophe, and temporal causality (there’s a bootstrap paradox in play).
Yet as rich as this is, this is primarily a child’s adventure story, painted with vivid colours, and capable of delivering strong emotional gut punches. It’s an optimistic look at the future brought to us deliberately through the fixed perspective of children (and a trio of incompetent man-children). The voice work is also top-notch. Romy Fay and Juliano Krue Valdi are excellent as the two children attempting to return Arco to his time. While the rest of the English voice cast is stacked with luminaries like Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Flea.
Arco is a detailed and bright work of science fiction that is obviously a labour of love by inveterate animators (at least in terms of co-director Gilles Cazaux, who worked on 1973’s surreal classic Fantastic Planet). At times it is jaw-dropping in its scale (such as the chase through differing holographic environments); at others it’ll drill down to an intimate moment and dwell in the quietness. The independent nature is also evident, not in a drop in the quality of work, but in the quirkiness of the storytelling that doesn’t feel as safe or sanitised as the larger studio offerings. You can certainly see how it was deserving of its Best Independent Feature award at the 2026 Annie Awards and is a contender for an Oscar.
A beautiful and heartwarming film with genuine emotional heft. Arco might not technically be an anime, but it’s certainly sparkling animation.
DAVID O’CONNELL