***NOMINEE – Best Animated Feature – 2026 Academy Awards
A magical and beautifully animated journey through time, Arco is a dazzling adventure about a 10-year-old boy from a peaceful, distant future who accidentally travels back to the year 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As Arco develops a charming and touching friendship with a young girl named Iris, they band together and along with her trusted robot caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco home, while the two children may also be the only ones who can save our planet.
A wondrous odyssey filled with hope and optimism for our future, Arco is an enchanting fable from breakout filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Natalie Portman and starring Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Andy Samberg. The film debuted at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and won The Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at the 2025 Annecy Awards.
2025, 89 minutes, France/US/UK, In English, Directed by Ugo Bienvenu, Rated PG
“The best animated movie of 2025”
– Liam Gaughan, FAR OUT MAGAZINE
“From its narrative that blends so many ideas exquisitely, to the gratifying characters and narrative arcs, to the absolutely stunning animation style, Arco is quite possibly the best animated film of the year.”
– Ross Bonaime, COLLIDER
“'What if rainbows were people from the future traveling in time?' I want to live in a world willing to entertain the wondrous implications of such a colorful sentiment. With its emanant sense of imaginative potential, Arco encourages you to believe.”
– Isaac Feldberg. ROGEREBERT.COM
“Like a cross between a Studio Ghibli joint and “Interstellar,” “Arco,” by the French comic-book artist turned filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu, strikes a lovely balance between fantastical kid-friendly wholesomeness and real-world bleakness.”
– Beatrice Loayza, NEW YORK TIMES
"A spectacular film. It soars with beloved characters, a kid-friendly yet challenging-for-all-ages plot, and beautiful animation."
– Jason Flatt, BUT WHY THO?
“Somewhere between Miyazaki and Robert Zemeckis, Ugo Bienvenu transforms a delicate interplay of light and hope into a countercultural fable about the future.”
– Luis Martínez, EL MUNDO
