Edward D. Wood Jr. once wrote, “We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.” He also wrote such banger lines as, “Future events such as these will affect you in the future,” and “You see?! Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!” — and those are just from “Plan Nine From Outer Space.” Wood was right, of course, about the future parts. Maybe the “stupid minds” bit was a little harsh.
The point is, even in cheesy b-movies, we look to cinema for visions of what’s to come. Often these visions are terrifying cautionary tales. Sometimes they’re inspiring. Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco” is both. His luscious debut animated feature introduces a far-off future where humanity lives in the clouds, cultivating nature in peaceful, Hayao Miyazaki-esque tableaus. They ride the wind in rainbow clothing and wear diamonds on their foreheads, traveling into the past like it’s a trip to the swap meet.
It’s lovely. It’s beautiful. And it’s tainted. The future of “Arco” takes place far above a ruined world below, and its denizens travel through time to rescue extinct plants to bring back to the future. There is hope for us yet, it seems, but only after we’re doomed.
Arco (Juliano Krue Valdi) is a young boy who wants to meet a dinosaur, but he’s too young to join the rest of his family. He steals a rainbow suit and soars away, uncontrollably, from the 30th century back into 2075. That’s only 50 years removed from the present, and humanity still lives in suburbs, but our houses are protected from catastrophic storms and raging fires by giant bubbles. Robots raise our children and do the shopping. Parents work far from home and read their kids bedtime stories via hologram.
Arco meets Iris (Romy Fay), a girl about his own age, who doesn’t like living in a world that previous generations ruined. (Every younger generation, ever, can relate.) She helps Arco find a way back to his own time, while dodging a trio of conspiracy theorists in groovy rainbow sunglasses — voiced (in the American dub) by Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg and Flea — who claim they saw Arco’s rainbows years ago. Nobody believes them of course, and they’ve been searching for time travelers ever since.
The premise is, you might have noticed, a lot like “Back to the Future,” but without the weird stuff about your mom having a crush on you, or the scene where they accuse Chuck Berry of plagiarizing “Johnny B. Goode.” Bienvenu’s film is sweeter than “Back to the Future” as well. The Miyazaki comparison is apt: The character animation has more of a European flavor, but the backgrounds and environments would be right at home at Studio Ghibli. The fantasy elements are also, likewise, hopeful and kind, even when the story sends Arco and Iris into dangerous situations.
“Arco” is, more than anything else, a film about hope. What makes this hope resonate is that “Arco” acknowledges — without getting too down in the dumps about it — our feelings of hopelessness. Arco isn’t just from the future, he’s a message. He proves that humanity can survive its current ordeals. Even if we fail to stave off man-made climate change, our children and our children’s children won’t give up. Arco, in the past, inspires people to envision a better tomorrow, and then actively try turn that dream into a reality. “Arco,” the movie, tries to do the same.
Stunning animation and noble intentions aside, “Arco” can be peaceful to a fault. There’s a line between calm and dull, and director/co-writer Bienvenu occasionally crosses it. The film’s antagonists, if you can call them that, are three conspiracy kooks who bicker constantly and scheme incompetently. This is so Bienvenu’s film can redeem them — or, perhaps, reveal they were never that bad — but it also gives Iris and Arco little to overcome, and makes the film’s extended chase more ho-hum than a sci-fi chase with robot cops and towering infernos probably should be.
They are, of course, the comic relief, but they’re not so much funny as they are good-natured and dorky. We like them. But they don’t make us feel much. Iris’ robo-nanny evokes grander emotions than any of the other characters combined (at least until the tearjerker ending). It’s a tough world for the things human beings take for granted, whether it’s the environment that gave us life, or the machines we created ourselves.
“Arco” is fabulously colorful and easy to fall into, but once you’re in there, you may find yourself getting drowsy and wanting to take a nap. Still, it’s a sweet, immersive glimpse at two of our futures, and it’s clear-eyed about which aspects of those worlds we want to avoid, and which ones we have to pursue. In “Plan Nine From Outer Space,” Edward D. Wood Jr. concluded with a plea: “God help us in the future.” Maybe a film like “Arco” can help us right now.
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