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BY MAGGIE SCOTT
‘Arthur and the Invisibles’ tells a lickety-split tale of youthful heroics set in a fantasy underground kingdom populated by miniature elfin and animalistic creatures. They are invisible only by the circumstance of residing below the surface of the overgrown garden of Arthur’s grandmother (Mia Farrow).

Arthur (Freddie Highmore) on the other hand appears to be invisible to his unemployed parents who are searching for work “in the city.” It’s 1960, and Arthur had hoped his mother and father would come to his grandparents’ Connecticut farmhouse for his 10th birthday celebration. Invisible, too, is Arthur’s grandfather, Archibald, who has been missing for a number of years. The former engineer and African explorer left behind copious journals and artifacts of his adventures which fascinate and inspire Arthur.

When a land hungry developer takes advantage of Grandma’s difficulties paying the bills, Arthur realizes the only hope of keeping their home is to find rubies that Grandpa left in the subterranean kingdom of the Minimoys. Arthur has become entranced with the portrait his grandfather sketched of the tribe’s princess (voice of Madonna).

Archibald left detailed instructions on how to enter the Minimoys’ world; and on the “tenth moon,” with help from imposing African warriors, Arthur slides down a telescope into adventure, transformation and puppy love with a girl who is about to celebrate her 1,000th birthday.

Princess Solania is more than ready to defend her kingdom against the Evil M (voice of David Bowie) whose Forbidden Land contains the rubies. She takes the lead, with Arthur (now in the form of a Minimoy) and her impish brother scrambling to keep up, sleeping in poppy flowers and eating dragonfly eggs. A magic sword (which Arthur, not the princess, succeeded in pulling out of its sacred resting place), a baseball, straws and a wind-up car belonging to Arthur come in handy in their endeavors.

It’s not hard to figure what’s coming next in the course of events; and it’s all told with comprehension-stifling speed of dialogue and action. Hip-hop superstar Snoop Dog and acting giant Robert De Niro are two of the more unusual voice participants in this project that features computer animation suggestive of a combination of loose-limbed puppets and the anime of Japanese video games and graphic novels. As a live boy, Freddie Highmore fills the screen with unique, pre-teen zest; as a CG creation, the technology doesn’t do him justice. Rated PG

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