Arthur and the Minimoys 3: The Big Decision - DVD

Movie: After the second installment of the Arthur and the Minimoys trilogy went down mercilessly in theaters, the grand finale of Luc Besson's fantasy saga comes straight to home theaters. The big decision picks up right where Part 2 left off: Maltazard, the evil M, has made his way into the human world and is now a gigantic 6 feet tall. Arthur is still with the Minimoys and must try to get back to his grandparents' house with the help of Selenia and her brother Beta and become human in order to stop the evil M. But the path is fraught with danger and Maltazard has no intention of being driven away so easily anyway. And so a big fight is only a matter of time...

Actually, Parts 2 and 3 make a coherent, three-hour movie. But since this is much too long for a children's film, the whole thing was - of course also with commercial ulterior motives - divided into two films. It's just a pity, because the actually better part didn't get a chance to unfold on the big screen after the disappointing performance of the second film. While the whole thing works very well in the home theater, some moments would certainly have had a much bigger and better effect in a big theater.

Be that as it may, Arthur and the Minimoys 3 presents a satisfying finale. The decision to mix the world of the Minimoys and that of the humans even more intensely than had been the case in the previous two films gives it a definite boost at the end to significantly increase the entertainment value of the film. It also helps that the special effects are absolutely convincing. The two-meter tall Maltazard is very well animated and perfectly integrated into the real environment. And also in the furious fight towards the end of the film, Luc Besson's animation team has done a very good job.

In terms of content, the whole thing is on a rather simple level, which is not too bad, because this is a children's film. But also adults may smile about one or the other idea. For example, the film reveals in passing how Star Wars creator George Lucas came up with the idea for Darth Vader.

The German version of Arthur and the Minimoys 3 differs significantly from its predecessors, but now was no longer Tokio Hotel singer Bill Kaulitz as the voice of Arthur behind the microphone. What will disappoint some fans turns out to be a great stroke of luck for the film. Because even though Kaulitz may have talent as a musician, he wasn't really convincing as a voice actor. The fact that Arthur has now been dubbed by a more professional voice actor makes itself felt positively in almost every moment.

So the bottom line is: even if Luc Besson could not really live up to the high ambitions of this project in any of the three films, the trilogy is still quite entertaining overall and can come up with some very funny, but also quite exciting moments especially in the last part. Recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the DVD premiere is on a high level. The image sharpness is even with small details on a very good level, the colors are especially in the animated world of the Minimoys very strong mixed, soiling or interference are not discernible. The sound provides with some very good surround effects especially in the action-packed scenes for high dynamics. But also the quieter scenes can please due to the harmonious mixing of dialogues, music and ambient sounds. Very good!

Extras: A couple of promotional interviews with Luc Besson and his cast and original voice actors, as well as the trailer for the film, a promotional video for Europapark and a trailer show from the provider is all the bonus material this DVD has to offer. The interview with Luc Besson is not uninteresting, but the bottom line is that the whole thing is just too little.

Conclusion: The finale of Arthur and the Minimoys is able to pick up the pace and entertainment value after the rather weak second part. A worthy conclusion to a trilogy, which overall unfortunately could not live up to the high ambitions of its filmmaker. Technically, the home theater premiere can convince, but in terms of bonus material, the disc disappoints. For fans of the first two parts indispensable, who liked only the first part, but can also risk a look!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp