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Wednesday 15 December 2010

Where Did Arthur: The Great Adventure Come From?

Don't be taken too aback if the title of this post means almost nothing to you- until today I had no idea that Arthur and the Great Adventure was about to hit cinemas on Christmas Eve, more surprising perhaps for someone like myself who knows the majority of film releases coming up in 2011, let alone those remaining this year. Having done some research, the back-story is as such: Arthur and the Invisibles (2.5/5, a comedy-animation starring Freddie Highmore and Madonna) did relatively well in the US box office, and since it's part of a trilogy of books producers MGM saw the success as a great opportunity to milk some extra cash from the cow, commissioning a sequel, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard, to be released in cinemas...in 2009. So, what happened? Well, American cinemas did indeed get the latest instalment in November '09, but for some absurd reason only now are we getting the re-named movie on British shores. The Great Adventure- starring Highmore once again and Selena Gomez (of Disney Channel fame) taking over Madonna's role as whimsical pixie Selenia (probably a coincidence name-wise given who originally had the role, not that Gomez minds)- teenager Arthur returns to the minature land of the Minomoys for a reunion party, only to find himself lured into a trap by old enemy Maltazard (it's never a good sign when the villian in two animated films stays the same, only meaning that repetition is a given). Don't be surprised if this performs well in the box office out of sheer interest by kids who haven't seen the original, but from what I can recall if The Great Adventure is anything like Arthur and the Invisibles then you may regret spilling out cash and time to see it.

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