Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard
Introduction '''''Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard''''' (French: '''''Arthur et la Vengeance de Maltazard''''') is a 2009 English-language French animated/live-action fantasy adventure film directed and co-written by Luc Besson, based on the third book of the ''Arthur'' children's books series by Besson. It is the sequel to ''Arthur and the Invisibles'' (2006), and the second installment in the ''Arthur'' film series. ''Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard'' was released theatrically in France on 2 December 2009 by EuropaCorp. The film received mixed reviews from critics in France but was received negatively in the rest of the world. Like its predecessor's, it was a box-office success in France but it under-performed internationally, and was released as a direct-to-video in the United States by 20th Century Home Entertainment, while in the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was edited as one film with the third film under the title ''Arthur and the Great Adventure''. As a result, the film generated huge losses for EuropaCorp.A sequel, titled ''Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds'' and shot back-to-back, was released in 2010 in France.
Plot Two years have passed since Arthur saved his grandparents’ home and saved the Minimoys from the evil Maltazard. Arthur stays with his grandparents for the holidays, during which the Bogo Matassalai (a fictitious African society) assign Arthur a series of tests, including camouflage and environmental nonviolence. Having passed these tests, Arthur prepares to see the Minimoys to celebrate, until his father decides to take him and his mother back to the metropolis. When a spider gives Arthur a grain of rice containing a distress-call, which he believes has come from the Minimoys, he returns to his grandparents' house, where the Bogo Matassalai's attempt to give him Minimoy stature through a telescope fails, and they instead wrap him in vines of increasing tightness until he falls as a drop of sap into the Minimoy Max's bar. ''En route'' to investigate the Minimoys' condition, Arthur and Max rescue Betameche, who leads Arthur to the King. He then learns that Selenia is held by Maltazard, who is inspired to invade the human world by increasing his own size. Maltazard tricks the Minimoys into completing his design. The telescope itself is destroyed in the process, leaving Arthur trapped at his Minimoy size, while Maltazard is free to roam the world.
Cast ; Live-action cast* Freddie Highmore as Arthur Montgomery. Highmore also voices Arthur in CGI animation. * Mia Farrow as Daisy Suchot* Ron Crawford as Archibald Suchot. The character is voiced by actor Michel Duchaussoy in the French version. * Robert Stanton as Armand Montgomery. Stanton replaced Doug Rand, who played the character in the first film. The character is voiced by actor Jean-Paul Rouve in the French version. * Penny Balfour as Rose Montgomery. The character is voiced by actress Frédérique Bel in the French version, replacing Valérie Lemercier. * Jean Betote Njamba as the chief of the Matassalai. ; Voice cast* Selena Gomez as Princess Selenia. Gomez replaced singer Madonna, who voiced the character in the first film. The character is voiced by singer Mylène Farmer in the French version. * Doug Rand as Prince Betameche. Rand is reprising his role from the original version of the first film, while also replacing Jimmy Fallon, who voiced the character in the Weinstein Company version of the first film. The character is voiced by radio host Cartman in the French version. * Lou Reed as Maltazard. Reed replaced singer David Bowie, who voiced the character in the first film. The character is voiced by actor Gérard Darmon in the French version, replacing Alain Bashung. * Snoop Dogg as Max. The character is voiced by rapper Rohff in the French version. * will.i.am as Snow. The character is voiced by actor Omar Sy in the French version. * Fergie as Replay. The character is voiced by actor Fred Testot in the French version. * David Gasman as Emperor Sifrat XVI. Gasman replaced Robert De Niro, who voiced the character in the first film. He also voice the mechanic and the Bogo Chief. * Barbara Weber Scaff as Miss Perlanapple* Alan Fairbanks as Pump Attendant* Logan Miller as Jake* Leslie Clack as Ferryman* Alan Wenger as Mono Cyclop/DaVinci* Jerry di Giacomo as Proscuitto/Guard* Paul Bandey as Miro/Unicorn Chief
Production === Development ===For Luc Besson, the character of Arthur evolves at the same time as the film's spectators. It was therefore essential to advance the universe: “This is what was done with the ''Harry Potter'' saga, and I find it very intelligent: to attach ourselves to a character who grows at the same time as his audience. Script-wise, it's also very pleasant to work on characters who have a past, to give them a certain maturity”.=== Role assignment ===While Douglas Rand played Arthur's father in ''Arthur and the Invisibles'', the role is reprised in this film and the next by Robert Stanton. Furthermore, Yann Loubatière replaces Barbara Kelsch for the French voice of Arthur. On the American voice side, Lou Reed replaces David Bowie for the voice of Maltazard while David Gasman succeeds Robert De Niro for that of the King of Minimoys. Likewise on the French side for Maltazard, the voice is taken over by Gérard Darmon after the death of Alain Bashung.=== Filming ===The filming of the live action scenes was done simultaneously with those of the following film, ''Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds'', because Luc Besson wanted to prevent the young actor Freddie Highmore from growing up too much between the two films.As with the first film, it was Normandie that Arthur's village located in Connecticut was recreated, but this time on nearly 40,000 square meters. Luc Besson and production designer Hugues Tissandier created settings that did not appear in the first film: a church, shops, a supermarket, a garage, a hardware store, a police station, a cinema and a fountain, etc.
Distribution outside France Following the intensive negative reactions from the cuts of ''Arthur and the Minimoys'', The Weinstein Company would not distribute this sequel or the next one. It was instead distributed by 20th Century Fox. Unlike its predecessor, no scenes were cut or changed for the US release. However, it was edited in the UK and Ireland by combining it with the next sequel into one film under the title ''Arthur and the Great Adventure''.
Reception === Reviews ===In France, the film obtained an average rating of  on the AlloCiné site, which lists 17 press titles.The film was very poorly received by the press in the United States. On American aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 14% based on reviews from 7 critics, with an average rating of 4/10.
Video game To promote the film, two video games by Ubisoft were released for PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. The games compose of mostly minigames and cutscenes which are loosely related to the plot of the film.
Sequel In 2010, a sequel titled ''Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds'' was released.
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