Copyright CinemaBlend
We’re entering the final stretch of the 2025 movie schedule, which also means it’s time to start speculating about what feature films from this year will be nominated at next year’s Academy Awards. That ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien again, won’t air until next March, but I’m already hoping that Neon’s Arco ends up being one of the nominees for Best Animated Feature. You’ll see what I mean by watching the above visually dazzling trailer for this movie starring folks like Will Ferrell and Mark Ruffalo. Directed by Ugo Bienvenu, who also co-wrote the script with Félix de Givry, Arco follows its titular character, a 10-year-old boy who comes from a distant, peaceful future, who accidentally travels back to 2075 and discovers a world in peril. Arco soon forms a friendship with a girl named Iris, and together with Iris’ robot caretaker Mikki, they’ll embark on a journey to not only get Arco back to his home time period, but also potentially save Earth in the process. Diaphana Distribution handled Arco’s French release, and Neon is doing it in the United States. For those watching Arco in the United States, you’ll be treated to an English cast that stars Romy Fay and Juliano Valdi as Iris and Arco, respectively, as well as Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Mark Ruffalo, America Ferrera, Andy Samberg and Flea. Portman also produced Arco with Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry and Sophie Mas. Although none of the adult actors’ roles have been officially identified yet, if you listen closely during the trailer, you can pick out Ruffalo as Mikki, Ferrell as what sounds like one of the townspeople in 2075, and Samberg as, I’m guessing, Arco’s father. Obviously, I’ll wait to watch Arco for myself to judge its full quality, but the visuals alone are enough to convince me this time travel movie is deserving of Oscars buzz. The visuals are exceptional, particularly when Arco is flying and leaving behind a rainbow trail. This is the kind of artistry that should be recognized at the Academy Awards, and there are already signs that it could happen. Arco premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and was nominated for a Camera d'Or, as well as won two awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Although most of the public won’t get to see Arco until it’s widely released sometime early on the 2026 movie schedule, it will have a limited, award-qualifying run starting on November 14. So Neon and its partners are clearly gunning for this movie to be an Oscars contender, and I wish them the best of luck in making this happen.
