This May, Neon acquired “Arco,” a French animated sci-fi film and the feature debut of director Ugo Bienvenu, out of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, with the intent of campaigning it for the Animated Feature Oscar. Now, the distributor has set a date for the time-hopping story, with the movie set to land in North American theaters on November 14. Watch the teaser for “Arco” below.
In addition, Neon has unveiled details for the English-language version of the French film, which will play in U.S. cinemas. Natalie Portman, who produced the film along with Sophie Mas via her MountainA production company, is part of the English-language cast. Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Mark Ruffalo, and Andy Samberg are also featured in the dubbed version. Specific casting for roles has not been announced. Prior to its theatrical release, the English-language version of the film will premiere in the Centerpiece section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.
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Animated in a 2D style that takes clear influence from everything from Studio Ghibli to French artist Moebius, “Arco” focuses on the title character, a young boy from a utopian distant future who travels backward in time to the significantly less utopian 2075. There, he befriends a girl named Iris and embarks on a journey with her and the robot caretaker Mikki to find a way back home and save the planet in the process. In addition to MountainA, the movie is also produced by Remembers’ Bienvenu and Felix de Givry.
“Arco” received largely positive reviews from critics out of its Cannes premiere (IndieWire gave it a B-). In addition, it won the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at the 2025 Annecy Film Festival.
Traditionally, it’s been somewhat difficult for international or independent animated features to win in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category. In the past few years, however, the category has become more competitive for the non-Disney or Pixar films that have cracked the nomination pool, with films like “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “The Boy and the Heron” taking home the prize. Should “Arco” get nominated, its path will look very similar to last year’s “Flow,” which similarly premiered at Cannes and ultimately rode great reviews and general enthusiasm to an upset win against bigger films such as “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.”
In addition to the casting news and date announcement, Neon also released a teaser for the English version of “Arco.” Check it out below.
