Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (French: Arthur 3: La Guerre des deux mondes) is a 2010 English-language French live-action/animatedfantasy film directed and co-written by Luc Besson, based on the fourth and final book of the Arthurchildren's books series by Besson. It is the sequel to Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009) and the third installment in the Arthur film series. The film was shot back-to-back with the previous installment. It is the last installment in the main series.
Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds was released theatrically in France on 13 October 2010 by EuropaCorp. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box-office success in France. However, following the box-office bombs of its two predecessors internationally, the film generated huge losses for EuropaCorp.[3] It 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 second film under the title Arthur and the Great Adventure. The film marked Lou Reed's last acting role before his death in 2013.
Picking up after the second film, Maltazard has assumed human size, and left Arthur in miniature. Accompanied by Princess Selenia and her brother, Prince Betameche, Arthur attempts to retrieve an enlarging potion from his house, which Maltazard seizes to enlarge his followers, whereafter Arthur returns to human form using an Elixir of Life given by a queen bee. Archibald convinces Darkos, Maltazard's son, to change sides, and enlarges him with a second potion. Arthur and Darkos then confront Maltazard, until Selenia and Betameche shrink Maltazard back to his Minimoy size and Arthur captures him, while the U.S. Army overcome Maltazard's forces. Maltazard thereafter remains a prisoner of Arthur's family.
Cast
Live-action cast
Freddie Highmore as Arthur Montgomery. Highmore also voices Arthur in CGI animation.
Selena Gomez as Princess Selenia. The character is voiced by singer Mylène Farmer in the French version.
Doug Rand as Prince Betameche, who reprises his role from the second film. The character is voiced by radio host Cartman in the French version. Rand also voices a Clerk in the movie.
Lou Reed as Maltazard, reprising his role from the second film. The character is voiced by actor Gérard Darmon in the French version.
Iggy Pop as Prince Darkos. Pop replaces Jason Bateman, who voiced the character in the first film. The character is voiced by actor Marc Lavoine in the French version.
David Gasman as Emperor Sifrat XVI. He also voice the Bogo Chief.
Production
The budget of the film is 68.83 million euros, which makes it at that time the 3rd most expensive French film in history, just ahead of the previous film in the saga.[5]
The film was shot in Normandy, simultaneously with the previous film.[5]
Reception
In France, the film received a mixed to favourable reception. It obtained an average rating of 2,9⁄5 on the Allociné site, which lists twelve press titles.[6]
On the American website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 5 critics.[7]
David Nusiar of Reelfilm.com called the film "a mild improvement over its two predecessors" and gave it a score of 2 out of 5.[8]
