Director Luc Besson, best known for "La Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element," admits he knew nothing about animation before he started this project, and it shows.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Luc Besson, a sort of French version of Steven Spielberg without the intuition, has tried a lot of genres in his young career and has had his greatest success with slick action films like "The Fifth Element" and "La Femme Nikita." Animated movies for kids he should stay away from.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
This semianimated adventure is enjoyable and imaginative despite its formulaic qualities.
It's a film for kids who want to know what headaches feel like.
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
The result isn't an unpalatable pudding but rather a fair-to-middling children's film that is half CG-animation and half live-action.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
The movie--while it doesn't knock you out--doesn't self-destruct either. Besson may never rise to the level of his best American models here, but it's fun watching him try.
The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger
The computer-generated world is visually rich, but short on the droll humor that makes good children's films bearable for adults.
Haplessly blends live-action and visually repellent computer-animated work.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean Axmaker
There are cute flourishes, but much of the cleverness is smothered by tired dialogue and doughy animation, which gives the animated characters the personality of mannequins and the look of cheap merchandising knockoffs come to life.