Natalie Portman’s New Movie Arco Is An Animated Wake-Up Call About Climate Change

The world is both a literal and metaphorical hellscape right now, and no one knows that better than Natalie Portman. The actress, vegan, and longtime climate activist has been at the forefront of calls for climate change and awareness throughout her decades-long career. And now, she’s using animation to further the cause. In Arco, a newly-released animated film from French director and illustrator Ugo Bienvenu and produced by Portman, audiences are introduced to the not-so-distant future. Except in this version of Earth, in the year 2075, those tsunamis and wild fires that are becoming increasingly frequent and more devastating? They’re essentially the norm; with homes outfitted with glass domes that offer protection during bouts of extreme weather. It’s here that we meet Iris, an adventurous 10-year-old looking for adventure out of her day-to-day. When, one day, she rescues Arco, a time-travelling kid transported from the future, it becomes a story on the power and impact of friendship, in more ways than one. 

Because with him, Arco brings realities of the future. Due to the impact of climate change, Arco and his family — along with their neighbours — no longer live on Earth, moving up to tree branch-like homes in the sky that allow for the planet to repair and regenerate without human interruption. It’s a surprising, albeit not so hard to imagine reality; and one made even more impactful through Bienvenu’s use of animation, which is able to engage viewers while presenting an impactful message. 

“Animation to me is one of the best mediums for storytelling,” Bienvenu, whose other works includes short films Dolly Zero and 2019’s L’entretien, tells Refinery29. This is for a very particular reason, specifically, the way animated films resonate with viewers, often re-watching from when they’re kids all the way up to when they become adults, and choose to share their favourite movies, be it Aladdin, The Fox and the Hound or Coco, with their own children. “[You watch] animation movies all over your life, they accompany you all your life. And making a movie is long, so I wanted to do something that could have a [long] impact on the people that would watch it.”

And in many instances, it’s kids who are going to change the world — often in inventive ways. This is a truth made clear as Iris tries to help Arco get home, all while navigating changing environmental elements (Arco needs very specific weather — sunny with rain — to time travel) and a society that’s essentially run by drones. On the surface, it may seem like an engaging and earnest story about the bonds of friendship – and it is — but there’s something deeper to it, too.

As Iris and Arco try tirelessly to set up the perfect environmental conditions for him to return home, covering Iris’s front lawn in pillows and couch cushions for Arco to jump into and setting the sprinkler to go off at the exact right moment, there’s an underlying frustration with their inability to do so, and with the knowledge that those conditions, now in this current climate, are unlikely to come naturally. Arco’s stranded; a feeling probably akin to what many young people feel today when it comes to thinking about our planet. 

But Arco and Iris don’t give up. Instead, continuing to press forward, determined that there’s a way to help Arco get home. 

It was this optimistic way of looking at challenges, so inherent in Bienvenu’s story, and children in general, that drew Portman to the project in the first place. The actress recalls seeing early animatics of Arco and talking to director Bienvenu about his vision for the film — one in which creativity and imagination can be put towards a better future for our climate. “With environmental concerns, it was [usually] an attitude of ‘it’s difficult,’ but look at what imagination can bring,’” Portman says of this perspective. “There was hope and active participation in making the future through creativity. And I thought that was a very beautiful, activating way to look at a situation that we're often kind of fatalistic about.” 

And rightfully so. With climate change expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year globally between 2030 and 2050, according to data from The World Health Organization(WHO), it can be easy to count ourselves – and our planet — out; resign ourselves to give up trying to change our behaviour in the present, knowing that we’re already so far gone. But, Arco — and the team behind the movie — wants us to forget about the future, or more specifically, think that they know how the future will play out. Which is why, when Iris tries to follow Arco home, he encourages her to stay in the present, stating: “No one should know the future — ever.” 

It seems like a surprising sentiment, given the fact most young people have grown up being told that, when it comes to the environment and climate change, the future is the only thing we should be thinking about — and how our actions now will impact our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren long after we’re gone.     

“If you know the future, it gives you no agency in the present. You think, ‘Oh, that's how it's gonna be, so [there’s] nothing I can do about it,’” Portman says. “If you accept that you don't know what the future's going to be like, then you have a part in changing it and affecting it.”

Which is what we, as viewers, eventually see. While we don’t see what happens to Arco after he travels home, audiences do get a glimpse into what Iris takes from her time with her new friend; primarily, inspiration to go forth and make a difference for her own future. Through small glimpses at photos and sketches in Iris’ room, audiences see that the curious, intelligent, vivacious 10-year-old we’re first introduced to will go on to  use that curiosity and vivaciousness to try and create a better future for the planet, going on to calculate, sketch and create the more sustainable world Arco will one day inhabit. 

It’s a lesson on the impact one person can have for both kids and viewers who are coming to the film as adults already. While Arco’s main audience demographic may initially seem to be those under 12-years-old, “we want to speak to the kids that are still in ourselves,” Bienvenu adds,” because we still are kids in a way; a big part of me is still a kid and I want to feed that part of myself.”