Arlene

Arlene is a 1999 traditional animated film animated and produced by Robert Animation Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Robert Nadal.

Prologue
In the distant cosmos, there was a planet named Mystico, where humans and aliens lived without persecution. At least in later years as before, they fought for territory and prosperity. But before they can settle things by splitting into two, a dark spirit tried to continue their disparity and hatred by driving them to full on war, allowing it to feed on their disharmony and chaos. However, a group of humans and aliens found fighting and banter to be pointless and exacerbating. But the public wouldn’t believe them though, leading to the great war of humans and aliens. And after thousands of lives were loss, the dark spirit absorbed more power and unleashed itself as a monster of darkness and disharmony. The Dragon of Shadows. But before it can fully spread darkness throughout the planet, the human and alien group tried to help the tribes work things out and understand each other. Their co-operations led to the creation of one of the most powerful weapons in all of the universe. The Staff of Serenity. Using its magic, they vanquished the darkness and sealed the Dragon into the staff. And to prevent the dragon from escaping, the 6 representative of the staff, who would form as The Galactic Comets, would be passed on to each generation to come. But by the last generation, they worked together to create creatures to help benefit life on the planet and protect them against the Dragon should it ever escape. But the relationship between the group grown more sour as very few creature were successful. There were those who failed to work properly and even those who are really powerful revolted against them and the public. By that point, the leader eventually left the group forever. But that was a big mistake. The dragon broke free of its seal and began to exact its revenge, stealing the creatures and using them against his enemies. But his main target was the Galactic Comets. The leader found out about the dragon’s plans and he ran to warn them, but when he arrived, the dragon and his army were on the attack. He ran to defend his friends and told them to make a run for it. But the dragon was too powerful for him to battle with standard weapons and defense. Left open, the dragon slash at him, not only leaving him with a scar on his face, but also with his right arm amputated. Falling down the edge, the dragon suspects he was dead and it continued its vengeance against its enemies. But the leader miraculously saved himself by grabbing onto a ledge and he carefully climb back up to see his home destroyed. Left with no other options, he packed all his belongings that survived the destruction, including the Staff of Serenity, escaped Mystico undetected, sets targets for another planet, which happened to be Earth. There, he could hide among everyone else and start his life all over again. Meanwhile, after getting the dragon of their tail, Kyle’s friends quickly get out of Mystico undetected and consider following him to ensure he’s okay. After he saved their lives, it’s the least they can do.

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Cast

 * Brittany Murphy as Arlene
 * Daniel Day-Lewis as Kyle
 * Celine Dion as Maria
 * Robert Nadal as The Dragon of Shadows

Release
The film was originally scheduled for June 1999, but was pushed back to July 7th 1999 to avoid competition with Disney’s Tarzan

On July 7th 1999, the film was released worldwide in theaters and was paired with the animated short, The Elemental Sisters.

Critical Response
The film received very positive reviews from audiences and critics alike. The film received a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus stating “Arlene is a really enjoyable movie with touching drama, spectacular animation, and lovable characters”. The film grossed out around $182 million domestically and $346 million worldwide, making it the third highest grossing animated film of 1999 worldwide(behind Toy Story 2 & Tarzan)

Accolades
The film was nominated an Academy Award for Best Original Song with “The Music Inside of You” performed by Celine Dion, but lost to “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins, and Best Original Score, but lost to The Red Violin. The film would win an Annie Awards for Best Animated Feature Film of 1999 and Daniel Day-Lewis would be nominated for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for his performance as Kyle, but lost to Eli Marienthal for his role of Hogarth Hughes in The Iron Giant. The film would also win a Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie of 1999 and Brittany Murphy would win a Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Voice in an Animated Movie for her performance as Arlene.