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.

Story
On Earth, Kyle spent time as a servant to a rich family, and later married their daughter, Maria, who was a famous musician. The two of them had a daughter named Tiffany, who Kyle grew close with. But he always let his past eat into him, but he had Maria, her parents, and Tiffany to comfort him in his time, despite how they don’t know his backstory or his secret. Meanwhile, Kyle’s friends, Tiberius, Thomas, and Tori, were revolving around the earth like a space station watching over Kyle. Tiberius ponders on his past as well back at Mystico and feels guilty, thinking he drove Kyle away. Tom and Tori comfort him and lets him know it was neither his or Kyle’s fault. Cutting to a few more years later, Tiffany prepares for her brand new day as she inches closer to her 12th birthday. But one night, as everyone was going to bed, there was a loud group of animals squealing and running in fear. It was later reported that the farm and meadows were under attacked by a creature of a black silhouette. Kyle looked deeper into the situation and connects the dots, but when he makes an assumption, he tries not to believe it as it can’t be possible. But Tiberius catches the footage and realizes who it was. Tom tells him they have to get down there, but Tiberius stops him saying they can’t blow cover if it really is what it is. He proceeds to go into his big files and pull out what he calls his “Life’s Work”. A plan for what was meant to be their greatest creation. However, they didn’t have the right materials to make it. Tiberius goes down to Earth to get the remaining ingredients. But before he can return with them, he’s attacked and drops them on the ground. Tom and Tori panic as they hear him being attacked and later lose him. They proceed to finish the plan by transporting the ingredients to them.

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Cast

 * Winona Ryder as Arlene, an energetic, clumsy, but mostly fearless creature created by Tiberius to defend and protect Kyle and his family
 * Lindsey Lohan as Tiffany, Kyle and Maria’s daughter and Arlene’s friend
 * Daniel Day-Lewis as Kyle, a physically & mentally wounded man who fled Mystico to escape the Dragon of Shadows
 * Jennifer Lopez as Maria, Kyle’s wife & Tiffany’s mother
 * Robert Nadal as The Dragon of Shadows, a spiritual monster of hatred and disharmony
 * John De Lancie as Tiberius, Arlene’s creator and Kyle’s old friend
 * Patton Oswald & Vanessa Williams as Thomas & Tori, Tiberius and Kyle’s friend
 * Jeff Bridges as Joe, Maria’s father & Tiffany’s grandfather
 * Bette Midler as Vivianne, Maria’s mother & Tiffany’s grandmother
 * Michael Wolf as Richard, the town mayor & Maria’s older brother
 * Jennifer Hale as Valerie, Richard’s wife
 * Tom Kane, Lucas Tompkins, & Mr Lawrence as John, Josh, and Joey, Maria’s younger triplet brothers
 * Gary Anthony Williams as Ripjaw, the first creature created by the GC
 * Grey Griffin as Ari, a creature created by the GC and Ripjaw’s mate
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Altair, a hawk-like creature created by the GC
 * Tom Kenny as Spike, a sharp creature created by the GC
 * Tom also voices Ash, a fire-wielding creature created by the GC
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Herb, a plant-like creature created by the GC
 * Russi Taylor as Linda, Nyoka, Phani, & Arvind, the four-headed cobra creature created by the GC

Release
The film was originally scheduled for April 1999, but was pushed back to July 7th 1999.

On July 7th 1999, the film was released worldwide in theaters and was paired with the 1997 animated short, High School Daze.

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 Jennifer Lopez, 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. The film would also win a Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie of 1999 and Winona Ryder would win a Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Voice in an Animated Movie for her performance as Arlene.