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.

Plot
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 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 with the group grown more sour as very few creature were successful. There were those who failed to work properly and 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 the humans and aliens. Those who survived the attack fled the planet in order to escape their wrath. One of them, the leader’s pregnant wife, Maria, who saw him brutally engulfed in the Dragon’s fire, fled to Earth and started her life over in the hopes she would never be discovered by the Dragon. The remaining representatives also escaped from the Dragon and followed Maria to Earth to keep guard. Two remained into space and one disguised herself as a human in order to get contact with Maria. But the sight of her home being slaughtered and destroyed ate into her mind and she felt very paranoid about the outside world.

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Cast

 * Natalie Portman as Arlene, an energetic, clumsy, but mostly fearless creature created by Tiberius and Thomas to defend and protect Maria and her home
 * Nicole Kidman as Maria, a paranoid and innocent woman who escaped Mystico to hide among the people of Earth and raise her daughter
 * Masiela Lusha as Tiffany, Maria’s kind and selfless daughter and Arlene’s friend
 * Robert Nadal as The Dragon of Shadows, a spiritual monster of hatred and disharmony
 * Daniel Day-Lewis as Kyle, Maria’s husband and Tiffany’s father
 * John De Lancie as Tiberius, Arlene’s creator and Kyle’s old friend
 * Danny Tamberelli as Jake, Tiffany’s friend and secret admirer
 * Bette Midler as Flaviana, Jake’s mother and Maria’s frazzled friend
 * Jada Pinkett Smith as Paula, Maria’s tough friend
 * Kathleen Turner as Helen, Maria’s overweight friend
 * Kate Winslet as Jillian, Maria’s smart friend
 * Patton Oswald as Thomas, Tiberius’ friend and sidekick
 * Vanessa Williams as Tori, Thomas’ sister

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.

Reception
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 engaging movie with 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)