Written by Emma Kolakowski
Irish author Eoin Colfer’s popular fantasy novel, Artemis Fowl, is finally set to appear on the big screen after spending almost two decades in the works. Mirimax Films was the first production company to attempt the project, announcing that it had purchased rights back in 2001, but the film was never made. In 2013, Walt Disney Pictures announced its plans to adapt the book into a movie, but for five long years, it was scarcely mentioned, until late 2017 when Harvey Weinstein was removed as a producer due to the international attention around his history of sexual misconduct. The first teaser trailer for the Disney adaptation was released a little over a year later in November 2018 and was set to release in August 2019.
The cast includes two big unknowns: Ferdia Shaw, who will have his debut as he plays the titular character; and Lara McDonnell, who will play the bold and indefatigable Captain Holly Short. The Irish actors are fairly young as both Shaw and McDonnell are just fifteen years old. The cast of supporting characters have a bit more experience on screen, with the most commonly known cast member being Tony Award-Winner Josh Gad, playing the dwarf Mulch Diggums. Nonso Anozie, who was in five episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones back in season 2 as Xaro Xhoan Daxos, will play Artemis Fowl’s butler, named Butler. Judi Dench, who has had a successful career both in front of the camera and on stage, is Commander Root. Filming took place in England; Northern Ireland; and Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam, under the direction of Sir Kenneth Branagh.
In Colfer’s novel, initially published in April 2001 through Viking Press, Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old genius trying to follow in the footsteps of his criminal-mastermind father, who has mysteriously disappeared, causing Artemis’ mother to take leave of her senses and leaving the boy to take over the family estates in her place. Artemis is certain that the key to finding his father lies behind his research into fairies – he has discovered that they are quite real, and simply living underground to avoid human violence and greed.
In the first novel of what would later become an eight-part series, Artemis decides to kidnap a fairy and collect a hefty ransom to fund his attempts to find his father. Artemis obtains a copy of The Book, which is a combination of a history textbook and the fairy moral code, and uses the information within it to learn of a rare moment where fairies travel above ground to renew their magic. His victim is the unfortunate Captain Holly Short. Artemis’ ransom demand brings down a cadre of faeries down on his Irish mansion, intent on recovering their fellow fairy without paying a ransom, creating the main conflict of the book.
It’s unclear from the trailer if the movie will include the kidnapping, or if Fowl will aggravate the faeries in some other way. Whether she ends up Fowl’s kidnap victim or not, Captain Holly Short will certainly have enough on her hands as a member of LEPrecon, the fairy police force. In the novel, Holly was struggling to prove herself as the first female captain in LEPrecon history – but it appears that this subplot, which also served as a bastion of Holly’s characterisation, may be absent in the films.
The character Commander Julius Root, who was male in the novels, will be played as female. This gender-swap has left many Artemis Fowl fans more than a little confused. Perhaps there is some deeper plot reason for making Commander Root female, but as of right now it seems to be a pretty obvious ploy to attract younger, “woke” moviegoers by having a token “strong female character”. The reason for incredulity on the part of fans and feminists alike is that by making Root female, Disney has kneecapped the feminist characterisation of main character Holly Short. The frequent threats of demotion Root makes against Holly in the novel won’t be quite as meaningful – if Root, a top officer, is female, Holly only has to prove herself, rather than prove to the force that female officers can be reliable. It’s a shame that Disney’s attempt to create more powerful female roles has backfired so spectacularly. Seeing Holly Short’s attempt to break the glass ceiling, and how Fowl’s kidnapping could ruin her trail-run career, adds another layer of intrigue and would likely have appealed to younger and more feministic audiences. Altering a fan-favourite character for no discernible reason doesn’t quite get the job done. However, given that little is known about how true Disney is staying to the original novel, perhaps making Root female will serve some other plot purpose.
Note that you’ll have to catch the film in theaters later than initially expected – though the trailer listed August 2019 as the release date, it has since been moved back until May 29th, 2020. Disney has not made a statement about the reason for this change. However, there is speculation that the date was moved because of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. This theory holds water, given that a 20th Century Fox movie called The Art of Racing In The Rain is due to be released on the Artemis Fowl movie’s original August date. The date change is likely a ploy to maximise box office profits, rather than an issue of needing to reshoot scenes. The movie will be released in the US and the UK. Hopefully, the film will live up to the expectations of fans of Colfer’s novels, while drawing in new fans – with seven books in Colfer’s original series, more Artemis Fowl movies could be on the horizon if this film proves to be a success.
