USA: Madonna hosts special screening of her new animated film "Arthur and the Invisibles"to students in New York

Madonna premiered her new animated film to children from two New York city charter schools on Thursday (January 11). The Material Girl plays Princess Selenia in "Arthur and the Invisibles". The animated adventure follows a boy's journey to save his family home from real estate developers. Arthur stumbles upon clues to his deceased grandfather's treasure and meets some mysterious little people along the way. Madonna says she admires her character's role in the film. "I think she's (Princess Selenia) cool. What do I mean by cool? I think she's a perfect combination of being vulnerable and really strong. I think she has a sense of humour yet she has a little bit of consciousness about herself. She loves her dad but she's also independent. She knows how to fight and she's got cool hair. What more could you ask for?" When asked whether her children influenced her decision to play Princess Selenia, Madonna says the choice was entirely hers. "I probably wasn't that generous when I was reading the script. I just thought about whether I liked it. And the fact that it turned out as well as it did is an extra added bonus and they (her children) saw it and they loved it so it all works out really good." The animated movie is written and directed by French film director Luc Besson and is based on the best selling children's book "Arthur and the Minimoys". Besson is best known for his action films including "Leon", "La Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element". "Arthur and the Invisibles" stars Mia Farrow and Freddie Highmore and features the voices of Jason Bateman, David Bowie, Robert DeNiro, Emilio Estevez, Jimmy Fallon, Harvey Keitel, Chazz Palminteri, and Snoop Dogg. The movie premieres on Friday (January 12) across the United States.

ITN Source | January 17, 2007

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