Everything You Need To Know About Artemis Fowl

This post is in no way sponsored. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Artemis Fowl is a (really good) book series that Walt Disney Studios is adapting for the big screen. When I first heard this news, I was super excited. There are 8 Artemis Fowl books and I read most of them back in high school. I am now in the middle of re-reading them to hype myself up for this film. It hits theaters this August and I cannot wait to take my family to go see it. If you know nothing about this boy genius, you have come to the right place – because I am about to tell you all you need to know about Artemis Fowl.

Who is Artemis Fowl?

Artemis Fowl is a 12 year old boy whose father, Artemis Fowl the First, went missing and is presumed dead. Artemis is holding out hope that he will be found, and is doing whatever he can to aid in the search. Oh yea, and he runs a crime syndicate that he took over for his dad after he disappeared. Poor Artemis’ mother has gone crazy since her husband disappeared. She doesn’t recognize her son half the time, and doesn’t even sleep in her bedroom anymore.

We first meet Artemis when he is brokering a deal with a business man trying to find the location of a fairy. Within the first couple pages of the book, he has gotten the location and found the fairy in question – who is quite messed up, from consuming alcohol no less. It seems that alcohol and fairies don’t mix.

Artemis ends up trading an elixir to this fairy which will cleanse her body of the alcohol, in exchange for something he was never supposed to get his hands on – the Book. This book holds all the secrets of “The People” (more on that later) and is written in a language that Artemis cannot understand. He needs to decipher it, which shouldn’t be too hard for a boy genius who is running a crime organization. Right?

Who is Holly Short?

Captain Holly Short is the first female member of the Recon Squad (LEPrecon to be precise). This is an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police, with its headquarters in Haven City. Holly Short is also an elf. Because elves, goblins, trolls, centaurs, and all those mythical creatures you hear about – well they actually exist. But they don’t live among us. Not really. They live below us. “The People” as they call themselves, try to stay away from humans (or as they call us Mud Men) as best they can. Humans tend to mess things up and destroy things and well, they don’t like that.

Early on you learn that Holly hasn’t performed a ritual in some time. This ritual restores her magic and needs to be done every few years. This becomes a big part of the story later on. Holly is going to be played by Lara McDonnell who I know nothing about. She was in a few things, but nothing I have seen. Holly is older than Artemis (but I suppose she is also a fairy so she needs to be little..). I am interested in seeing how Disney goes about this since this actress seems to be about the same age as Ferdia Shaw, who is playing Artemis.

The Best Characters

All that I just told you? Well that is basically from just the first chapter of the first book. So you have so much more to look forward to in this movie. There are other amazing characters besides Artemis and Holly. Honestly, I think Foaly might be my favorite. Foaly is a centaur – you know, half man/half horse, and he is hilarious. He is super smart and runs all of the technical things for the LEPrecon division. He is extremely paranoid about humans – so much so that he wears a tin foil hat on his head to protect his thoughts.

Mulch Diggums is another fantastic character, which I have learned by checking out the Artemis Fowl IMDB page is being played by Josh Gad. This has me really excited as I think he is the perfect casting! Mulch is a dwarf who likes to steal things. He can also dig really fast by eating dirt (but don’t be behind him after he is done). A lot. He is a criminal and comes in to our story fairly early on – and pops in and out a few times.

Commander Root is Holly’s boss who is always on edge. He is a nice enough guy but he has a temper. He considers Holly a friend, even though he is rough on her. Butler is one of the most important people in the story. He works for Artemis – in fact, he was raised to work for the Fowl family. It is assumed that the term “butler” comes from his family and their commitment. He is a strong and powerful man, who does most of Artemis’ fighting for him. And he wholeheartedly trusts Artemis – and often does what he asks without asking for any reason why.

Will We Get A Full 8 Part Series?

I imagine that the story Disney is taking is just the first book, but hopefully we get a whole series out of it. There could easily be 8 films just like the Harry Potter series and yea, that would make me really happy. The first book is a great set up for so many crazy things. It is basically an origin story for Artemis, Holly, and the rest of the crew. Of course we are introduced to others throughout the entire series.

Differences You Will See From The Book

First thing I noticed was that Commander Root, one of my favorite characters, was played by Judi Dench. I adore her, so that wasn’t the issue. The thing I found interesting is that Commander Root is a male in the books. Not a huge deal, I am sure she will actually play this role really well, but something that might irk those that are big fans of the books.

I assume that Disney will cut out the drunken fairy part, and have Artemis discover the book another way. But I sure would love to see it done that way. I am also really hoping they don’t create some kind of love thing between Holly and Artemis as they are not only different species, but she is actually much older than him.

Other than that, I am truly hoping it is pretty spot on. We did see Artemis with a weapon in the teaser trailer which, well, I don’t recall him ever doing in the first book. His weapon is his mind. But if pressed in to a dangerous situation, I could see him using one. Either way, I think I will really enjoy this movie. And I can’t wait to go see it!

Official Artemis Fowl Synopsis

Directed by Kenneth Branagh and based on the beloved book by Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl follows 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, a descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds, as he finds himself in a battle of strength and cunning against a powerful, hidden race of fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.

See Artemis Fowl in theaters August 9th!

Tessa Smith

Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.

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