The first Artemis Fowl trailer has arrived, and while viewers may have a friend or two losing their minds in a good or bad way about it, others may not know what to think. That's mainly because without knowledge of the franchise, it's very hard to understand what's happening. For that reason, we've compiled some key facts from the original books that interested viewers may want to know, but perhaps aren't willing to dive into the novels.
Artemis Fowl Isn't The Most Noble Of Protagonists
Artemis Fowl II is the lead character of his series, but he's far from the usual young-adult novel hero. In fact, the 12-year-old boy is somewhat villainous in the first adventure and a thorn in the side of the magic world. Fowl, of course, is aware he's not the best person and takes pride that he comes from a long line of criminals in his family.
So, why would Disney build a franchise around him? For starters, Artemis Fowl does grow throughout the series and eventually will become a more sympathetic character. That said, Disney does seem to be changing things up a bit in this film by seemingly laying blame for this adventure on the fairy world. It's a risky move considering it may fundamentally change the character of Artemis, but perhaps necessary to make him likable enough to a mainstream audience to warrant future sequels.
Haven City Is Like The Magic World's New York City
The trailer gives us a quick look at Haven City, which as stated in the above headline is like New York City for magic people. It is home to "The People," or the collective group of fairies, centaurs, demons, elves, gnomes and other magical beings that live there. There are other cities magical folks flock to, like Atlantis, but Haven should be a major location in Artemis Fowl.
It's the home to LEP Headquarters (Lower Elements Police) and several key characters from the novels who should make an appearance in the Artemis Fowl adaptation. Some elements, such as the foul-mouthed swear toads, will probably be excluded from the adaptation, but there's still plenty to love about this magical world. Disney appears to have nailed the advanced tech side of the city, so here's hoping it has that perfect mix of magic to really bring the city to life.
Butler Is A Bad Ass
That hulking silver-haired man standing next to Artemis isn't just his bodyguard, he's his friend. Butler is the loyal servant to Artemis and is rarely unwilling to do whatever his young companion asks on his behalf. This includes taking on the magical forces that oppose them from time to time, something we see his character do in the trailer, and hopefully quite often in the upcoming movie.
There's one spoilery thing, in particular, he does in the first book that will solidify him as a badass to viewers should Disney depict it on-screen. I don't want to directly reference it in the interest of being spoiler free, but those who've read the books already know what I'm referring to and those who search for it will learn soon enough. Fingers crossed the moment is incorporated. If not, ideally there's still enough done to do justice to this character.
LEP Is Like The FBI Of The Magic World
The Lower Elements Police have the word police in their name, but it's almost better to think of them as a supernatural form of the FBI. They have the whole magic thing going for them, but they also have the modern tech you'd see on a special forces unit or swat team.
This is especially true in the case of LEPrecon, which is tasked with tracking down magical creatures in or out of the magical world. With their advanced tech and strategic training tactics, they're typically capable of bringing in magical creatures without humans noticing their existence. In Artemis Fowl, the division will be headed up by Commander Root, and should have Captain Holly Short a part of the team as well.
Artemis' Father Is Missing
Artemis Fowl Sr. was the head of a criminal organization, but he eventually found protection and greater wealth in moving money he'd gained into legitimate business ventures. Fowl Sr. is missing at the start of the Artemis Fowl series and is declared legally dead. Artemis doesn't believe that, which appears to play a factor in the plot of the adaptation of Artemis Fowl.
Without getting too spoilery, this specific plot point has been a point of contention amongst Artemis Fowl book readers. The story of Artemis' father isn't a huge part of the first book and doesn't really come into play until the second entry in the series. Again, we won't get too far into why this is an issue, but it's something that could fundamentally change the character of Artemis enough that he'd almost be a different character from the books.
The Magic World Doesn't Play Games
As mentioned in the voiceover, there's a reason The People separated themselves from Humans long ago. Artemis' uncovering and meddling in the world of magic will cause a lot of problems and put a lot of magic folks on edge. Obviously, one human is all it takes to spread the word about their existence, and even if it is a prepubescent boy, that's a threat they take very seriously.
That means audiences interested in Artemis Fowl should see a lot of action, almost as much as one would see in a heist film. That's at least how the books read, so one would expect we'll see a lot of magical action sequences that have audiences saying "ooh" and "ah" all over the place. That seems to be the case based on the short footage we've seen so far, so concerned fans can at least breathe easy about that.
Of course, speculation will probably continue on the Artemis Fowl adaptation right up until its release date of August 9, 2019. In the meantime, those looking for more information on the film can read up on what great book character Josh Gad is portraying in the upcoming feature.
