Magic & Mystery

Ferdia Shaw and Dame Judi Dench star in the bewitching adventures of a young criminal genius

- CAREN CLARK

NEW DRAMA

Artemis Fowl
From Friday 12 June, one-off film, Disney+

Prepare to meet some feisty fairies, giant dwarves and a devious child prodigy in Disney+’s new magical one-off adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s much-loved Artemis Fowl fantasy novels.

The colourful family film, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh, sees screen newcomer Ferdia Shaw play 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, who lives at imposing Fowl Manor on the Irish coast with his father, Artemis Sr (Colin Farrell), an antiquities dealer who has enthralled his son with stories about fairies, dwarves and goblins

When Artemis Sr vanishes during a work trip abroad, his son receives a disturbing message from a mysterious hooded figure who reveals that they have kidnapped Artemis Sr.

Realising that the fairy world his father has told him about is all too real, Artemis must now track down the Aculos, the fairies’ most powerful magical device, to rescue his dad.

As he battles to save his father, Artemis makes some morally ambiguous decisions. But is he a hero or a villain in the making?

HERO OR VILLAIN?