10 Movies That Made No Sense If You Watched Them In Other Countries
7. The Pivotal Romance Was Cut For U.S. & UK Audiences - Arthur & The Invisibles
Luc Besson's 2006 live-action/animated hybrid film Arthur and the Invisibles clocked in at 103 minutes upon its original French release, though for its release in the U.S. and UK, producer Harvey Weinstein cut nine minutes of material that explained crucial plot details.
These cuts largely related to the romantic relationship between main characters Arthur (Freddie Highmore) and Princess Selenia (Madonna), reportedly due to the age difference between Highmore and Madonna - a rather rich protest coming from Weinstein of all people.
Nevertheless, these cuts affect the entire throughline of the film, as in the original version the kiss between Arthur and Selenia importantly prevents the villain Emperor Maltazard (David Bowie) from being able to receive Selenia's powers by kissing her.
As such, large swaths of the movie's plot are basically nonsense in the American and British releases, likely explaining why it did terrible business in both regions. Besson himself said of the issue:
"Why the critics didn't like Arthur was because [Weinstein] changed so much of the film and tried to pretend the film was American... America and the UK were the only countries where the films were changed."