50 Fun Facts About Artemis Fowl

Who wrote the Artemis Fowl books?

Eoin Colfer. He modelled Artemis on his younger brother Donal, a childhood schemer who, he said, could get out of any trouble he got into.

How did the author of Artemis Fowl famously sum up the first book?

'Die Hard with fairies'. He later admitted he blurted the pitch before he had learned to watch his words, and hoped Bruce Willis wouldn't mind; he loved those films' tongue-in-cheek action.

At twelve, Artemis Fowl already runs what?

A criminal empire. With his father missing and his mother unwell, Artemis took charge and set out to rebuild the Fowl fortune by robbing the fairies.

In Artemis Fowl, what does a fairy need before it may enter a human home?

An invitation to come in. A fairy who walks in uninvited loses its magic, which is why the LEP sends Mulch Diggums, a burglar who gave his up long ago, to break into Fowl Manor.

What ransom does Artemis Fowl demand for the fairy he kidnaps?

A ton of gold. He ends up handing half of it back to his captive in exchange for a wish: that her magic cure his mother's madness.

In Artemis Fowl, what does LEP stand for?

Lower Elements Police. Its reconnaissance squad is LEPrecon, and in the books that name is where humans got the leprechaun.

What is the closely guarded first name of Artemis Fowl's bodyguard, Butler?

Domovoi. Butler takes a bullet meant for Artemis in the third book, and the fairy magic that revives him leaves him years older.

In Artemis Fowl, what is the name of Butler's younger sister?

Juliet. She trains to be a bodyguard like her brother, then decides her real calling is professional wrestling and leaves for America as the 'Jade Princess'.

In Artemis Fowl, what kind of creature is Foaly, the LEP's technical genius?

A centaur. His sarcasm drives the officers round him to distraction, but the force cannot fire him: nearly every weapon, gadget and set of wings it uses is his design.

In Artemis Fowl, what kind of fairy is the villain Opal Koboi?

Pixie. She built her own tech company to put her father's out of business, and never forgave Foaly for beating her invention in a college science contest.

In Artemis Fowl, what kind of fairy is the kleptomaniac Mulch Diggums?

A dwarf. Like all his kind he can tunnel through earth at speed, digesting the soil as he goes, and his spit glows in the dark, which makes him a natural burglar.

In Artemis Fowl, what does the LEP's inventor Foaly habitually wear on his head?

A tinfoil hat. Foaly is convinced that human intelligence agencies are spying on his network, and he trusts the foil to keep their mind probes out.

In which Artemis Fowl book is Commander Root killed?

The Opal Deception. Koboi straps a bomb to him that the cameras cannot see, then tricks Holly into firing at it, so that she appears to have shot her own commander.

Where does Artemis Fowl find the alcoholic sprite who gives up the fairies' holy book?

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Once he has the Book's contents, he cracks its fairy script and learns the ritual fairies use to restore their magic.

In Artemis Fowl, what must a fairy plant to restore its magic?

An acorn from an ancient oak. Holly later breaks out of a concrete cell by hammering through the floor to plant one that had slipped into her boot, which brings her magic back.

In Artemis Fowl, in what language is the fairies' Book of the People written?

Gnommish. The author printed it as a real cipher: a hidden message in its symbols runs along the foot of the pages in most of the novels for readers to decode.

What does Commander Root use to seal off Fowl Manor in the first Artemis Fowl book?

A time-stop. Artemis works out that it holds everyone in the state they were in when it began, so he slips his household sleeping pills and they drop out of it alive.

In the first Artemis Fowl book, which creature does Cudgeon release into Fowl Manor?

A troll. The plan backfires: Butler, healed by Holly's magic, puts on a suit of medieval armour and batters it with a mace, and Cudgeon is stripped of his command.

Who is holding Artemis Fowl's father captive in the second book?

The Russian Mafia. They sank his ship off northern Russia and held the survivor for ransom, so Artemis has to team up with the fairies he once robbed to get him back.

What is the name of the goblin gang that rises up in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident?

The B'wa Kell. The goblins are pawns: Opal Koboi and a disgraced LEP officer arm them with banned lasers that run on batteries smuggled down from the human world.

In Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, what is the C Cube that Jon Spiro steals?

A handheld supercomputer. Artemis built it from fairy helmets his bodyguard seized during the siege of Fowl Manor, which put it decades ahead of any human machine.

In Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, where does Artemis put the dying Butler to preserve him?

A fish freezer. Holly's healing magic then brings him back, but the rescue costs him: his body comes out about fifteen years older than it went in.

What do the fairies demand for helping Artemis Fowl recover the stolen C Cube?

He and his allies are mind-wiped. Artemis plans for it: before the wipe he hands Mulch a gold medallion that is really a disc holding his memories of the fairies.

Which environmentalist does Koboi mesmerise into thinking she is his daughter?

She poses as 'Belinda' and gets him to drill a probe toward the fairy city of Haven.

In Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, what is the name of the demon island stuck in Limbo?

Hybras. Its demon warlocks lifted it out of time after losing a war with humans, but the spell is failing and demons have begun dropping back into our world without warning.

Which child prodigy kidnaps the demon warlock N°1 hoping to win a Nobel Prize?

She switches sides after her own security guard, Billy Kong, turns on her.

In Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, what do Artemis and Holly end up swapping?

Eyes. The trip back through time leaves each with one of the other's, so Artemis comes home with one blue eye and one hazel, and nearly three years late.

Which fairy disease is Angeline Fowl diagnosed with in The Time Paradox?

Spelltropy. That is the diagnosis, at least: the plague's symptoms turn out to be the work of Opal Koboi, who has secretly taken over Angeline's body.

In Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, which animal's brain fluid must Artemis fetch from his own past?

A silky sifaka lemur. To get it, Artemis has to outwit his own ten-year-old self, who is about to sell the last one alive to the Extinctionists, a club devoted to killing off rare species.

What is the name of Artemis Fowl's alter ego, brought on by Atlantis Complex?

Orion. He is everything Artemis is not, a lovestruck romantic who calls Holly his princess, yet because the villain's mind-control rune has no hold on him he ends up saving the day.

Who is the villain of Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex?

Turnball Root. The late commander's criminal brother breaks out of prison to seize a demon warlock, hoping its magic can make his ageing human wife young again.

In the final Artemis Fowl book, what does Opal Koboi open on the Fowl Estate?

The Berserker's Gate. Behind it lie the spirits of fairy warriors buried after an ancient battle, and once free they possess whatever is nearest, from Artemis's little brothers to the estate's wildlife.

What are the names of Artemis Fowl's younger twin brothers?

Myles and Beckett. They are born during the three years Artemis loses on his trip to Limbo, so he comes home to find himself a big brother, and they later get a trilogy of their own.

What brings Artemis Fowl back after he dies in the final book?

Cloning. Artemis dies stopping Opal Koboi's last scheme, and six months later his spirit takes over a body Foaly has cloned for him.

Which film company bought the screen rights to Artemis Fowl before the first book was even published?

Miramax. It snapped up the rights in 2000 and announced a film the next year, but the project then sat in development for nearly two decades before a movie finally appeared.

In the Artemis Fowl books, what do the fairies call human beings?

Mud Men. It is no compliment: the People see humans as primitive and warlike, the upstarts whose wars drove the fairies underground long ago.

Which Artemis Fowl short story, written for World Book Day, is set between the first and second books?

The Seventh Dwarf. Artemis teams up with a fairy burglar to steal a tiara, and the tale was later reprinted in The Artemis Fowl Files.

What rank does Holly Short hold in LEPrecon when Artemis Fowl first meets her?

Captain. She is LEPrecon's first female officer and thinks Commander Root is hard on her for it, when in fact he believes in her and is pushing her to prove herself.

Who directed the 2020 film adaptation of Artemis Fowl?

Kenneth Branagh. He inherited a project first optioned in 2000, before the book was even out, which had already been through another director and nearly two decades of false starts.

Who played Artemis in the 2020 film of Artemis Fowl?

Ferdia Shaw. The Irish newcomer was making his film debut, chosen for the lead after a search through more than 1,200 candidates.

Which Dame played Commander Root in the 2020 Artemis Fowl film?

Judi Dench. In the books Commander Julius Root is a man; the film handed the part to her and made the commander 802 years old.

Who played Mulch Diggums in the 2020 Artemis Fowl film?

Josh Gad. His Mulch also narrates the whole film, telling the story to a British intelligence interrogator, a framing device the book does without.

Which actor played Artemis Fowl I, Artemis's missing father, in the 2020 film?

Colin Farrell. His casting only came out with a trailer three months before release, and the film builds its plot round the father's kidnap, where the first book leaves him missing offstage.

Where was the Artemis Fowl film released on June 12, 2020, instead of in cinemas?

Disney+. Cinemas had been promised the film in August 2019 and then May 2020; when the pandemic shut them, the studio sent it straight to its subscribers instead.

Fans objected that the 2020 film made Artemis Fowl what?

A hero. The books' cold young schemer turned into a boy out to rescue his father, and fewer than one critic in ten on Rotten Tomatoes liked the result.

How do fairies in Artemis Fowl make themselves invisible to humans?

They vibrate too fast to see. Fairies call it shielding, and Artemis beats it with a high-speed camera, freezing single frames to catch the intruders in mid-shimmer.

In which Irish county was the author of Artemis Fowl born?

Wexford. As a boy he worked at Loftus Hall, a famously haunted country house there, and years later he used it as his model for Fowl Manor.

Which famous series did the author of Artemis Fowl add a sixth book to in 2009?

Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide. Adams had said five books felt like the wrong number and meant to write a sixth; after his death his widow asked the Artemis Fowl author to do it.

Which national honour did the author of Artemis Fowl hold from 2014 to 2016?

Ireland's Children's Laureate. As Laureate na nÓg he compiled Once upon a Place, an anthology of stories and poems tied to Irish places, illustrated by PJ Lynch, who succeeded him in the post.

What was the Artemis Fowl author's job before he became a full-time writer?

Primary school teacher. He kept teaching in his home town until 2001, when the first book's success let him stop, and had earlier spent four years working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy.