Kirikou
and the Sorcerer (2001)
This cartoon is a real oddity, a traditional
African folktale in French. Kirikou is born mature,
a baby's body that is quite sentient, verbose and
clever. He is also quite fast. The infant is born
to a village under the influence of a angry sorceress.
She has eaten almost all the males in the village,
stopped the flow of the local spring and insisted
on all the remaining villagers' assets including their
gold and jewels. Only Kirikou is smart enough, and
naive enough, to question why she is evil and then
to set upon stopping her.
This is a wonderful tale for children
as Kirikou relies on his intellect and his inquisitive
and explorative nature to solve problems. Yes, he
carries a dagger, but only to use as a tool; he never
harms, hits nor kills another living creature. Even
his attempts to stop the sorceress are, for the most
part, non-violent. It's a great tale about using one's
brain to solve problems. And thrown in are messages
about not jumping to conclusions, not seeking revenge,
and being considerate and thankful.
The animation isn't particularly innovative.
Still, most times the visuals are quite nice with
the somewhat cubist images quite colorful and influenced
by African culture. Occassionally there are rather
drab images, like when Kirikou tunnels underground,
that go on a bit too long and could be condensed.
But over all the images will fascinate children and
delight animation enthusiasts.
The music in the piece is quite nice.
Composed by Yousou N'Dour, the flavor is quite appropriate
for the African locale. Even better are the "songs"
which feature vocals and have the characters singing
praises to the titular diminutive hero. N'Dour's music
never fails to engage and fascinate.
But the real charm of "Kirikou" is
the French language, which makes the dialogue come
to life. It may seem cliche, but the French language
is beautiful here. And it so perfectly accents this
tale, no pun intended. It makes it poetic and poignant.
It makes the film soar.
Troubling question: Who is this film
for but the elitist? English speaking children of
a certain age who are among the most intelligent will
find it delightful. There are, perhaps, 23 such children
in the United States right now. Adults of discerning
taste will also enjoy it. But, alas, for the masses,
sadly, it is not.
Notes:
Directed by Michel Ocelot. Contains
animated nudity appropriate to the story. In French
with English subtitles.
