Ernest & Célestine

Genuinely charming cartoon feature from the PANIQUE AU VILLAGE lot.

While rummaging through the town's dust bins, Ernest the bear finds sleeping mouse Ernestine and is dissuaded from eating her - whether it's Tom's Jerry, the King Sized Canary or Br'er Rabbit, they never get eaten.

The pair are our introduction to the parallel surface world of the bears and the underground world of the mice, both of which prove hostile, though mouse world is one of those appealing fantasy communities, like Santa city in POLAR EXPRESS or the bath house in SPIRITED AWAY. The lead duo are among the most engaging of cartoon characters and their seclusion seems a nice outcome. It would be interesting to see if their appeal survives English language dubbing.

The watercolour texture is unfamiliar and imaginative. The music is effectively unobtrusive. It would be hard to fault this one. Why try?

I really enjoyed watching this movie. I went into the film thinking it was more for adults, but discovered it has a story that anyone and any age can enjoy, and that's always a sign of a great movie.

The movie is based on a children's book that I never herd of in which a Bear who's down on his luck befriends a mouse who's an artist at heart, beating all odds in a world where these two species are separated by fear and miscommunication.

I love the animation style which I'm guessing is greatly inspired by the children's book it's based on. I especially loved the design of the mouse, Celestine. Her animation was very cute and they did a good job of making her very mouse-like with her movement and attitude while still making her relatable to humans. This was added by the voice over talent by Mackenzie Foy.

I opted to watch the English dubbed version as I feel the authenticity of the dub matters less with animation. Some of you might disagree and I'm sure Lambert Wilson was great as Ernest, but hearing Forest Whitaker bring the poor reclusive bear whom Celestine befriends to life was a highlight.

If you need a movie to take your kids to see, you gotta pick this one. It's a film that will put a smile on all of your faces.

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating:3.8/5 stars

Simplistic, sublime, superlative. Classic hand-drawn animation set against a picturesque Parisian background that is filled with an ambiance of great human divide and strong social references. At the heart of this wonderful tale is an endearing story of true friendship that withstands all odds to not only emerge triumphant but also infuse others around them and even the cynics who watch the film to have a change of heart. This soaring tale of friendship also brings forth a profound social commentary told with subtle metaphorical actions, which resonate brilliantly with our own state of human affairs.

It's interesting how studios and creative people would assume they know what people want. Disney knows that people want to see fairy tale stories and grand animation making the way for memorable characters and catchy songs. Warner Brothers knows that people want to see really fast animation alongside some good visual gags as perpetrated by unique charters with a lot of heart. Most other studios seem to copy either formula in their own projects. It's not too bad of an idea as long they can make their movies just as original and unique (projects like Despicable Me or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs).

But I'm surprised with how these two formulas are the only ones that studios want to take a chance on. I've already talked about how I miss traditional hand drawn animation in movies today. You could say that children don't watch those kinds of movies anymore. But I ask of you "Why are classics like Snow White, The Looney Toons and Popeye still being watched by modern kids?". It's because they too has great legacies of good characters and memorable situations. There is always room for other options in animation that want something different. That would be one of this years Oscar nominated movies, Ernest and Celestine.

In a lot of ways, this is nothing like modern Disney, Pixar, or the other big names. This tells a simpler story about friendship; a bear and a mouse. So in a world where mice live underground while bears walk and talk, living how we would, both sides agree that each species is evil and shouldn't we interacted with. At an orphanage, a young mouse Celestine is more curious about why the mice and rats are afraid of bears. She has a job of collecting bear teeth so that mice dentists can file them down for their fellow rodents to wear.

She gets stuck in a garbage can where she is discovered by a starving musician bear, Ernest (played by Forest Whitaker). His first instinct is to eat Celestine, but she quickly scolds him for wanting to do so, confusing him. They make a deal to help each other, but the plan goes amiss and the two hide from the law in Ernest's home in the woods. Most of time is shown them interacting with each other and their skills; Celestine with her obsession with nature and art and Ernest and his spark for music and clowning.

As I've said, this is a different offering from most of the other animated movies out. Ernest and Celestine is a much quieter movie about friendship. Though there's the principle tone about prejudice, the situation is simple at best. There's no villain or threatening force looking to destroy them. It's just this bear and mouse interacting and becoming friends. And you know what? That's all you really need with this kind of story. This is a very sweet and likable story that benefits from some really nice animation and two leads that both kids and adults would really like.

Celestine may just be a young girl whose no higher then a few inches, but she still manages to be very spunky without being too annoying. It's her curiosity that rubs onto me that makes me want to learn about this world more. Ernest is a grouchy loner, but has plenty of heart that allows himself to absorb a lot of new ideas from this little mouse. The movie looks like one large watercolor painting, really letting the art taking control of the design and story. It looks beautiful. It feels more like something I would get from Winnie the Pooh; is simple but it works really well.

I'll give this ten watercolor kits out of ten. Ernest and Celestine isn't exactly the most original story around, but it wins my heart with a very unique look and a gentle tone that anyone can enjoy. It's good old fashioned story telling at it's best. This is an absolute must with families.

An Oscar nominee in the category of best animation feature. The cutest animation which gave the experience of seeing a Japanese anime similar to from the Ghibli studio. The characters are very adorable, especially both the Ernest and Celestine. After praising the technicians I mean the illustrator I must compliment the voice renders. Whenever I hear Celestine saying 'Ernest, Ernest' I just fall in love because it was sexy. I know French language itself a seductive.

No age group limited to enjoy this animation. From 6 year-old kid to 60 year-old and beyond that can have a great time with it. A simple animation with a good message story. Probably you will come to know what kinda movie is this if you have seen 'Stormy Night' and 'Ratatouille'. A tale about the unlikely friendship between two different living creatures.

It all begins with a young little mouse who got a different opinion on the creatures that live above their world. The earth's surface was ruled by the big bad bears and that is what beneather believe. Between these two world a new friendship bloom from nowhere. But both the societies denies it so the two must protect each other and run for their life. Instead, they need to prove it can be possible and harmless. So they have to take the advantage of the such circumstances and how it can be done is the rest.

The character Ernest was lazy, but tough and Celestine is very active, but sensitive in matters. The friendship between them was very well told, in an enchanting way. I liked the replacement of bear in the place of humans. Otherwise, our people think they are genius to find similarity between this and 'Ratatouille'.

Earlier I was very, very disappointed for ditching 'Monsters University' over crap movie 'Despicable Me 2'. I will be so happy if 'The Wind Rises' or this movie wins the Oscar. But Americas own 'Frozen' will be a strong contender for the honour.

Finally, I retire for now by saying it is a must see movie, especially if you are an animation movie fan. I truly wanted it not to end, in the world at certain point everything must end and so it is against my will.