Le Petit Nicolas

I love the "Petit Nicholas" books and René Goscinny is a personal god of mine, so I was very sceptical about this film. Especially because it's not "real-life" rather than a cartoon, whereas Jean-Jacques Sempés illustrations were essential to the charme of the books. But then the reviews were good and I gave it a try.

If you look at Goscinny's humour, it's almost reactionary. There's the fat guy, the rich kid, the dimwit, the four-eyed squealer, the easily- ired father, the just-a-housewife mother. And they all translate well onto film. Goscinny's humour stems from letting those characters interact predictably but creatively and with perfect timing, and this movie's makers managed to closely reproduce Goscinny's genius.

It's funny and escapist -- nothing more. Childhood as it should be. Sempé himself said that he created the childhood for little Nick he never had for himself.

Must watch fun movie for whole family. This is how children movie's should be...just simple life events not just fairies & all...

This movie is amazing. It is not often that I go to see a foreign movie, but people had told me how good this one was so I just went. And I do not regret it.

The actors all seem to fit perfectly for their part. I found it hard to imagine how they were any different in real life. One gets kind of nostalgic, seeing those children in their school uniforms. The story is just wonderful, and it is really, really humorous, the entire audience laughed throughout the movie. It is not that kind of funny in the way normal Adam Sandler and those Hollywood movies are. It has something more to it, it is not, well, hollow (cannot really describe it). The way the director has got this set up, to see the world the way a kid sees it, to look into what's going through their mind, this is all just wonderful. I walked out of there with a little smile on, I was all fuzzy after having laughed so much.

I would really like it if my town would start showing more foreign movies like this one.

French people might understandably be disappointed by a theatrical adaptation of the beloved Petit Nicolas, a character so familiar from their childhoods, but as one who was never mesmerized by the original form of these character, I did not go into this with expectations.

But it's a fun little ride. The costumes, the décor and the acting are all impeccable--Valérie Lemercier is especially delightful. So, too, is the writing: the story is predictable, tidy, socially non-offensive and slightly fantastical--but self-consciously so. It is a tribute to and a mild, good-natured parody of 1950's aesthetic and moral values in filmmaking, and it works very well. Most contemporary period films delight in opening up the curtains on the skeletons of what they see as "repressed" past societies and in poisoning our sentimental collective memories with gritty filth (see « 8 femmes » for an excellent French example; "Titanic" for a classic Anglo-American textbook example).

« Le petit Nicolas » is just here to remind us of what we were once supposed to try for--and it makes us wonder if it wasn't in some ways better than what we have ended up with... without, of course, being too moralizing. It makes for a good little weekday evening pick-me-up.

To be honest, this movie didn't appeal to me because I couldn't stand the sugary nostalgia of this old France. But the kid wanted to see it again, so I complied.

And I realized that my feeling was very wrong: the movie is a tender and accurate vision of the world through the children eyes. They see it in a way opposite to adults. Thus, it was a perfect movie for the kid and it brought me very old memories about my childhood.

The cast is terrific: Kad Merad as a father can show all his big heart. Among the kids, Clotaire was my favorite with his dreamy and dumb attitude. And it's funny because he could act for the son of the actress Cecile de France.

But, rather than a great movie, it is a great adaptation because we mustn't forget that it's actually a collection of illustrated stories. And I find that the opening credits, which look like strips are the best idea ever for any adaptation movie!