Sur la piste du Marsupilami

I was curious after seeing the previews and there I sat as the theatre went dark and the show started on screen, thinking to myself "I hope this does not suck". I was very happy to see that not only had I not been fooled by the previews, but they actually represented the movie quite well.

I laughed, I giggled and then I laughed and laughed again. If you go in expecting a great movie: this is not what it is! This is a beautiful light hearted comedy just like the comic strip was. True to its origins.

I left the theatre feeling the same way I felt when I finished one of the comic strips: happy and content.

@Alain Chabat: bravo! et merci pour tous ces rires. (which translates to "thanks for all the laughs")

Well, i don't know if it's a bad movie or not.

If you ask my 6 years old nephews, they didn't like it because it was complicated and not too really funny.

I agree with them: the part about the prophecy isn't really clear and Chabat is boring when he tries to make laugh with private jokes (here, Celine Dion). In addition, there's too much useless characters thus too much thin stories. For example, Geraldine is maybe sweet but her character is transparent here. In fact, it's too scripted for a comedy.

On the other hand, Chabat is a great actor and his portraying of this goofy reporter is fun. Debouze, Wilson are boring as usual but they are watchable as they stand for punching bag. Fred is excellent as a pseudo dictator and proves another time that he can play anyone.

As for Marsu, the movie decides to film it in his native jungle. It's faithful to the comics and it's exotic.

In conclusion, maybe it's a disappointment for those who waited a crazy frenzy as "Gremlins" but it's not a wasted time also.

Making a Marsupilami movie without Spirou and Fantasio is like Laurel without Hardy, or Huey without Dewey and Louie. This movie was obviously not a low budget one, so why on earth did they leave out the central characters from the Marsupilami comic books?

As with all comic adaptations to live action, there has to be made some sacrifices. I was pleasantly surprised to see how little they changed the Marsupilami. He is cute, funny and he is just like I would imagine the little fellow in real life. The story does not resemble anything really from the comics. Some new characters find the marsupilami. I would have loved to see Spirou and fantasio finding him, but I guess that would be too much to ask for. But then again people would bicker about them instead. All in all one of the better adaptations from comic to screen in recent years. It is funny, cute, adventurous and visually exciting.

Going in, I did not expect too much from this comedy - I'm a fan of Franquin's work and of the Marsupilami, and so I'm basically willing to give everything containing the speckled longtail at least a try, even if I had the impression this was more of a cash-grab than a homage.

So, speaking as Marsupilamist - yep, the movie delivers, but, for my taste, there should have been even more scenes with the M. Jamel Debbouze and Alain Chabat are not bad at comedy (Debbouze is better here), but the M. stole every scene it was in. While one can argue if the CGI creation did justice to Franquin's style - it seemed a bit too fluffy - I can't deny that they hit many a sweet spot here, and some of the tail gags were really nice. I also appreciated the inclusion of lady M. and the nest, "Le nid des Marsupilamis" was and is my favourite M. comic.

Apart from the M.s, the comedy suffers from uneven pacing and atmosphere. Many gags are announced from a mile away, and for readers of Franquin's works, some plot developments were too obvious. On the other hand, there were some really nice gags, and also some creative cinematography and visual gags. The whole prophecy scene was absolutely hilarious, one of the funniest scenes in recent comedies and a perfect spoof of an often misused plot device. The Celine Dion gags were cool at first, but the musical number went on for too long. And the villain was very weak; little tension here - on the other hand, this makes it safe to watch with children, no frightening scenes.

Overall, a so-so comedy which is elevated above mediocre by the inclusion of the Marsupilami.