Un mostro a Parigi

OK. First and foremost it's a kids film. On the whole all kids films are reviewed by adults on IMDb and therefore shouldn't be reviewed like Saving Private Ryan or the Green Mile. My 3 and 5 year old enjoyed the film, the characters and the music and came out smiling afterwards. Not as good as other children's films such as The Incredibles or Finding Nemo (larger budget I imagine), but certainly in the ballpark of Despicable Me or Megamind. Either way, lovely animation of Paris, interesting storyline, and for me it gave the adults enough to keep watching, or is that because I had a crush on Vanessa Paradis when I was 14?

I will admit at first when I first saw the trailer I wasn't entirely drawn in. But since being a fan of animation and learning from films like Lilo and Stitch, Galaxy Quest, Tangled and Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame(all examples of movies that had trailers that either didn't appeal or were misleading, but the actual film I enjoyed or was blown away by) that you shouldn't judge a movie by their trailer. I really liked A Monster in Paris, the beginning may take a little too much time to get going and like the concept there are one or two bits that seem a teensy- bit contrived. However, the way the film is written, ensures that it is all very light-hearted, with a sense of fun, a lot of charm and a big heart at its centre. The characters are still engaging, who doesn't love Franceur, and the voice acting is very dynamic. The humour is nothing absolutely extraordinary, but I was still amused by it. What I did like too were the references to early horror movies, looking at the Monster's disguise you immediately think of the Invisible Man, there are some exciting chase scenes and there is nothing overly-sentimental. There were three things though that stood out. One was the atmosphere, A Monster in Paris has such a lovely and nostalgic feel to it, seeing as that is exactly the feeling I got when I went to Paris I felt the film evoked this very well. It is a very rich film musically, with songs that completely bewitch you with their simplicity and beauty and a score that is enchanting in melody and like the atmosphere gives a sense of nostalgia. And the animation is stunning, the characters are all well-modelled and there is a clean and bright colour palette but the stars were the city landmarks, which I loved spotting, and the period setting. Overall, a very good film, not completely perfect, but better than the rating it's got at the moment and one of the more pleasant animated films of the year. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Un mostre à Paris, AKA The monster at France (2011) Is an insanely fun adventure for all the family! The introduction was like nothing i had ever seen - So powerful and teary eyed... Sean Lennon really knows how to pull a heart string with his melodies. (His dads jeans really shine through) My jaw dropped when he sang "La Seen" I cant say the kids felt the same xD i was head over heals at the sight of the beast and his beauty, Tres Bien! My critiques lie with the Raoul and Luciles relationship. Are you kidding me Dreamworks? Toxic love is definitely a No Go, No Show. Don't worry, i'm not heartless! The green man and his wife were a lovely couple, they really represented the French Romance the movie was missing! This movie is an overall hit or miss, if you don't get the jokes you've probably never read "Catch-22" Which is definitely the movies main source of inspiration besides "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and the classic sherlocks!

I was browsing through IMDb when I stumbled upon the reviews of this movie. As a matter of fact, 6 months ago, I saw the Dutch dubbed version with 3 kids (one 6y, 2 10y).

I have to say, everybody enjoyed it. The 6y old even asked me to buy it on DVD. I wonder if the person who gave this a "1" even bothered to look at the movie at all...

Because I like Paris, I enjoyed the little details the French animators put in it. It really captures the Parisian atmosphere. The animation is in the same league as Megamind, Despicable Me etc. It's not as good as the Pixar/Dreamworks movies, but it was still very well done.

Some jokes worked, others didn't, but all in all I found it well worth the money.

This is not quite Pixar, but not quite awful either. It goes for a polished look similar to what we've seen in mainstream American animation, with the soft-lit cartoonish CG similar to that of Dreamworks and Pixar, and comes very close to matching their visual flair despite a more modest budget. It's pretty clear that they're hoping for commercial appeal rather than art-house obscurity here, but the film wants to have it both ways, mixing clichéd humor and characters with artistic flourishes and occasional moments of brilliance. There should be more than enough here to appeal to kids.

It's a pleasant enough experience overall and ultimately it wins you over ... but at the same time in a lot of ways it doesn't quite make it. For starters the whole story concept is painfully contrived. But this much is clear even from the shortest synopsis, so I was prepared going in.

Among the highlights of the film are the many appealing visuals drawn from the period Parisian setting. Another highlight is the rich musical score. These almost make the film a cut above, were it not weighed down by some of the more mundane elements.

On the whole it's flawed, but it does have its moments, and is worth a look.