Ernest & Célestine

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.

Move over Pixar and Disney, your monopoly be damned. Although I do like some of the Pixar/Dinsey animated movies, it was always the French animated movies that I adored. It was always amusing and entertaining and often adhering to real life nuances than go all aboard with fantasy. From L'illusioniste to Persepolis, the craftsmanship and quality that goes into these movies are impeccable. Often manually animated than using CG, the smooth animation is just mesmerizing, furthermore the narrative and the characters rivets you to your seats. Although these movies might not garner as much attention as an over-rated Hollywood production, they've always been highly refined, immensely engrossing.

Based on the kids' book by Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent, Ernest et Célestine is the sweet sweet story of Célestine an orphan mouse who befriends a poor Bear, Ernest. In a society where the two factions are prohibited The story isn't something to write home about but it has all the essential elements to entertain you till end. I saw the French version and it seems like there is also an English dubbed version voiced over by some AAA actors like Forest Whitaker, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy. The movie is warmly visual and wouldn't be an issue for the young ones to get hold of whats happening on screen.

Its simplicity is what made me love it so much. You are drawn into the spellbinding art and animation and its almost like a water-colored fairytale book come to life in front of you. It works a bit like a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip sans the philosophical quandaries. Instead Ernest et Célestine digs subtly into the political and societal undertones. Having seen both Frozen and Ernest et Célestine, I couldn't even fathom why Frozen won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

In an industry where even animated movies are filled with shades of debauchery, you'd be a victim of a slew of questions from your young ones that you'd be too embarrassed to answer. Thankfully, Ernest et Célestine is a movie so innocent and pure at heart, that it can be watched with kids of all ages. Let them soak in the brilliant and colorful art direction and Ernest et Célestine's beautiful friendship. There's a lot that could be learnt from these two adorable critters.

Anybody who loves animation and just want to see one that warms your heart and moves, charms and entertains you, you have met your match with Ernest and Celestine. With me, out of all the films, animated and otherwise, viewed recently Ernest and Celestine stood out as one of the most beautiful. The animation, with its water-colour/ story-book look, is just lovely to look at and is imaginative while keeping things simple. The is sensitively orchestrated and unobtrusive, one of those music scores that you can listen to more than once and still find it memorable and appealing. You can't argue with the way Ernest and Celestine is written, it has a poetic simplicity that children and adults alike can understand with no problem. The unlikely friendship angle is a familiar one but that doesn't matter when Ermest and Celestine deals with it with so much warmth and heart. You can genuinely feel the relationship/friendship between the characters, and throughout the simple but never too simplistic story is both charming and touching, cute as well(I admit it that I did feel a lot of emotion watching). The characters are just as engaging as the writing, you can identify with them and their friendship and situation and it is easy to like them. They are nimbly voiced too. Overall, a sublime animated film that takes a familiar concept and does it with simplicity and doesn't rely on fart jokes, profanities, slapstick or crude toilet humour, instead allowing the story and friendship between the titular characters to come through and come through they do, and marvellously. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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?

Ernest And Celestine is a fantastic story that presents us a friendship that shouldn't happen, but against all odds prevails. Celestine is a young mouse that is curious about the world above and has a knack for art. Unfortunately for her, the mice around her wish to see her become a dentist as it is more her position in society. Almost alike, above the sewage an oaf like bear named Ernest longs to become a performer, but upon his family's wishes to become a judge, he ultimately ends up living in poor conditions and with his aspirations frowned upon. When they meet they will shake the foundations of the place they live in. This tale is classic storytelling and features interesting characters to root for. This friendship seems very real because the personalities involved are genuinely kind and don't agree with the way life is lived. The animation is very simple yet beautiful. Against more grand animation works, Ernest And Celestine still stands out with its endearing story and overall is a pleasure to watch.

Rating: 7,5/10