Too much of everything

Great Film overall

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

a unusual friendship. two worlds lovely music. and beautiful colors. and, sure, touching story. it is not real easy to define this web of adventure and delicate emotions, runs, secrets, tension and trips in well known universes, from other animations, but different by each preliminary supposition. a film about beauty of life, it is one of good reminds of classic animation and inspired entertainment for entire family. a film of small things who gives sense. about importance of innocence as instrument to discover the essence of existence. and nice homage to the friendship. all as forms of revelations about heart of every new day. one of useful animations. for its grace, beauty and realism . adorable remind of old fables. and eulogy for the discover of yourself in the other.

This was an academy award nominee amongst The Wind Rises, and the overrated Frozen, and unfortunately wasn't available to me around the time of the ceremony. But after watching it, I'm starting to think perhaps I should have a stronger interest in French cinema. For in the movies I've seen thus far from the country, they all have a beautiful complexity, even when a horror film like Martyrs, which perhaps solely comes from being too accustomed to America cinema. Leading to the question: despite an Oscar nomination, is it worth seeing this film?Characters & StoryIn a world segregated between bears and mice, bears living on the surface and mice in the sewers, prejudice is rampant between the two. Mice children are taught bears are ferocious and deadly, while bears see mice as humans do: uninvited greedy little guests. But, despite all this, mice need bears for their teeth are good replacements for theirs. As for bears, well they don't really get anything out of this deal.But teeth are what lead to the main plot of the story as one young artistic orphan named Celestine (Pauline Brunner) finds herself befriending a poor musician named Ernest (Lamber Wilson). And what starts with him trying to eat her turns into them looking out for each other, loving each other, and finding each other to fit their needs. Celestine gives Ernest the love and encouragement he needs, and Celestine receives the sense of family and a home in return. Making their crime filled journey to their own personal bliss quite the tale.PraiseOh where to begin? There is the art style, story, the characters, and the fact it packs such a well-developed story in only a little over an hour. But perhaps what should be highlighted the most is that as cute as the story is between this Celestine and Ernest, it also creates a good learning tool for talking about prejudice with kids, as well as why people in poverty steal, why people panhandle and beg, and the importance of social services. For in the movie, often times there are examples of how prejudice is learned as shown by the stories of how dangerous bears are, and how everyone is pushed to conform into prejudice beliefs over their own perceptions.Which makes Celestine interacting with Ernest a good tool for teaching kids to question what others whisper and say about others. For, using examples from the movie, Celestine was warned her whole life about bears, and yet Ernest became perhaps one of the nicest animals she has ever met. Then, during later scenes, it shows examples of negative peer pressure and how simply following along, and not speaking out, could lead to someone being judged unjustly for something they did, or did not, do. Making, overall, what looks like a simple kid film greatly complex.CriticismHonestly, the only thing worth critiquing is after the "crime spree" of Celestine and Ernest, I was confused how come the ever fearful mice were able to take a bear Ernest's size into custody. Outside of that little issue though, you'd be hard pressed to find something wrong with this.Overall: Worth SeeingComplex animated films, which are kid friendly, are sort of rare. So when films like this come out and can either be seen as simple cute films, or learning tools, they certainly deserve praise. And that is why I'm labeling this as "Worth Seeing."

I saw this movie last month up in Cleveland, in a movie theater. I very much liked it, with one reservation: I felt that Forest Whittaker's voice was wrong for Ernest, the bear.Now that it's out on DVD and I've had a chance to watch it in the original French, I can see that the voice does, in fact, make a big difference. The French actor who voices Ernest, Lambert Wilson, does not sound at all like Forest Whittaker, and it makes Ernest come off as less gruff. He explains, in his segment of the "Making of" film that is included on the DVD, and which I very highly recommend, that he made a conscious choice not to sound like a "Disney bear" because that was not in accord with Ernest's character and the style of the art. It really does make a big difference. You might try watching at least part of it once in French with English subtitles, to see.The story of this movie is nice, and the last scene is a lot better than just nice, as the halls of an unjust and inhumane justice come tumbling down, and Ernest and Celestine are able to escape the racist prejudices of their respective societies.But the real beauty of this movie is the art. The watercolor style is very original, and at times has a real poetry, especially when Ernest and Celestine pass the winter in his cabin and make art, he music and she drawing.Here, again, you can increase your appreciation of the movie by watching the "Making of" film that accompanies it on the DVD. The movie is based on a series of illustrated children's books by a French author-illustrator who had passed away before the movie was made. You get to see the extent to which they tried to reproduce her watercolor style, but also the things that they added that were new. Two of those things that, of necessity, had to be entirely new, and that play a big role in how you perceive the story, are the way the characters move and the music provided. If you stop to think about it, you never see Winnie the Pooh, or Charlie Brown, or any of the great British or American animated characters move in the children's books and comics that have been turned into successful movies or TV programs. Coming up with a way of having them walk, stretch, etc., that is in keeping with how we already imagine their character is not easy. But the animators have solved that problem perfectly in this movie.The background music is also very important here. Just as the jazzy music in the Peanuts TV programs played a major role in characterizing the characters, so the music here, very original, develops these characters and this story without overwhelming it. Another complete success.I don't know what a small child would get out of all this. Some parts are funny, but I don't know if there's enough action to hold small children. For "children of all ages," however, there is a very beautiful and original movie that is not to be missed.

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.