The All Saints’ Day holidays, which have just begun, remain a good time to organize cultural outings with the family. And a session at the cinema will delight young and old, between comedies, cartoons and animated films.
“Samurai Academy”
If you already knew the Star Academy, you will discover the backstage of the Samurai Academy. To join this institution, several criteria must be met, including the most important one: being a cat. And that’s where we find Hank, a dog who dreams of becoming a martial arts pro, but is denied access to all the academies. So when a big tomcat agrees to train him, the pooch takes up the challenge. Even if it means losing one or two legs in the battle. The teaching of ancestral techniques is indeed not easy and his master does not let him miss anything. Exit the samurai bible for dummies, Hank must learn to handle the sword like no one else and be as agile as a cat on poles. A test that would make all the participants in Koh Lanta pale. As the trailer promises: “Cat is going to barder!”, especially when an army of cats arrives in the city.
With the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Mel Brooks and Michelle Yeoh in the original version, this entertainment for children was directed in particular by Rob Minkoff, author of the “Lion King”, as well as “Stuart Little” and M. Peabody and Sherman: Time Travel”. We also find at the controls Chris Bailey, co-screenwriter of “Oliver and company”.
“Samurai Academy”, by Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier and Chris Bailey (1h37). In theaters.
“LITTLE NICOLAS: WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR TO BE HAPPY?”
A very nice tribute. Now doubly orphaned since the death of Jean-Jacques Sempe, who passed away last August, Petit Nicolas is back in theaters. But this time, the hero is for the first time at the heart of a sublime animated film. Directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, “Le Petit Nicolas: What are we waiting for to be happy?” traces the origin of the birth of this joyful and mischievous young hero, born from the pen of screenwriter René Goscinny and designer Jean-Jacques Sempé, whose line comes alive to tell us about the genesis of Little Nicolas.
The choice of his first name, the profession of his parents, the personality of his mistress, the decoration of his house… Immersed in the Paris of the 1950s, we understand how the endearing universe of this little boy has gradually been thought by the authors, dubbed by Laurent Lafitte and Alain Chabat. This sparkling, nostalgic and moving film also depicts their beautiful friendship, their painful memories and their resilience. We see to what extent the creation of this character, who evolves in an ideal world, made of laughter and learning, with his nice group of friends, was for his two illustrious friends a way to think about the wounds of their childhood, marked by trauma: the Shoah for René Goscinny and family violence for Jean-Jacques Sempé.
Carried by the music of Ludovic Bource (Oscar winner for “The Artist”), the feature film alternates biographical sequences and short stories from Little Nicolas. We take great pleasure in (re)discovering these eight funny and tender stories, in which children find themselves. Even if the tools are no longer the same, because in reality the essential is elsewhere, the parents remember. Visually very successful, this poetic work, faithful to the spirit of Goscinny and the pencil stroke of Sempé, who had participated in the first animation tests and validated the drawings, required no less than seven years of work. And he was recently awarded. “Little Nicolas: What are we waiting for to be happy?” has indeed won the Cristal for the feature film of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
“Le Petit Nicolas: What are we waiting for to be happy?”, by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre (1h30). In theaters.
“The Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess”
He is the “father” of “Kirikou and the witch”, “Princes and princesses”, “Azur and Asmar” and “Dilili in Paris”. At 78, Michel Ocelot unveils “The pharaoh, the savage and the princess”, an animated film featuring three short films as beautiful as they are poetic. It is about gods and goddesses, kings and queens, princes and princesses, viziers and sultans.
In the first tale, which is set in ancient Egypt, the young Tanouekamani goes to war to become pharaoh, the only condition for the wicked regent to accept that he marry her daughter, the beautiful Nasalsa. In the second story, the action takes place in Auvergne at the time of the Middle Ages, where the son of a lord befriends a prisoner, before being hunted and abandoned in the forest far from the castle. Years later, a mysterious individual, nicknamed “Beautiful Savage”, sows disorder in the village, with the sole desire to help the poorest. The third and final fable takes viewers on a journey to the heart of the Ottoman Empire with its sumptuous palaces, lush gardens, and shimmering dresses and other costumes. Pure visual pleasure. And a show featuring a donut seller in love with a rose princess.
To narrate these three legends and thus link them while bringing a little breath, Michel Ocelot chose a storyteller who faces a group of workers – “filmed” from behind on the Reconstruction site – who wish to escape during their lunch break. Three stories, three eras, three civilizations, but a common will, that of rebelling against parental authority, as soon as the orders become harmful.
“The pharaoh, the savage and the princess”, by Michel Ocelot (1h23). In theaters.
“belle and Sébastien: new generation”
A universal story. Five years after Clovis Cornillac’s third film, “Belle and Sébastien: The Last Chapter”, this cult story of friendship between a child and a dog is back in cinemas in a contemporary version, signed Pierre Coré (“L’aventure of the Marguerites”). In this adaptation, shot in the Pyrenees, Sébastien (Robinson Mensah-Rouanet), a 10-year-old Parisian, is sent to the mountains, where his shepherdess grandmother lives, not exactly happy with his visit, and his bubbly aunt, camped respectively by Michèle Laroque, who excels in this role, and Alice David.
There, the boy tries somehow to take care of the sheep, even if he would prefer to be with his friend at the skatepark. Until the day when this young hero, always ready to defend the weak, meets Belle, an imposing patou mistreated by her master who will become his best friend. Against the background of environmental awareness, Pierre Coré signs a beautiful film with breathtaking landscapes, which reminds us how essential communication is within a family, and speaks to the new generation, by integrating its codes, such as selfies and Instagram.
We also appreciated the feminist approach of this reboot. The filmmaker decided to assign the main roles, symbolizing know-how, courage and strength, to women, whereas they were formerly played by their male counterparts. Sébastien’s grandfather has become a grandmother, who takes her herd to more than 2,000 meters of altitude for a transhumance, collects straw every day, scares away the wolves in the middle of the night, does not hesitate to paragliding with his grandson in the middle of the peaks. One thing is certain, the public will take a breath of fresh air.
“Belle and Sébastien: new generation”, by Pierre Coré (1h36). In theaters.
“The New Toy”
In this remake of the film “The Toy” by Jacques Veber, with Pierre Richard and Michael Bouquet and released on the screens in 1976, Jamel Debbouze slips into the skin of Sami, a chatterbox appreciated by everyone in his suburbs who tries to make a fortune by selling teapots with two spouts on the markets. But the jackpot is still far away, especially when the police confiscate his merchandise. This future father must therefore quickly find a stable job if he wishes to pay off his debts and help his pregnant wife (Alice Belaïdi), about to be made redundant by the group led by the formidable billionaire Philippe Etienne (Daniel Auteuil) .
Against all odds, Sami, who doesn’t work mornings or evenings, but rather “midday,” lands a job as a night watchman in a department store in Paris. And it is there, while he fell asleep between Spiderman and Venom, that he will meet Alexandre (Simon Faliu), the son of Philippe Etienne, who chooses him as… his new toy. A toy that the spoiled brat will nickname Gunther, and ask to pack up to take him home.
In exchange for a salary of 2,000 euros a day, Sami will comply with the craziest demands of this authoritarian and detestable kid, whom no one dares to upset since the death of his mother, carried away by a serious illness. Alexandre and his new toy are going to do the 400 blows in a house as big as Windsor Castle, while the father, cold and distant, connects meetings and helicopter flights. Sami, who doesn’t care about money and prefers men to works of art, stands out in this wealthy family. But with his naturalness and his banter, he will bring a little humanity to it and will gradually create a beautiful friendship with Alexandre.
If it takes on the appearance of a social comedy at times with the class struggle in sight, “The new toy” remains above all a nice entertainment where it is a question of paternity, filiation and love and for which Jamel Debbouze , who returns to the cinema under the direction of James Huth (“Brice de Nice”, “Lucky Luke”), connects the floodgates and has fun like a kid.
“The new toy”, by James Huth (1h53). In theaters.
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