Charming and inspiring, the City of Light is the setting for many animated films and their crazy adventures. From Aristocats to Ratatouille or Ballerina, here are 6 animated films to rediscover Paris through the ages and the great figures who have marked it. Enough to try the walk in real life and with the family!
Jazzy Paris: The Aristocats
The very rich Madame de Bonnefamille’s only family is her cats. She decides to bequeath her fortune to them. Horrified, Edgar, his butler, organizes the removal of the tomcats to touch the loot. But that’s not counting the help of a band of alley cats keen on jazz and led by O’Malley.
Released in 1970, this great Disney classic is a tribute to the Paris of the Belle Époque, situating its action in a pestigious district of the capital. We can recognize the great monuments like the Eiffel Tower. The most seasoned will recognize the famous Café de la Paix located near the Opera. The sumptuous sets contrast with the jazzy and colorful atmosphere of the film. Music holds a large place there, with in particular the mark of a great Parisian figure: Maurice Chevalier who will forever leave his mark in the world of film by singing. The Aristocats out of friendship for Walt Disney.
Paris in flood: A Monster in Paris
1910. A rumor spreads that a monster is walking the streets of Paris. The population takes fright and the beast is hunted down relentlessly by the police. This curious specimen, victim of a scientific manipulation that went wrong, is not the monster that one might think and it is protected and hidden by three friends, including the pretty cabaret singer, Lucille.
Magnifying the Paris of the 1910s, flooded by the waters of the Seine, Éric Bergeron, the director transcribes the atmosphere of the time by introducing real historical facts (flood of the Seine, inauguration of the Montmartre funicular). The Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur, the Montmartre district with its cabarets… are the setting for this inventive, funny and captivating little gem. On the music side, it is Vanessa Paradis and M, alias Matthieu Chedid, who lend their voices to the two main characters and perform the key song from the film “La Seine”.
Gourmet Paris: Ratatouille
Rémy is a young rat who dreams of becoming a great French chef and who refuses his status as a sewer rat. And the fact of living in the sewers of the ultra-rated restaurant of the star of the stoves, Auguste Gusteau, will give him the opportunity! His meeting with Alfredo Linguini, a young commis chef, will allow him to get as close as possible to his dream.
The film pays homage to French gastronomy and the majority of the film’s scenes take place mainly in the kitchens of the famous “Gusteau’s” restaurant, whose architecture and reputation are inspired by those of the real Parisian restaurant, Tower of money, located in the 5th. The film also takes us through the sewers of Paris which can now be visited thanks to the museum (7th) and under the Pont au Double, very close to Notre-Dame. Finally for the little anecdote: one of the scenes takes place in front of the front of a store, it is the Aurouze store (1st)present since 1872 in the capital. The shop is dedicated to pest control…
Paris in a tutu: Ballerina
Félicie is a young Breton orphan who has only one passion: dancing. With his best friend Victor who would like to become a great inventor, they escape from the orphanage, heading for the City of Light and its Eiffel Tower under construction! Félicie will have to fight like never before, surpass herself to realize her wildest dream: to become a star dancer at the Paris Opera…
Special mention for this Franco-Canadian production which has achieved a pearl of romanticism and realism, particularly in the architectural beauty and the care taken in the reconstruction of 19th century Paris. Ballerina is distinguished by its meticulous historical vision: the Eiffel Tower was under construction, the Haussmannian transformation was underway and the restitution of the Opéra Garnier is simply impressive. The dance sequences were designed by two entrechats pros, Aurélie Dupont and Jérémie Belingard.
Medieval Paris: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
In Paris, in 1482, the powerful judge Frollo pursues with his hatred all the bohemians who dare to enter the city. Previously, he took in the son of a gypsy, a hunchbacked baby baptized Quasimodo. He lives recluse in the bell tower of Notre-Dame. On the day of the Carnival of Fools, Quasimodo joins the party. He meets Esmeralda, Phoebus and the adventure begins…
Freely adapted from the work of Victor Hugo, this medieval Disney fresco highlights one of the most legendary French monuments: Notre-Dame Cathedral, here at the dawn of its architectural youth. She is also the main character. Its stairs, interior rooms and gargoyles, the film takes us to the heart of the monument. The designers of the cartoon have also studied the cathedral of Notre-Dame for months to restore the smallest details! Currently closed for reconstruction after the terrible fire, you can still stroll around the forecourt to admire its grandeur!
Paris at the Belle Époque: Dilili in Paris
In the Paris of the Belle Époque, in the company of a young delivery boy on a scooter, little Kanake Dilili leads an investigation into mysterious kidnappings of young girls. She meets famous men and women of the time who give her clues.
Michel Ocelot’s film, César for best animated film in 2019, transports us to the majestic settings of Belle Époque Paris. From the human zoo at the Universal Exhibition (Jardin d’Acclimatation) to Montparnasse via the Moulin-Rouge, the Eiffel Tower or the Opéra Garnier, the sets are based on real shots of Paris and give pride of place to Art Nouveau monuments. Dilili will meet during his adventures, the great figures who brought life to the capital at that time. Louise Michel, Claude Monet, Louis Pasteur, Sarah Bernhard or Toulouse Lautrec and so many others will help him in his investigation.
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