The Kingdom of Stars: a trip to the moon to see at the cinema from 6 years old

RECOMMENDED FROM 6 YEARS

Once upon a time : What if your little sister suddenly disappears in the middle of the night? What if you were to go to the moon and search for her in the realm of stars? This is what happens to Peter, and time is running out to find her before daybreak… Aboard the Sandman’s magic sleigh, let the great race begin!

What they will love: Adapted from the tale by German author Gerdt von Bassewitz Peterchens Mondfahrt (Little Pierre in dreamland), The Kingdom of Stars takes viewers on a great sidereal journey.

The down-to-earth young hero goes in search of his little sister who has gone to the moon (literally) after listening to the crazy stories of an old beetle. If at first Peter thinks that his sister is a little crazy, he will quickly realize that the little ones do not always talk nonsense.

The boy will then discover a world as marvelous as it is dangerous where the stars go to the Sandman’s school to learn how to watch over children, where the big bear is a real bear, where the elements are personified and where the milky way is made of cheeses…

So many elements that children will love and that will allow them to imagine that the sky is populated by magical and wonderful creatures.

The film is directed by the Iranian-German director Ali Samadi Ahadi, to whom we owe the documentary Le Printemps de Tehran – l’histoire d’un Révolution 2.0 (2012) and the children’s film Le Noël by Pettson and Picpus. (available on Netflix since October 2022).

The idea of ​​adapting this children’s book, which dates from 1912, was proposed to him by producer Frank Geiger. If in the book the children are not as involved in the adventures, the filmmaker has decided to make them the heroes in their own right of this great adventure in the Kingdom of the stars.

What can worry them : We learn from the beginning, that the father of Peter and Anne died during the explosion of his rocket. So they moved to the countryside with their mother and have to share a room.

When they arrive, they are bothered by 3 boys who want Peter to shoot the beetle. But at the same time, the two children take their revenge. A moment finally quite jubilant.

The story of the old beetle Mr. Zumzumba, whose birch is uprooted from the valley and sent to the moon with his wife and one of his arms can scare the youngest as well as the bad guys. While the 3 men are a bit silly and can be entertaining, the appearance of the leader and his attacking poodles may worry little onlookers.

What they will keep inside them: If at first Peter seems annoyed by his little sister Anne, this incredible adventure will make him understand that he loves and is capable of anything for her.

Like the literary work from which it is adapted, The Kingdom of the Stars is a beautiful lesson in love and proves that despite disputes and differences in character, siblings always support each other.

The children will leave with stars in their eyes and the impression of having discovered a magical world with legendary characters like the film, The Five Legends.

But unlike the DreamWorks movie, Kingdom of the Stars features legendary characters from diverse backgrounds. Director Ali Samadi Ahadi tells the German site Neupress : “I have been making films for almost 32 years and for 15 or 20 years, 25% of the people who work with me in front of or behind the camera have an immigrant background. For me, it’s just part of the process. For the nature spirits of the original story, we set out to find equivalents in other cultures around the world. The god of thunder, for example, is from Nigerian culture. We have implemented icons from all over the world.“

A memorable bias in terms of representations.