I’ve heard of this classic movie one way or another, most likely cultural osmosis and I was so happy to finally see it! And its as beautiful as described.
Summary:
Somewhere in West Africa a woman is about to give birth when the baby in her stomach decides to birth itself. Coming out in to the world is baby Kirikou who walks on two feet and talks. Kirikou is clever, can run fast and uses his small height as a baby to his advantage. The village where he is born is tormented by the sorceress Karaba who hates all mankind. It is up to Kirikou, with his determination and skills at hand to save his village and its people from Karaba.
Taking its story from elements of West African folklore the story of Kirikou is a classic one. It won a bunch of awards, but even so it’s utterly charming and absolutely adorable in its innocence. I watched this in the original French with english subtitles, but it has been dubbed in to English, Japanese and Swahili.
The art and atmosphere in this film us heartwarming, everything fitting perfectly with one another with the constant contrast of blue and yellow. The music is only rhythmic by the end, but it has a purpose and every aspect of the film moulds together to make a piece of art as well as perfect storytelling.
The characters are drawn with personality as well as respect, no caricatures here and though there is nudity (so much that America only got this movie in 2002), it’s not for the Male Gaze, its just bodies – full nude or partial – and no one is sexualised.
The movie is only an hour long yet you feel it can go on forever with all the possible adventures to be had for Kirikou. Indeed there are two more movies after this – Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) and Kirikou and the Men and Women (2012) – but they never really reached the amount of recognition and fame as the first one (going by the example that their wikipedia pages don’t even have a picture of the posters!). Anyway, a good watch with great art.
Thank you for reading!
The Little Corner 