Didier Brunner Movies
The animated movie Kirikou and the Wild Beasts contains four different stories that feature the popular character. The intro story involves stopping a witch from denying local farms the water necessary to raise crops. The second tale features the character finding food for the village. In the third he defeats a group of robots sent by the witch. The last story involves finding a cure for an illness that threatens all the women of the village. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre-Ndoffe Sarr, Awa Sene Sarr, (more)
- 2003
- Add The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear to QueueAdd The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear to top of Queue
Veteran Danish animator Jannik Hastrup transforms an obscure Tarzan-like Inuit fairy tale into a animated feature film with his 2002 children's tale entitled Drengen de ville vaere bjorn (The Boy Who Wanted To Be a Bear). Somewhere within the Arctic Circle, a pregnant polar bear narrowly escapes a pack of vicious wolves only to give birth to a stillborn cub. The bear's spouse, recognizing his mate's deep depression, sets out to find a replacement baby bear to lift the female bear's spirits -- only to fail in his quest. However, he does come across a newborn human infant, which he steals from the infant's parents and takes back to his mate. As the adult bears raise the human child to be a bear, the child's birth parents desperately search for their son in order to return him to their family. After some time, the child is recovered by his birth parents -- but the boy considers himself to be a bear and wishes to live his life as a bear. The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear was included in the program for a number of children-oriented film festivals throughout Europe and won a Special Mention from the jury at the 2002 Kinderfilmfest. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet directs the animated feature The Triplets of Belleville. A young boy is raised by his grandmother, Madame Souza, in the French countryside. She buys him a bicycle and encourages his dream of winning the Tour de France. However, he gets kidnapped by a group of Mafia gangsters and taken to the big city of Belleville, where he is used for his bicycling prowess in an elaborate gambling scheme. Along with her faithful companion Bruno, Madame Souza sets out to rescue her grandson. They befriend a trio of aging musicians who were once the '30s jazz trio known as The Triplets of Belleville. Features an original jazz musical score by Benoît Charest. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
In this episodic animated fantasy from France, an art teacher interprets a series of six fairy tales (each involving a prince or princess) with the help of two precocious students. Princes et Princesses was created using a special style of cutout animation, with black silhouetted characters performing the action against backlit backdrops in striking colors. Produced in 1989, Princes et Princesses was first released in Europe in 2000 and received its first screening in North America at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Barsacq
This fanciful, animated feature from French artist and director Michel Ocelot is based on a popular folk tale from West Africa. Kirikou (voice of Theo Sebeko) informs his mother from the womb that it's time for him to be born, but when she's too slow, he simply does the work himself. After learning that his parents' village is being threatened by a sorceress with a taste for human flesh, Kirikou leaps into action to save the day, encountering friends and foes along the way, including a monster who can drain waterfalls and lakes with his enormous thirst and a wise man living on a magic mountain. Kirikou and the Sorceress also features an original score by acclaimed Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fezele Mpeka
- 1989
Living during the bleakest period of Communist rule in Poland, the two young brothers have seen their parents suffer badly at the hands of local officials. One day, while they are out playing, they whimsically decide to hide underneath a passing freight truck and see where it will take them. In their journey, they pass from the gloom of Poland into the bright lights of Denmark, and are greeted by the rigidly stern Danish authorities, who put them in a refugee camp and are apparently trying to decide whether to grant the demands of Polish officials that they be returned. Nonetheless, they get a chance to explore Copenhagen at Christmastime. They also get to talk with their parents back in Poland, who tearfully urge the boys to do their best to stay in Denmark, knowing that the authorities (who are surely listening to the call) will punish them for this. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wojciech Klata, Jadwiga Jankowska, (more)
