Kirikou and the Sorceress explained

Kirikou and the Sorceress
Director:Michel Ocelot
Producer:Didier Brunner
Distributor:Gébéka Films
Runtime:71 minutes[1]
Music:Youssou N'Dour
Editing:Dominique Lefevre
Language:French

Kirikou and the Sorceress (French: '''Kirikou et la Sorcière''', in French pronounced as /kiʁiku e la sɔʁsjɛʁ/) is a 1998 French-language animated adventure fantasy film written and directed by Michel Ocelot. Drawn from elements of West African folk tales,[2] it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba. The film was originally released on 9 December 1998.[3] It is a co-production between companies in France (Exposure, France 3 Cinema, Les Armateurs, Monipoly, Odec Kid Cartoons), Belgium (Radio-Télévision belge) and Luxembourg (Studio O, Trans Europe Film) and animated at Rija Films' studio in Latvia and Studio Exist in Hungary.[4]

It was so successful that it was followed by Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages, released in 2005, and adapted into a stage musical, Kirikou et Karaba, first performed in 2007.[5] Another follow-up, Kirikou et les hommes et les femmes, was released in late 2012.[6]

Plot

In a little West African village, an unusual boy named Kirikou is born, who can speak before birth and walk immediately after birth. After Kirikou's mother tells him that an evil sorceress, Karaba, has dried up their spring and eaten all the men of the village except for one, he decides to accompany the last warrior, his uncle, to visit her and try to stop her.

Kirikou manages to trick the sorceress and save his uncle by waiting inside his uncle's hat and pretending that it is magic. Additionally, he saves the village's children from being kidnapped both by the sorceress's boat and tree, and kills the monster who was drinking all the village's water, gaining trust and stature in the eyes of the previously skeptical villagers. With the help of his mother and various animals, Kirikou then evades Karaba's watchmen and travels into a forbidden mountain to ask his wise old grandfather about the sorceress.

His grandfather tells him that she is evil because she suffers from a poisoned thorn in her back, which causes her great pain and also gives her great power. After learning this, Kirikou manages to take the sorceress's stolen gold, thus luring her outside to where he can trick her and extract the poisoned thorn. As a result, the sorceress is cured of her suffering, and she kisses Kirikou, who then becomes an adult.

When Kirikou and Karaba arrive back at the village, no one believes that the sorceress is cured until a procession of drummers arrive with Kirikou's grandfather. The drummers turn out to be the sorceress's watchmen and henchmen restored to their original human forms, the missing men of the village, whom she hadn't eaten after all.

Cast

French voice cast

English voice cast

Swahili voice cast

Japanese voice cast

Brazilian voice cast

Production

The film is a co-production of Les Armateurs, Trans Europe Film, Studio O, France 3 cinéma, RTBF and Exposure in France, Odec Kid Cartoons in Belgium and Monipoly in Luxembourg. It was animated at Rija Films' animation studio in Latvia and Studio Exist in Hungary, with backgrounds painted at Les Armateurs and Paul Thiltges' animation studio, Tiramisu, in Luxembourg, digital ink and paint and compositing by Les Armateurs and Odec Kid Cartoons in Belgium and voices and music recorded in Senegal.[7]

The original French voice acting was performed by a cast of West African actors and schoolchildren and recorded in Dakar. The English dubbing, also directed by Ocelot, was made in South Africa.[8] A dub of the film in the Swahili language was produced in Tanzania in 2009 through the help of the Danish Film Institute (DFI) and John Riber of Media for Development in Dar es Salaam.[9]

Controversy

The film contains many instances of nudity that reflect the non-sexualized view of the human body in the West African culture depicted. This was controversial enough in the U.S. and the U.K. to prevent its release.[10] [11] [12] Eventually, the British Film Institute gave the film a few screenings in the U.K., and in the U.S. specialist distributor Artmattan released it to a small but appreciative African-American audience.

Accolades

Year Award Show Award Category Result
1999 Grand Prix Best Animation Film Won
1999 Castellinaria International Festival of Young Cinema Environment and Health Award Won
1999 Castellinaria International Festival of Young Cinema Silver Castle Won
1999 Chicago International Children's Film Festival Adult's Jury Award Feature Film and Video – Animation Won
1999 Chicago International Children's Film Festival Children's Jury Award Feature Film and Video – Animation Won
1999 Cinekid Film Award Won
1999 Kecskemét City Prize KAFF Award Won[13]
1999 C.I.F.E.J. Award Won
1999 Oulu International Children's Film Festival Starboy Award Nominated
2000 Silver Poznan Goats Best Animation Film Won
2000 Poznan Goats Best Original Script in Foreign Movie Won
2000 Marcinek - Children's Jury Special Mention Animation for Older Children Won
2000 Prize of the Children's Cinema Competition Jury Best Feature Film for Children Won
2000 Montréal International Children's Film Festival Special Jury Prize Feature Film Won
2002 British Animation Awards British Animation Award Best European Feature Film Won (tied with Chicken Run)
2009 Audience's Choice Award Won

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kirikou et la sorcière. Les Armateurs. 9 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928074205/http://www.lesarmateurs-lesite.fr/. 28 September 2011. dead.
  2. Web site: This is animation . 2008-08-25 . Lugt . Peter van der . 2008-08-25 . GhibliWorld.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080829185726/http://www.ghibliworld.com/michel_ocelot_interview.html . 29 August 2008.
  3. "Kirikou Et La Sorciere (Kirikou And The Sorceress)". www.bcdb.com, 13 October 2012
  4. Book: Ocelot, Michel. Tout sur Kirikou. Seuil. Paris. 2003-12-05. 2-02-062827-9. fr. 172–173. Des noms.
  5. Web site: Animated film Kirikou and the Sorceress to become stage musical . 2008-10-08 . Hetrick . Adam . Playbill.com . 2007-06-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081204143849/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/109010.html . 4 December 2008.
  6. Web site: En cours. Les Armateurs. 9 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928074205/http://www.lesarmateurs-lesite.fr/. 28 September 2011. dead.
  7. Closing credits of the film.
  8. Book: Ocelot, Michel. Tout sur Kirikou. Seuil. Paris. 2003-12-05. 2-02-062827-9. fr. 40, 13.
  9. Web site: The cast of the English version of the film.Film: Zanzibar's Festival shows the way forward. The Africa Report. 21 September 2009. Alexander Macbeth.
  10. Web site: Some nix 'Kirikou' pix due to nudity. James. Alison. 2005-12-25. Variety. en. 2019-07-27.
  11. Web site: Animated 'Kirikou and the Sorceress' Transitions to Stage Musical. Animation World Network. en. 2019-07-27.
  12. Web site: The Film Canon: Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998). 2015-02-08. The Young Folks. en-US. 2019-07-27.
  13. 5. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 2. Nemzetközi Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál. Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1999.