This is How Movies Should Be Made

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Blistering performances.

Kirikou is a different film than we are used to. Even though it is a cartoon, it is not a cartoon for children. The only reason this film cannot be considered a child relatable film is because all of the women are topless. Other than that, the story line is quite child friendly. This film tells the story of a baby named Kirikou, and his journey in defeating the evil sorceress, Karaba. Kirikou is courageous in many ways: he is brave, he loves his mother, he takes care of the village, and he is optimistic. We see many of these qualities in our European films, however, nine times out of ten, in European films, the mother is either dead or never around. Kirikou seeks help from his mother to defeat Karaba.Karaba is portrayed as evil throughout most of the film. At the beginning she is viewed evil because she is a sorceress and has done many evil things but towards the end you find out she is not evil at all, she is in pain. Kirikou finds the source of her pain and relieves her from it, since her pain is gone so is her power, a small sacrifice for the elimination of monumental pain. She did however, turn all the men into evil machines and take the village's gold, and the villagers cannot forgive her for these evil actions. After Kirikou explains she did not do any of these evil tasks, his mother supports then his grandfather comes to speak his words of wisdom and tells us the moral of the story: we must forgive.This story is like a reverse princess and the frog. The frog must learn a moral lesson that beauty lies within, whereas in this story Karaba learns a man is a man based on his actions not his size. Kirikou solves many problems to bring peace back to his village, but his family solves the final problem in showing Karaba is not evil. Thus showing it is possible to forgive even though they had suffered so greatly.I personally really liked this film. I thought it was very entertaining and not difficult to understand. Having the option to watch it without subtitles also made it easier to understand. Even though the film was a cartoon and had very many childlike qualities, I still would only recommend this film to a mature audience. As previously stated it is mildly graphic since it shows half naked women.

Modern Traditions The film, Kirikou et la Sorciere was written and directed by Michel Ocelot in 1998. The film is animated which allows very controversial issues to be brought to light. The film, available in French and English, is an authentic West African story that dares to balance tradition and modernity. The significance of this film is very important in the 21st century, because we must remember the past as well as build a bright future for all mankind. The focus of the film surrounds traditions in West Africa that run very deep, and establish modernity as a dark scary monster that ruins traditions. In the film, the idea of the coexistence of tradition with modernity is made possible as the colors and lighting slowly begin to blend until a balance is reached and then it happens right before your eyes modern traditions are achieved. The balance of tradition and modernity is an ongoing lifelong process; this film is another step towards the beauty that can be achieved when the balance is completed. The execution of the lighting in the film was deliberately dark in the beginning of the film, and in the end of the film the lighting was purposely bright. The film is able to bring to light the horrible oppression suffered by many African societies through its distinctive lighting, and a symbolic cast of characters. The hero and protagonist in the film, Kirikou represents the journey taken to stop the evil and save his town. Evil is represented through a powerful jewel studded sorciere named Karaba, she represents modernity, and she is symbolic of the villain in the hero's journey according to Jung. The film was very successful in proving the world is a better place when forgiveness is in your heart. Kirikou was able to save Karaba from the thorn in her back which allowed her to be free from suffering, agony, and pain. The beginning of the story may have been dark and dreary, however in they all lived happily ever after. A specific audience To which this film would appeal would be college level adults eager to have equality and traditions be a part of their lives.

Kirikou is a story of a little boy who quickly becomes the hero of his village against an evil sorceress. Kirikou is a special little boy who was able to get himself out of the womb, already be speaking, wash himself, and run all the way over to his uncle who is about to fight the sorceress. Kirkou is a brave, and loving individual who never wants to hurt anybody. Kirkou is a hero that would rather outsmart an enemy rather than kill them. The director of the film uses the differences in color to symbolize the difference between the townspeople and wilderness that have vibrant colors; the sorceress and everything that is close is gray or black. Throughout the movie the director uses the differences in color and detail to also symbolize the difference of good vs. evil, and modernity vs. traditional. In the town, the surroundings all have a very colorful detail that allows people to realize that the director is using the color to support the idea that the village is different from the land where the sorceress lives and so are the people. Color in the movie illustrates that the village is innocent and that the sorceress is oppressing the region. In the wilderness, the director uses the vibrant color, plant life, and animals to illustrate the difference between the sorceress and the wilderness. The differences between the wilderness and the land of the sorceress suggest that she is not only evil, but that she also symbolizes modernity. In the film, the director is making the point that modernity is threatening the traditional ways of the people. The director achieves this by saying that the sorceress had stolen all the men and had eaten them. What this symbolizes is how men would move to modernized cities and disappear. In conclusion the story of Kirikou and the sorceress is an extremely enjoyable animated film. The movie offers a comparison of good and evil by using terrific color and detail. In the film, the differences between modernity and traditional is illustrated by the colorful land where Kirikou lives and the gray land where the sorceress lives. In the end, this in a terrific film that everybody should enjoy due to such a great story but also because the character Kirikou is extremely cute and he is sweet to everybody. This is definitely a film that is not out of the cookie cutter.

In this film, "Kirikou and the Sorceress", the director is not only focusing on the revival and retelling of a famous African hero by the name of Sundiata, but he, like most African storytellers, announces to his audience the true nature and theme of the film. So what is the meaning to the film? The director believes that with modernity comes sacrifices and loss of tradition, which in turn leads to not only detrimental change but culturally damaging affects. Whether through subtilties of music and color or boldness of characterization and storyline, the director uses the story of Kirikou as a background for the viewer to be entertained and captivated while simultaneously able to relate and understand the struggles of such once seemingly inevitable metamorphoses.The movie begins with a small child crawling from his mother's womb asserting his independence while containing the wisdom far superior to that of the village elder and the courage of more than ten warriors. This boy is Kirikou, he is the living embodiment of all that is African bravery and intelligence. Kirikou is a relatable and lovable little boy, he is the force against evil but his small stature condemns him to the underdog role. Every American roots for the underdog, but in Kirikou's case, he is a confident, courageous and fast hero; he is the life of African hope against evil. Kirikou is tradition, he is the purity and innocence of African tradition, therefore, the director uses this main heroic figure as the personification of tradition itself, which rises to any challenge and ultimately prevails against evil.In contrast, the director's motivation for creating the sorceress, Karaba, as a man-eating, "mean and evil" presence is because she is the representation of the evil of modernity. She possesses evil fetishes, which are her lookouts and minions, but each of these evil followers is mechanically operated and functions only as a robot. These mechanized beings are portrayed as evil, therefore there is no doubt that the director believes that modernity is corrupt and in a sense, evil. Karaba herself is also the personification of evil in modern society and machinery because she is a soul-less entity who possesses not even one friend. Just her presence turns trees, shrubs and flowers into dead and dying weeds. With such bold interpretations and opinions, the director's characterization clearly states his view of modernity and how its presence kills all of Africa's cultural traditions as surely as Karaba kills all living plants and beings.Although the director does use obvious portrayals of evil modernity and the goodness of tradition, he also hints at the main theme through subtle musical inflections. While the camera pans in on Kirikou's village the music is soft, almost unnoticeable, calming and soothing. The beats are as beautiful as the pink leaved trees and as elating as the infectious hugging chipmunks in the garden beyond the sorceress' hut. The melodies are uplifting and simply happy while the kids are swimming in the lake and the women and children sing in unison while praising Kirikou. But just beyond the village there is a different sound to be heard. The music turns solemn and black as the sky blends to grays and dark hues. All melodies are lost and ominous feelings overcome the body as the scene focuses on Karaba's perimeter of darkness. With musical changes from happiness to fright, the theme of evil and purity can be witnessed and all the viewer has to do is have a watchful ear.The colors are also an indicator of modernity's evil ways and tradition's healing power. As mentioned briefly before, the colors change as often as the music, therefore indicating the transformation from the dark, gloomy and controlled reign of Karaba to the warm, rich colors of freedom as expressed in the village landscapes and natural forests. Colors seem to be just a significant in the interpretation of the story of Kirikou as the characterization that the director relies on as the literal and easier form of indicators of good and evil.The director does not stop there, however. Although, the director believes that evil describes modernity and that traditions is inherently good, there is another piece to the main theme puzzle. The main question of the movie revolves around why Karaba is so mean and evil, and as the ending reveals, Karaba is mean and evil because she has a thorn embedded in her spine supplying her with evilness and wrong doing. But as Kirikou bites the deeply embedded thorn with his teeth, and removes the painful object, Karaba is cured of her evil and is ultimately saved. By adding the salvation ending, the director believes that there is hope for tradition to thrive and that modernity is not an inevitable evil, but an evil that is deeply good but on the surface, contains an evil face.The story of Kirikou and the evil sorceress is a tale of overcoming adversity and extending hope to those who seem to be as drained of hope as the spring of water, but the story is also more personal than that. With evidence such as characterization, musical and color differences as well as ending plot, the main theme of Kirikou is to hail the significance of tradition and to preserve culture while undergoing moderate changes without dramatic and modern assimilation.