First animated feature film by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, who have been working in the field for a long time, this Little Nicholas is a nugget. Jean-Jacques Sempé, who died last August, co-author of the character with Goscinny, saw the film before his death and said he was overjoyed. We agree with him.
The good idea of the film is to tell the birth of Little Nicolas by those who created him: the designer and the scriptwriter. Its conception, the vision they have of it, punctuate the film with a myriad of stories inspired by their own childhood whispered to their little schoolboy. They feed him with facetious adventures, with finesse in the graphics and a deliciously poetic humor.
The facetious little boy slides on the shoulders of his pygmalions, hops on the keys of a typewriter, walks on the white sheet, laughs in their ears. His father, his mother, his friends, Alceste, Rufus, Agnan, Clotaire… joke, bicker, in delicate watercolors floating on the screen, frameless, evoking in a magnificent way the “boxes” of Sempé.
Located in Paris in 1955, date of the first publication of the Little Nicholas, we cross the capital, from Montmartre to the Luxembourg Gardens passing by the monuments of the capital, but especially its streets, whose design captures all the atmospheres. The charm operates and the dubbing actors Alain Chabat (Goscinny), Laurent Lafitte (Sempé) and the young Simon Faliu (Nicolas) give it their all.
Like comic strips (a term that Sempé did not like, preferring press cartoonist), this Little Nicholas goes beyond simple adaptation, it exudes love for the character and their creators. The “hand-made” rather than digital production technique sticks to Sempé’s universe and the dialogues reflect the facetious Goscinny (to which his daughter contributed). Superlatives suit them, as well as their Little Nicolas: handsome, fun and family friendly.
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Gender : animation
Producer and Producer: Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre
Actors (voice): Alain Chabat, Laurent Lafitte, Simon Faliu
Country : France
Duration : 1h22
Exit : October 12, 2022
Distributer : Film Tray
Summary: Leaning over a large white sheet somewhere between Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny give life to a laughing and mischievous little boy, Little Nicolas. Between camaraderie, arguments, fights, games, nonsense, and punishments galore, Nicolas lives a childhood full of joys and learning. As the story progresses, the boy slips into the workshop of his creators, and challenges them with humor. Sempé and Goscinny will tell him about their meeting, their friendship, but also their journeys, their secrets and their childhood.