EuropaCorp, 2011
Voices of Adam Goldberg, Vanessa Paradis, Danny Huston, and Sean Lennon
Directed by Bibo Bergeron
Music and Lyrics by various
We're taking another Valentine's Day trip to romantic Paris, this time in animation. This time, we're staying in the city and jumping back twenty years or so to January 1910. How does this unique French fairy tale look on this side of the Atlantic? Let's go to the movies with projectionist Emile Petit (Jay Harrington) and find out...
The Story: In January 1910, torrential rains overflowed the banks of the Seine River, causing catastrophic flooding in Paris. Emile is more interested in his camera and Maud (Madeline Zima), the ticket taker at the movie theater. His best friend is Raoul (Goldberg), who drives a van he calls "Caroline" that runs on sunflower oil. One evening, Raoul, and Emile bring a deliver to the Professor at the Paris Botanical Gardens. Raoul discovers one mixture that gives the Professor's monkey Charles the voice of an opera singer, and a less stable compound that makes a sunflower grow ten times its size. The sunflower falls over, causing the chemicals to fall and explode. Emile sees a huge creature escape in the destruction.
Singer Lucille (Paradis) discovers the creature out back behind The Rare Bird cabaret where she's the star attraction. Turns out it's a flea that grew to massive size in the blast, along with picking up a beautiful singing voice. She dresses it and brings it onstage, where it's an instant success. Trouble is, its picture was in the papers after the explosion. Police Commissioner Victor Maynott (Huston) is determined to bring this "monster" to justice...but as Lucille points out, the flea isn't the only monster on the soggy streets of Paris.
The Animation: I love the historical details here. They get a lot of things right, from the women's tight dresses to the men's derby hats and Emile's cameras. Even the flea looks fairly accurate to real life. It's not cute, and it's not meant to be. It's actually pretty scary-looking, until it gets onstage with Lucille, where the jagged lines are more elegant than frightening.
The Song and Dance: A charming French confection with a few dark points and an interesting story. I'm especially fond of the setting here. I have to admit, I'd never heard of the damaging Paris floods in 1910 until I saw this film. It makes a unique setting for this sweet story. Though Wikipedia says it's based on The Phantom of the Opera, it has a lot more in common with another French "lady and monster" tale, "Beauty and the Beast." Huston in particular is having a great time as the dastardly villain.
Favorite Number: We're introduced to Lucille and her angel routine at The Rare Bird in the lovely "La Seine and I." She and Lennon reprise the number to even greater effect when the flea finally gets onstage...and the two stop the show cold. "Papa Paris" is the cute little number with the parasol and the band Paradis performs at the opening of the Montmartre Funicular (a trolley that takes people up and down a steep hill), just before Maynott announces he's running for Mayor.
Trivia: Which actually would have been impossible in 1910. The office of Mayor of Paris was abolished in 1871 and wouldn't exist again until 1977.
Vanessa Paradis played Lucille in the French and English versions.
What I Don't Like: It's occasionally pretty obvious this had a lower budget than your average Disney or Dreamworks movie, especially in the iffy water effects when the sunflower's bursting out. For all the unique setting, the story is a strange blend of the cliched (the two human romances, the villain chasing the monster who turns out to have less-than-wonderful motives) and the truly bizarre (the giant sunflowers and a giant flea singing onstage).
The Big Finale: If you have older kids who love historical action tales or are looking for a unique romance, this odd animated fantasy is worth swimming the flooded Seine for at least once.
Home Media: Out of print on DVD. Streaming is likely your best bet on this side of the Atlantic. Pluto TV currently has it for free.
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