See how this girl views her surroundings at the age of 2 and a half.
In the same month, we have two French animated feature with different drawing styles and young heroines. “Arco” is set in two different kinds of futures with one child from can meeting each other, while “Little Amelie or The Character of Rain” is based on the short novel “The Character of Rain” by Amelie Nothomb and has a Belgium and Japanese ambiance. For now, I review the latter, to clarify, the title girl is a Belgium girl born and raised in Japan. She starts off as a vegetable, transitions into a brat at the age of 2 and a half, and then follows the tropes of curiosity with the guidance of her Japanese nanny Nishio-San.
The time is 1969 after the war. Amelie narrates the film as if she’s supposed to be God, and there’s even a scene when she pulls off a Moses miracle by walking between an ocean. At least it looks like a miracle, until she ends up in danger.
She has two older siblings-one of them has to be the jerky older brother-and loving parents who struggle to understand her. Only her paternal socialite grandmother and her newfound friend Nishio-San can respectively tame the beast in her.
Amelie might even identity herself as Japanese if she learns things from the country’s POV-like what her name means in the language (“Ame” means “rain” in Japanese) and what hardships Nishio-San suffered from in her youth (and that’s told in cooking format).
There are times when I turned my back against “Little Amelie” when the kids have to act all bratty and noisy (I guess the filmmakers were trying to level up to the behaviors of “Lilo and Stitch” or “Turning Red”), but there are also times when I see some beauty in the animation and some heartbreaking moments that guarantee some tears. It all has to do with losses, which we, the audience, find it difficult to acknowledge.
This is an international animated film with lesser known American dub voice actors who are very good, and under the distribution of GKids. I’m not sure the status of kids these days, but it might speak to little ones at a certain level. But from my adult standpoint, I think it might work for older kids and mostly their parents. Other than the restless behaviors, of course.
On a small note, “Little Amelie” is preceded by an Irish animated short film called “Eiru.” It tells the story of three clans-each in reds, greens, and blues-who have been fighting each other up to the point of their water disappearing. The title character Eiru, whose long red hair would make an ideal blanket for her, dreams of being a warrior, much to the ridicule of her people. But at this point, she’s their only hope in finding their water.
This was created by the same animation team behind “Wolfwalkers” and “The Breadwinner,” and their drawing style here is on a smaller scale, but passionate with the shapes and painted with the right colors. This is another one of those world peace short films, and it’s quite essential for any generation.
Now Playing in Select Theaters
