Director: Michel Ocelot
Release date: June 11, 2018
Rating: ★★★
Review:

Michel Ocelot belongs to the great author-directors of animated feature films, bringing us such gems as ‘Kirikou et la Sorcière’ (1998), ‘Azur & Asmar’ (2006) and ‘Les Contes de la nuit’ (2011). But somehow, his latest movie, ‘Dilili à Paris’ from 2018 has escaped international attention.

The most obvious reason for this is that ‘Dilili à Paris’ is first and foremost an ode to Paris of 1900-1901*. It’s thus an utterly French film, simply crowded by famous people, many of which actively play a role in the story. I counted 26 painters, actors, dancers, authors, composers, and scientists, not counting a multitude of more in the background. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that film is a nationalistic one, for Ocelot includes a lot of foreigners in his pantheon of greats, e.g. Polish scientist Marie Curie, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, Venezuelan composer Reynaldo Hahn, future British king Edward VII and Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.

In fact, by centering the film on these great minds in science and art, the film is also an ode to the fantasy and free thought of people. At the same time, the film is a firm statement against narrowmindedness, xenophobia, and oppression. Which brings us to the third theme of the film, which is a strong feminist one. In fact, apart from Dilili’s friend, the Parisian boy Orel, all main players are women, including soprano Emma Calvé (voiced by Natalie Dessay), stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, the aforementioned Marie Curie, and the feminist Louise Michel. Together with these women and many of the other famed people, Dilili and Orel unravel a secret plot in which the mysterious ‘male-masters’ kidnap little girls. Their anti-feminist scheme turns out to be one of nightmarish proportions. It’s clear that to Ocelot one should not underestimate, let alone oppress any human being, whether based on age, sex, color, nationality or whatever. A message that cannot be reinstated enough.

Dilili herself is an original heroine, a tiny Kanak girl from New Caledonia, who speaks French fluently, but who’s only brought to Paris to reenact her lifestyle in the jungle at the Exposition Universelle, a world exhibition that run from April 14 to November 12, 1900. When touring through Paris Dilili is dressed like a prize doll, and she also provides the film running gag, because to every person she meets she repeats the utterly polite sentence of ‘je suis heureuse de vous rencontrer’ (I am delighted to meet you). Of course, she experiences racism during her Parisian journeys, but this is not the film’s main theme.

Paris meanwhile comes to life in the extremely intricate background art, which is clearly based on photo material of contemporary Paris. The computer animation unfortunately is less impressive, and at times downright stiff. Especially Orel is poorly animated. When he makes friends with Dilili his moves and facial expressions are so terribly rigid, it doesn’t transcend puppet theater. The ending, too, leaves much to be desired, as the film’s finale is partly told during the end titles.

In the end the film is a little bit too crowded by famous people and certainly too poorly animated to be a masterpiece, but the mystery plot is a fine one, and the film’s message an important one. Above all ‘Dilili à Paris’ is a fine children’s film that deserves to be seen at least once.

Watch the trailer for ‘Dilili à Paris’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Dilili à Paris’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

* In fact, we can date the time period of the film pretty well, as Pablo Picasso first set foot in Paris in September 1900, and Edward VII became king on January 22, 1901, thus the events must be placed between September 1900 and January 1901.