I found out about Michel Ocelot, the French animator, by pure chance. While looking at the Studio Ghibli Wikipeadia entry, I happened to see a section titled “Distrobution,” and there I saw a list of more than a few French films and decided to take a look–see. To my surprise, and delight, Michel Ocelot is an amazing director of animation. If you enjoy animation (especially Russian animation like that of Yuriy Norshteyn) then you won’t want to pass this up!
Kirikou and the Sorceress (2000) is based on the popular African folktale of the same name. Here is a bit of the provided synopsis that came with the DVD:
“African folktales that have been handed down through the generations are the crux of this animated story about a remarkably gifted child, Kirikou, imbued with physical strength, superior intelligence and the ability to talk from an amazingly early age. When an evil sorceress places a curse on the local village, Kirikou finds his talents co—opted by the townsfolk in their desperate attempt to lift the spell.”
I thought about delivering a pretty thorough break—down of the scenes but I think I’ll leave that for another day. It’s such a delight to be surprised by unexpected talent, I think anyone who’s interested should just snag the DVD, pop it in, relax, and enjoy. This film really inspired and uplifted me. Just go see it!