02/10/2012 - Michel Ocelot has unveiled the third instalment in the adventures of his young “not big, but brave” animated hero

“Courage, cleverness, generosity, solidarity.” “Observe, learn, imagine.” Through the young African character of Kirikou, talented animation filmmaker Michel Ocelot gently transmits priceless values to his young audiences, and resolutely -- but not naively -- turns his back on the violence and futuristic atmospheres of so many (too many) other cinematic and audiovisual productions for youth. Following Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998 - 1.6 million admissions in France) and Kirikou and the Wild Beasts [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2005 – 2 million admissions in France), tomorrow, Wednesday, Kirikou et les hommes et les femmes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (lit. “Kirikou and men and women”), is to be released in French cinemas by StudioCanal on about 600 copies.

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Produced by Les Armateurs (Didier Brunner) on a budget of €6.92m notably from co-productions by France 3 Cinéma, Mac Guff Ligne, and Studio O, as well as pre-acquisitions by Canal+ and Ciné+, the film comprises several adventures that provide occasions to build bridges between generations and races, solve conflicts and challenges thanks to its hero’s spirit of initiative, and transmit wisdom through symbolical tales or even music. Michel Ocelot brings his perfected, luminous knowledge of film animation to this art of storytelling, and rejects the flashy and the noisy in order to better concentrate on the essence of his message (“It all started with a blade of grass”, “To touch everyone”), a message that resonates as much with his young audience as it does with the accompanying adults.

(Translated from French)