Kirikou and the Sorceress

Kirikou and the Sorceress
Original French film poster
Directed by Michel Ocelot
Produced by Didier Brunner
Written by Michel Ocelot
Starring Doudou Gueye Thiaw
Maimouna N'Diaye
Awa Sène Sarr[1]
Music by Youssou N'Dour
Edited by Dominique Lefevre[1]
Production
company
France 3 Cinéma
Les Armateurs
Monipoly Productions
Odec Kid Cartoons
Rija Studio
Studio O
Trans Europe Film
Distributed by Gébéka Films
Release date
  • 9 December 1998 (1998-12-09)
Running time
 71 minutes[2]
Country France
Belgium
Luxembourg[2]
Language French
Budget 3,800,000 €[3]

Kirikou and the Sorceress (French: Kirikou et la Sorcière) is a 1998 traditional animation feature film written and directed by Michel Ocelot. Drawn from elements of West African folk tales,[4] it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba. The film was originally released on December 9, 1998.[5] It is a co-production between companies in France (Exposure, France 3 Cinema, Les Armateurs, Monipoly, Odec Kid Cartoons), Belgium (Radio-Télévision belge) and Luxembourg (Studio O, Trans Europe Film) and animated at Rija Films' studio in Latvia and Studio Exist in Hungary.[1][5]

It was so successful that it was followed by Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages, released in 2005, and adapted into a stage musical, Kirikou et Karaba, first performed in 2007.[6] Another followup, Kirikou et les hommes et les femmes, was released in late 2012.[7]

Plot

In a little village somewhere in West Africa, a boy named Kirikou is born in a spectacular way. But he's not a normal boy, since he can speak and walk immediately after being born. He is also very determined. His mother tells him that an evil sorceress has dried up their spring and devoured all the males of the village except for one. Hence the tiny Kirikou decides to accompany the last warrior, his uncle, to visit the sorceress. Kirikou tricks the sorceress and saves his uncle, by waiting inside his uncle's hat, and pretending that it was magic. He saved the children from being kidnapped by the sorceress' boat, which sped off towards Karaba, and saved them later again from the sorceress' tree, which closed it branches around the children, and once again sped off towards Karaba. Next, he bursts the monster who was drinking all the village's water. He then travels to ask his wise old grandfather about the sorceress, and faces many obstacles in the process. The grandfather finds that Kirikou is always asking questions, which is a good thing. The grandfather tells him that she is evil because she suffers: bad men put a poisoned thorn in her back. On the way to Karaba, Kirikou makes friends, who each in turn, give him presents, after he saves them from the skunk. Kirikou manages to trick the sorceress and removes the thorn, he also manages to take the gold, and return it to the rightful owners. The sorceress is cured. She kisses Kirikou and he becomes an adult. Love reigns. When they arrive back at the village, no one believes that the sorceress is cured, and only do they believe Kirikou when a procession of drummers arrive. It turns out Karaba did not eat the men, just turned them into watchmen, and other obedient objects.

Cast

French voice cast

  • Doudou Gueye Thiaw: Child Kirikou
  • Awa Sene Sarr: Karaba
  • Maimouna N'Diaye: Kirikou's mother
  • Robert Liensol: Kirikou's grandfather
  • William Nadylam: Adult Kirikou
  • Sébastien Hébrant: Adult Kirikou
  • Rémi Bichet: Adult Kirikou
  • Thilombo Lubambu: Kirikou's uncle
  • Marie Augustine Diatta: the force woman
  • Moustafa Diop: the fetish on the roof
  • Isseu Niang: the small woman
  • Selly Raby Kane: Zoé, the big girl
  • Erick Patrick Correa: Boris, the big boy
  • Adjoua Barry: Boulette, a girl
  • Charles Edouard Gomis Correa: a boy
  • Marie-Louise Shedeye Diiddi: the little girl
  • Abdoulayé Diop Yama: the old person
  • Josephine Theodora M'Boup: a woman
  • Tabata N'Diaye: the old woman
  • Samba Wane: fetish talked
  • Aminatha N'Diaye: a mother
  • François Chicaïa: man of the village
  • N'Deyé Aïta N'Diaye: woman of the village
  • Abdou El Aziz Gueye: man of the village
  • Boury Kandé: woman of the village
  • Assy Dieng Bâ: Karaba's scream
  • Michel Elias: animals sounds

English voice cast

  • Theodore Sibusiso Sibeko: Kirikou
  • Antoinette Kellermann: Karaba
  • Fezile Mpela: Uncle
  • Kombisile Sangweni: The Mother
  • Mabutho Kid Sithole: The Old Man

Swahili voice cast

  • Samson Komeka: Kirikou

Japanese voice cast

Production

The film is a co-production of Les Armateurs, Trans Europe Film, Studio O, France 3 cinéma, RTBF and Exposure in France, Odec Kid Cartoons in Belgium and Monipoly in Luxembourg.[1] It was animated at Rija Films' animation studio in Latvia and Studio Exist in Hungary, with backgrounds painted at Les Armateurs and Paul Thiltges' animation studio, Tiramisu, in Luxembourg, digital ink and paint and compositing by Les Armateurs and Odec Kid Cartoons in Belgium and voices and music recorded in Senegal.[8]

The original French voice acting was performed by a cast of West African actors and schoolchildren and recorded in Dakar. The English dubbing, also directed by Ocelot, was made in South Africa.[3] A dub of the film in the Swahili language was produced in Tanzania in 2009 through the help of the Danish Film Institute (DFI) and John Riber of Media for Development in Dar es Salaam.[9]

Themes

Nudity

The film contains several instances of female nudity, and male nudity to a lesser extent, as would be the norm due to the body not being as sexualised as it is in western culture. This was controversial enough in the US to delay the film's release there until 2002.

Release

The film has been licensed by distributors in numerous countries, including:

Accolades

YearAward ShowAwardCategoryResult
1999Annecy International Animation Film FestivalGrand PrixBest Animation FilmWon
1999Castellinaria International Festival of Young CinemaEnvironment and Health AwardWon
1999Castellinaria International Festival of Young CinemaSilver CastleWon
1999Chicago International Children's Film FestivalAdult's Jury AwardFeature Film and Video – AnimationWon
1999Chicago International Children's Film FestivalChildren's Jury AwardFeature Film and Video – AnimationWon
1999Cinekid FestivalCinekid Film AwardWon
1999Kecskemét Animation Film FestivalKecskemét City PrizeKAFF AwardWon[10]
1999Oulu International Children's Film FestivalC.I.F.E.J. AwardWon
1999Oulu International Children's Film FestivalStarboy AwardNominated
200018th Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film FestivalSilver Poznan GoatsBest Animation FilmWon
200018th Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film FestivalPoznan GoatsBest Original Script in Foreign MovieWon
200018th Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film FestivalMarcinek - Children's Jury Special MentionAnimation for Older ChildrenWon
2000Cartagena Film FestivalPrize of the Children's Cinema Competition JuryBest Feature Film for ChildrenWon
2000Montréal International Children's Film FestivalSpecial Jury PrizeFeature FilmWon
2002British Animation AwardsBritish Animation AwardBest European Feature FilmWon (tied with Chicken Run)
2009Lola Kenya Children's ScreenAudience's Choice AwardWon

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ocelot, Michel (2003-12-05). "Des noms". Tout sur Kirikou (in French). Paris: Seuil. pp. 172–173. ISBN 2-02-062827-9.
  2. 1 2 "Kirikou et la sorcière". Les Armateurs. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  3. 1 2 Ocelot, Michel (2003-12-05). Tout sur Kirikou (in French). Paris: Seuil. pp. 40, 13. ISBN 2-02-062827-9.
  4. ↑ Lugt, Peter van der (2008-08-25). "This is animation". GhibliWorld.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  5. 1 2 "Kirikou Et La Sorciere (Kirikou And The Sorceress)". www.bcdb.com, October 13, 2012
  6. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (2007-06-21). "Animated film Kirikou and the Sorceress to become stage musical". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  7. ↑ "En cours". Les Armateurs. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Closing credits of the film.
  9. ↑ Alexander Macbeth (21 September 2009). "The cast of the English version of the film.Film: Zanzibar's Festival shows the way forward". The Africa Report.
  10. ↑ 5. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 2. Nemzetközi Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál. Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1999.

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