7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Deep below snowy, cobblestone streets, tucked away in networks of winding tunnels, lives a tiny mouse named Celestine. Unlike her fellow mice, Celestine is an artist and a dreamer, and has a hard time fitting in. When she nearly ends up as breakfast for a grumpy bear named Ernest, the two become fast friends and embark on an adventure that will put a smile on your face and make your heart glow.
Starring: Pauline Brunner, Anne-Marie Loop, Lambert Wilson, Patrice Melennec, Brigitte VirtudesForeign | 100% |
Animation | 84% |
Family | 52% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Is there any stranger character from folklore, at least folklore that is intrinsically part of childhood, than the Tooth Fairy? Think about it—Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, even scary characters like the Boogie Man may indeed be fanciful in their own distinctive ways, but the Tooth Fairy isn’t just a weird conception to begin with, she performs a resolutely bizarre function, sneaking into kids’ rooms in the dead of night, purloining their teeth from under their pillows and leaving money in the place of a bicuspid or two. My wife jokes that the Tooth Fairy seems to be the product of a union between Tinkerbell and Sonny Corleone, a winged sprite who traffics in human body parts, but there are longstanding traditions in many cultures around the globe that deal with that rite of passage known as losing a baby tooth. Some cultures thought that these teeth should be burned in order to ensure a happy life (or even afterlife) for the kids who lost them, while other cultures utilized a number of riffs on what became the more or less standard Tooth Fairy premise. Still in whatever form the Tooth Fairy story takes, it’s a decidedly odd remnant of some almost atavistic urge on humankind’s part to account for this kind of frightening occurrence of having part of one’s body detach itself (Freudians have long associated dreams of dental problems with intimations of mortality). Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent wandered into this fray with her celebrated series of children’s outings which offered a tiny mouse named Celestine who, along with all her rodent kin, is tasked with trekking above ground to a world populated only by bears to snatch baby bear teeth from under pillows. It’s an obviously whimsical take on the whole Tooth Fairy premise, and the dental angle is in fact kind of tangential to the story’s real focus on the meaning of friendship in the face of manifest fear and prejudice, but it adds an oddly endearing aspect to a gently moving tale.
Ernest & Celestine is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm and G Kids with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Anyone coming to this feature expecting some sort of knock your socks off CGI laden visual feast a la Pixar is probably going to be disappointed, for the film exploits a much more minimalistic, hand drawn ambience that seeks to evoke the original illustration style of the book series. This is therefore more of a moving watercolor than anything, with backgrounds that tend to blanch out into pure white and without much in the way of bright, popping colors to really pull in the eye. Instead, Ernest & Celestine offers a largely neutral toned palette that tends to favor beiges, browns and rather pale pastels quite a bit of the time. The animation style even eschews traditional features like heavy, precise line detail. With all of that said, the high definition presentation here is quite splendid, with a problem free image that accurately reproduces the often gauzily soft look of the film. Colors, while frankly never very vivid, look accurate and are decently saturated. The "look" of this film is quite unique and this high definition presentation supports it quite well, with good contrast and a lack of compression artifacts.
Both the original French language track as well as an English dub are presented via lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Much like the video component, the soundtrack here might seem a bit underwhelming at time, but it provides some subtle and nuanced immersion, especially with regard to things like the hustle and bustle of the mouse "city" in the underground sewers. The charming score also wafts through the surrounds quite nicely and dialogue and effects are cleanly presented. Dynamic range is rather limited on this release but does not distract from the appealing nature of either track.
Ernest & Celestine is in many ways the antithesis of the flashy (and usually noisy) animated fare that American audiences are more used to seeing. This is a deliberately intimate, small scale production that emphasizes character over any in your face dramatics or other outrageousness. As such, it may seem almost too gentle to really have much impact, but for those with an open heart, the film is incredibly ingratiating and sweet natured. The animation style here is also "quiet" in its own way, far removed from the ostentatious approaches that have been the norm since the dawn of the CGI age, but this also is one of Ernest & Celestine's most alluring aspects. Admittedly teens (and maybe even younger adolescents) may find the film "lame", but innocent younger viewers and even cynical older viewers attempting to reclaim some of their own innocence will love this small film with a very big heart. Highly recommended.
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