France asleep in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon VI, where scientists vanish mysteriously, a girl, Avril, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.
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Reviews
Avril and the Extraordinary World is a nice French animated film set in an alternative past that diverts from real historical events starting from 1870. The result is a steam-punk world, dependent on coal first, on tree logging then, a world in constant war and where scientists are used as weapons.The film has a great start and even the initial credits are beautifully presented. The mood is excellent, and the world depicted is wonderfully imaginative. Although this is mostly a fun and adventure story, there are some interesting environmental messages embedded in the story, as well as a light reflection on the role of science and scientists in Society. The character of Darwin, the talking cat, is utterly charming. The backgrounds are stunning as well as some of the machinery depicted. I found the second half of the movie really engaging, entertaining and with a cohesive story, witty and fun, and the ending was also lovely.Having said that, this was a disappointing film for me, certainly not what I expected beforehand especially taking into account the raving reviews. There are many reasons for that. 1/ The story needed of better characters. I found Inspector Pizoni unnecessary for most of the film, and too much of a stereotype to be of any interest. Most of the main characters, Avril included, are totally unlikable, frigid emotionally and I couldn't care less about them. 2/ The story needed of a better tempo. The first half of the film is painfully slow and unfocused, and I found myself bored as it seemed to be leading nowhere. However, the film leads somewhere, it is just that part of the film was wandering around unnecessarily. 3/ The story needed of a bit of more humour and fun. At times seems to take itself too seriously! 4/ The movement was chunky some times, very good at some others; the lighting and chiaroscuro were almost non-existent, and the characters were not polished visually. The film was a bit flat visually to me.The film is enjoyable overall, but it didn't do it for me.
Had great anticipation, after reading a write-up on a local paper, and made special plans to clear one evening to go to the local theater and see this. While the drawings depicting the city of Paris in imaginary time extensions were beautiful, the action sequences seemed dull. The story too was a bit outmoded, seemed to steeped into traditional storytelling of graphic novels of four decades ago. And the character of Inspector Pizoni was just a inherited old baggage from Tintin's Dupont and Dupont. Not funny anymore. Also, in a Europe that is more and more intertwined with different cultural streams, this plot was entirely Franco-centric, with nostalgic references to an imperial France that stubbornly still hinges of some people's minds. Get over it. It's over. There is so much "new", so why keep on bringing back the "old" ? At the end, left the theater somewhat disappointed.
The steam punk alternate universe is the most interesting thing about this film. However, I'm not sure if it will appeal to adults who are not steam punk fans. The storyline with its lizard men, talking cat, and house that can both walk and swim (not a typo!) is reminiscent of what you would see in a children's cartoon on TV. I would have liked it better if the film had omitted these types of fantasy elements and stuck to science fiction elements such as the steam powered automobile and cable car. The talking cat provides some comic relief, but not as much as I expected from the trailer. As another reviewer mentioned, the animation is similar to Miyazaki. The people aren't drawn with much detail. The color palette is mostly shades of gray and rust...too much of those colors for my taste.
Avril's Extraordinary world is an alternative time line in which Napoleon V rules France and the scientist that help built the foundations of technology are missing, forcing the world into a steam punk setting, and Avril a young scientist herself has the key to our future. It's animated quite beautifully. I'm a huge fan of steam punk and I love seeing the design all over the movie. I also like the style of 3D animation blended with computer generated images. It's always a welcome change to see this other than the world we live in right now that is dominated by 3D animation. It was a great adventure film, filed with character and characters that were smart and funny, and accessible to everyone.Good watch.
