Kirikou and the Sorceress

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 9 December 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]

"Kirikou" redirects here. For the video game based on the film, see Kirikou (video game).

Kirikou and the Sorceress
Original French film poster
Directed byMichel Ocelot
Produced byDidier Brunner
Written byMichel Ocelot
StarringDoudou Gueye Thiaw
Maimouna N'Diaye
Awa Sène Sarr[1]
Music byYoussou N'Dour
Edited byDominique Lefevre[1]
Production
company
France 3 Cinéma
Les Armateurs
Monipoly Productions
Odec Kid Cartoons
Rija Studio
Studio O
Trans Europe Film
Distributed byGébéka Films
Release date
  • 9 December 1998 (1998-12-09)
Running time
71 minutes[2]
CountryFrance
Belgium
Luxembourg[2]
LanguageFrench
Budget3,800,000 €[3]

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 West African village, a precocious little boy named Kirikou is born in an unusual way. Since he can speak and walk immediately after being born, it's immediately apparent that he's not a normal baby. After Kirikou's mother tells him that an evil sorceress, Karaba, has dried up their spring and devoured all the males of the village except for one, he decides to accompany the last warrior, his uncle, to visit her. Kirikou manages to trick the sorceress and save his uncle by waiting inside his uncle's hat and pretending that it's magic. Additionally, he saves the village's children from being kidnapped both by the sorceress's boat and tree, and bursts the monster who was drinking all the village's water, gaining trust and stature in the eyes of the villagers who were at first skeptical of Kirikou. With the help of his mother and various animals, Kirikou then evades Karaba's watchman to travel into the forbidden mountain to ask his wise old grandfather about the sorceress, who tells him that she is evil because she suffers from a poisoned thorn in her back, which causes her great pain and also gives her great power. After learning this, Kirikou manages to take the sorceress's stolen gold, thus luring her outside to where he can trick her and extract the poisoned thorn. As a result, the sorceress is cured of her suffering, and she kisses Kirikou, who then becomes an adult. When Kirikou and Karaba arrive back at the village, no one believes that the sorceress is cured until a procession of drummers arrive with Kirikou's grandfather. The drummers turn out to be the sorceress's watchmen and henchmen restored to their original human form, the missing men of the village, whom she hadn't eaten after all.

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: animal 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]

Controversy

The film contains many instances of nudity that reflect the less sexualized view of the human body in the West African culture depicted. This was controversial enough in the U.S. and the U.K. to prevent its release.[10][11][12] Eventually, the British Film Institute gave the film a few screenings in the U.K., and in the U.S. specialist distributor Artmattan released it to a small but appreciative African-American audience.[10][12]

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[13]
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. Ocelot, Michel (5 December 2003). "Des noms". Tout sur Kirikou (in French). Paris: Seuil. pp. 172–173. ISBN 2-02-062827-9.
  2. "Kirikou et la sorcière". Les Armateurs. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  3. Ocelot, Michel (5 December 2003). Tout sur Kirikou (in French). Paris: Seuil. pp. 40, 13. ISBN 2-02-062827-9.
  4. Lugt, Peter van der (25 August 2008). "This is animation". GhibliWorld.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  5. "Kirikou Et La Sorciere (Kirikou And The Sorceress)". www.bcdb.com, 13 October 2012
  6. Hetrick, Adam (21 June 2007). "Animated film Kirikou and the Sorceress to become stage musical". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  7. "En cours". Les Armateurs. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. 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. James, Alison (25 December 2005). "Some nix 'Kirikou' pix due to nudity". Variety. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  11. "Animated 'Kirikou and the Sorceress' Transitions to Stage Musical". Animation World Network. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  12. "The Film Canon: Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)". The Young Folks. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  13. 5. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 2. Nemzetközi Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál. Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1999.
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