I like a movie that is audacious
enough to completely let its imagination run wild, and “April and
the Extraordinary World” is such a movie. This French, animated
movie, based on a graphic novel by Jacques Tardi, imagines an
alternate history where the Franco-Prussian war doesn't happen, and
neither do WWI and WWII. Sounds great, but there's also this
situation where the scientists of the world have been disappearing,
and without the advances they would have brought, Europe is stuck in
the steam age, burning up first its coal, then its trees, for energy.
Meanwhile, the Franklins, a
multi-generational family of scientists, are working on an
invulnerability serum. They work in secret, because the French
Empire is conscripting scientists to build weapons for the coming
energy war. Thus far, all they have done is create a talking cat
named Darwin, but they feel they have finally perfected their serum.
Then the law busts in, led by the bumbling Inspector Pizoni.
Grandfather “Pops” escapes, while Paul and Annette either
disappear or die, leaving their daughter Avril (voiced by Marion
Cotillard) to fend for herself. Avril ekes out a living on the
streets of Paris while trying to continue her parents' work, until
the mystery of the disappearing scientists catches up to her.
The film never explores the question
of why the Franklins continue working on this invulnerability serum,
which any thinking person must realize is a dangerous idea. One
wonders why they don't work on an alternative energy source for their
smog-choked society. Still, this is a movie for kids, and it is
action-packed enough that they aren't likely to question its premise.
The Japanese seem to get all the
animation cred, but for my money some of the best non-Pixar, animated
films these days come out of France. Consider “The Triplets of
Belleville” (2003), "A Cat In Paris" (2010), “Ernest and Celestine” (2012), and my personal
favorite, "A Town Called Panic" (2010). I wouldn't quite put “April and the Extraordinary World”
in the same class with those films. It's feels more kid-oriented.
It's a decent film, though, better than most of what you could watch
with your kid.
3 stars out of 5
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