Ernest and Célestine: Winter Fun (2018)

Directed by: Julien Chheng, Jean-Christophe Roger | 48 minutes | animation, family | Dutch voice cast: Simon Zwiers, Noa Zwan

The Belgian Gabrielle Vincent was originally a painter, but at the beginning of the eighties decided to focus on children’s illustrations. She became known for the books about ‘Ernest and Célestine’, in which she sketches the remarkable friendship between a big bear and a small mouse with soft watercolor drawings. The drawings look nostalgic and the stories are lovely. ‘Ernest and Célestine’ earned Vincent, whose real name was Monique Martin, international recognition with numerous awards in France, Italy, Japan and the United States. Until her death in 2000 at the age of 72, Vincent continued to release albums about the bear and the mouse. In 2012, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar (‘Panique au village’, 2009) together with Benjamin Renner (‘Le grand méchant renard’, 2017) made an animation film about Ernest and Célestine, in which they focused on how the two once met. . The three stayed true to Gabrielle Vincent’s watercolor style, which was appreciated, given the many awards (including the Cinekid Award for Best Picture) and nominations (including the Oscar for Best Animated Film and no fewer than six Annie Awards) that the film received. fell to share. The French-language original was given a dubbed English-language version for which major actors such as Forrest Whitaker, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy and Lauren Bacall voiced.

And now there’s ‘Ernest and Célestine: Winter Fun’ (2018), released by Studio La Cachette and directed by Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger. In four short films of about twelve minutes each, we dive into the world of Ernest and Célestine. The stories are all set in winter time, which of course makes the atmosphere a little extra nostalgic. There is no introduction to the characters, we fall directly into the first story in which the big bear Ernest, with the cheerful, determined orphan mouse Célestine, prepares for the mouse ball, the party that celebrates the first snowflakes falling. Everyone is looking forward to it, only the old neighbor fears that the mouse ball is a harbinger of bad times. It’s up to Ernest and Célestine to prove otherwise. In the second story, we discover that Ernest loves to make music. But then he loses a button on his accordion. Célestine is sure that a mysterious mouse has taken the button and decides to show her bravest side and find out where the button has gone. The third film is largely a flashback to the time when Ernest and Célestine had a roommate: the young gosling Bibi. They were there when she came out of the egg, raising her and trying to teach her to fly. Because by the time winter comes, she’ll really have to learn to fly south. Finally, the bears are preparing for hibernation. Célestine wants to bake cookies for Ernest so that he doesn’t have to go to bed on an empty stomach. But Ernest isn’t too concerned; He only sleeps when it gets really cold.

Whether this ‘Ernest and Célestine’ film will also earn an Oscar nomination remains to be seen. Such a collection of short films usually does not qualify. But this four-part series is ideal for the youngest youth. The films look beautiful in their soft pastel tones and seem to have come straight from Gabrielle Vincent’s books. The stories are sweet and well-behaved, to the point of naive. The winter scenes are not exciting, nor are they compelling. But it is absolutely charming and authentic. So especially marvel at the picturesque drawings. ‘Ernest and Célestine: Winter Fun’ is a modest and nice counterbalance to all the busy animation spectacle that we usually get fired at us.