Kerity, the secret of Eléonore – Kerity, la maison des contes (2009)

Directed by: Dominique Monfery | 80 minutes | animation, adventure, family, fantasy | Dutch voice cast: Louis van Beek, Hein van Beem, David Cantens, Joost Claes, Lucas Dietens, Jeanine Geerts, Annelies Groeneveld-Keymeulen, Nathalie Haneveld, Sander de Heer, Lottie Hellingman, Dioni Jurado, Ine Kuhr, Lizemijn Libgott, Christa Lips, Marleen Maes, Nine Meijer, Leo Richardson, Daan van Rijssel, Wim van Rooij, Marlies Somers, Jaap Strijker, Timo Verbeek, Rob Verheijen

Reading is one of the most magical things a person can do. A reader can create a whole world in his imagination. Whether an author describes extensively what characters in his book look like and the environment in which the story takes place: the reader is ultimately in charge and determines in his head what the appearance is. Young children who are read to a lot have an advantage: it enriches their imagination. Nathaniel, the seven-year-old protagonist in the wonderful animated film ‘Kerity, Eléonore’s secret’, is such a happy child: every summer he thoroughly enjoyed the fairy tales that his Aunt Eleonore read to him. Now that she has passed away, he has to do without these reading sessions and that is hard for him. The house his parents inherited from aunt so that they can spend the summers on the coast feels empty without her presence. Nathaniel himself cannot read yet. “I do know all the letters of the alphabet!” he says angrily to his sister Angelica, when she teases him again with this inability.

Eleonore, who is almost a hundred years old, was very fond of Angelica and Nathaniel and leaves them both with something. Angelica gets a beautiful porcelain doll and Nathaniel gets the key to the secret room. “Someday you’ll find out what’s in that room,” he can still hear her say. But that’s disappointing: the mysterious room is a library! Nathaniel goes to sleep disappointed and that night a falling tree branch damages the roof of the beach house due to a storm. Because Nathaniel’s parents can’t afford these unforeseen repair costs, they doubt they can keep the house. Because the little boy wants the beach house to remain in their possession at all costs, he offers his parents to sell the books from the library to the shady merchant who came to take a look almost immediately after their arrival at the house. But Nathaniel does not know at that moment that something is actually required of him: the fairytale characters from Aunt Eleonore’s books can come to life and leave their books! If Nathaniel doesn’t read the magic spell from the library before noon, and thus proves to be a worthy successor to Aunt Eleonore, the fairytale characters disappear for good! An additional complication is that the evil fairy turns Nathaniel as small as the fairytale characters and the books from the library are moved to the warehouse of the untrustworthy seller…

‘Kerity, the secret of Eléonore’ is an incredibly beautifully designed animation film. It is a picture book that has come to life, which is not surprising when you consider that one of France’s best-known (children’s) book illustrators Rebecca Dautremer is responsible for the beautiful 2D drawings. Thanks to a clever film technique, director Dominique Monféry is able to make the most of the effect of Dautremer’s detailed drawings. The figures are very charming and the warm colors are a feast for the eyes. Especially as an adult who will recognize all fairytale characters (probably unlike the youngest viewers) it is a joy to see little Nathaniel grow in his task.

The fact that the story, stripped of all specifications, is nothing more than a simple mission, in which the main character has to carry out an assignment after overcoming some obstacles, does not detract from the quality of this animated adventure. There is enough momentum, it is compelling (for children under the age of seven or eight, perhaps a little too exciting at times) and the film breathes fantasy. There is a good chance that the makers used to be read a lot…