Entertainment One kindly lent us A Monster in Paris to review recently. I only managed to watch it today myself as the kids stole it and took it off to their new domain- their playroom- and I didn’t see it again for almost a fortnight. Hopefully Universal won’t mind the excessive number of grubby little finger prints on the back of the disc, it has been man boy-handled in and out of the blu-ray player rather a lot.
It’s a film that’s slipped under the radar a bit but is nevertheless quietly brilliant, not least because the musical numbers are so good, normally something only reserved for comment about a Disney animated film. A Monster in Paris is actually made by the French, so it has an authentic air about it. There’s definitely a Gaelic way of doing things, animation included, so it avoids a lot of the clichés that would have been all too easy to fall into had the film been made in the USA.
The plot itself is fairly standard…for a French film. Zany for the rest of us then (yes, I am a fan of French cinema, and the memory of the chap in Taxi 2 shouting Nippon repeatedly at the top of his lungs stays with me to this day). Fortunately it features this seasons must have accessory, a bonkers pet monkey. Hurrah! The titular monster is called Franc, and is created when a mixture of potions are spilt on a flea. He has a gentle soul and a love of music but people judge him on appearance, which leads to all sorts of problems and poses the thoughtful question (for a kids film anyway) about who really is the monster?
A Monster in Paris is a U certificate, and it’s not full of wisecracking sass that might make it unsuitable for small children. Encourage them to watch past the first minute or so of mock silent movie black & white and they’ll love it. As will you.
A Monster is Paris is available to buy now because the kids kidnapped the DVD past release date. Whoops.