By Kyle Flynn

Every year, terrific animated films come out of the mid-year film festivals. The Cannes and Annecy Film Festivals, just these past two years, premiered to the world, enriching animated films like Robot Dreams and Flow. The feature film debut for the filmmaking duo Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang is no different. I enjoyed Little Amélie. 

The film follows a two-and-a-half-year-old named Amélie, the inner workings of her mind, and the questions often encountered by children. The most important aspect of the story is Amélie’s relationship with the housekeeper Nishio-san, and on a broader scale, her entire family, which includes her two parents, her two siblings, and her grandmother. In a way, the film feels almost surreal with its strong impressionistic visual style; hearing that it was adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel only drew me closer to appreciating the work done by the filmmakers and animators. 

The animation is stunning; each frame of this movie could be framed on my wall. The pastel colors pop on the screen, and the movement of the characters or even the water feels fluid and real. It feels baked in with love and passion, and accomplished to such a degree for a debut film. 

This is all to say, I felt a sense of escapism watching Amélie traverse and understand the world. The film’s visual tone and voiceover of Amélie (Loïse Charpentier) only help capture that feeling. As the story progresses, witnessing the growth of Amélie only hits harder. A pivotal scene of the film takes place at the Obon Festival, where Nishio-san takes her after Amélie requests to see a carp. This scene reveals a lot about Amelie and leans heavily into the curiosity that has been explored thus far. Still, at this point, the filmmakers’ intentions with Nishio-san’s place in the story begin to take shape. Her character feels so fully fleshed out and compelling that I couldn’t help but be invested in the narrative. 

The voice acting was accomplished to varying degrees, but all the performances do resonate when the emotions of the story rise. The standout for me would be the title character of  Amélie, voiced by Loïse Charpentier. Isaac Schoumsky, who plays the older brother Andre, and Victoria Grobois, who plays Nishio-san, also do excellent work with their performances. 

I found Little Amélie or the Character of Rain to be an awe-inspiring animated film. I am doubtful it was an easy undertaking given the strength of the story and the film’s visual style, but it manages to accomplish what is needed. At times, it can feel a little on the nose, and the voiceover can feel a bit repetitive, but the core emotional scenes stand out to make this a life-affirming and cute animated film.

4 stars