It’s as beautiful as the first film and maybe a little more. Ernest and Celestine: The Journey to Charabie by Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger, discovered at the Annecy Festival, will seduce the little ones from 3 years old but also the older ones. “We remained in the continuity of the first part but also of the series in which we both participated,” explains Julien Chheng to 20 minutes.
The grumpy bear and the mischievous little mouse created by Gabrielle Vincent (1928-2000) set out to discover a totalitarian country where music has become illegal. This journey will be all the more painful as it is Ernest’s birthplace, where he will find his authoritarian father and his rebellious younger sister. “The film is a discreet way of evoking all dictatorships and giving food for thought to the youngest on this subject,” emphasizes Jean-Christophe Roger.
It’s this way and only this way
This trip to Charabie is all about tender poetry and catchy songs, carried by the vocal performances of Lambert Wilson and Pauline Brunner in the title roles. The complicity between the actors rubbed off on the characters and vice versa. “In the universe of Ernest and Célestine, mice and bears can live together and that poses no problem for anyone,” explains Julien Chheng. This unworthy difference of point of view in a world where the motto “It’s like that and not otherwise” is law. Ernest left his family because he refused to become a judge like his father. His sister dreams of exercising this profession without having the right to do so. It is time for a happy wind of revolt to blow over Charabie.
“Our film is a bit of an ode to civil disobedience, laughs Jean-Christophe Roger. The heroes rebel against arbitrariness and show great courage against injustice. The immediate sympathy that the spectator feels for the duo largely contributes to the pleasure he feels in evolving with them in sumptuous landscapes marvelously drawn by artists at the height of their talent. Ernest and Célestine are still as cute and relevant as ever. We would like their feature film adventures to have a third part. They deserve it just as much as being seen on the big screen.