Kirikou And The Wild Beast

Glowing Animation of an African Fable
One of the most interesting animated tales I have ever seen on DVD is "Kirikou and the Sorceress" - an unqualified 5 out of 5. That film tells the story of a tiny boy born with magical powers and canny intelligence who defeats a witch in the forest who is capturing the male warriors of a Senegalese village tribe.

The next movie "Kirikou and the Wild Beast" is a sequel and like most sequels it never quite matches the originality of the earlier film. In fact, the magical birth of Kirikou is never explained or referred to. What is the purpose of the next film? It is a collection of short tales of Kirikou's adventures - such as riding a giraffe, outsmarting a powerful hyena, or creating lovely and valuable pottery for the village trading post.

Nevertheless - the new film exceeds the original in one department - glorious animation design. Unbelievable. The artwork is equal to the best animation anywhere - computer or otherwise. So many of the frames resemble the...

Kirikou and the Wild Beast
If you've seen Kirikou and the Sorceress, you know about the fantastic artwork that both these movies share. They're both animated by really excellent artists. The stories are excellent, too. Kirikou and the Wild Beast is four short stories that take place between scenes of Kirikou and the Sorceress. They take place in a west African village, and are children's stories. Note, however, if you're offended by nudity, that all the characters wear traditional west African dress. The children are nude, and all the adults are nude from the waist up. I like it that the animals are animals, not furry humans as they are in so many US animated films.

Loved it, can't wait for the English version
Our family is a big fan of Kirikou and this one is no exception. Beautiful animation, interesting stories, and he is his usual clever self -- "small but mighty".

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