mehmelae Kirikou et la Sorcière is a story that has many morals. For example, the story demonstrates that even the smallest person can be a hero; and also that it is because he is small that he has not been corrupted to the ways of the world and into accepting his lot in life. Kirikou has courage, wisdom, and curiosity that helps him to save his village from the Sorceress, but also the Sorceress from her evil power. He is small, but he is not afraid to do what is right, and what has to be done. Since Kirikou was so tiny he was able to crawl into the water spout and find out what had stolen the water from his villagers. He was able to crawl through the underground maze to see the Wise Old Man of the Mountain. One does not have to be big to be brave.Another moral is that relying on one's family for help is not a bad thing. Kirikou seeks help from his mother throughout the whole movie, especially in the end. He loves his mother very much. Kirikou also seeks help from his grandfather who helps him many times as well with his wisdom. A family is there to help whenever help is needed, and Kirikou was not so grown up, though of course he wanted to be, that he would not ask for help when he needed it.An important moral is forgiveness. The Sorceress was evil and very cruel to the villagers. She supposedly ate their men, stolen their water, gold, and children, but in reality she only did one and tired to do another. She was cruel; however, Kirikou saves her from the evil power that has corrupted her. When he brings her back to the villagers they refuse to accept that she is no longer evil and they threaten to kill the Sorceress and Kirikou. She was truly sorry for the things she did while under the influence of the evil power, the villagers should have given her a chance to prove her sincerity.Though for some this movie would be laughable because of its graphics and how the story is written. The women of the village are drawn with varying shapes and sizes that are hilarious. Also the village elder is portrayed as a complete imbecile. However, one has to look beyond the literal text to see the metaphorical meanings. The director uses the colors and graphics as symbols. The colors in the village and around it very beautiful; they are so bright and vivid. They symbolize life and goodness. The colors around the Sorceress hut are dark, dreary colors symbolizing evil and ugliness.This movie would be best for little children because they will not pick apart the movie looking for bad directing or horrible graphics. Those things do not matter to children. They will see that Kirikou is a small boy that does great things, and they will love it. Also they are more likely to pick up on the morals of the story than adults who always think meanings have to be hidden, and who cannot see the easy things. Of course, many adults will like this movie if they like challenging their minds to see beyond the surface of the story into what it really is all about.

kutchehl I really liked watching Kirikou and the Sorceress because the story was a classic struggle against evil. The hero is about as unlikely as they come (how many newborn babies match wits with sorceresses?) he's brave, and kind, and smart, and sometimes he feels "a little small and frightened." What I love best about Kirikou as a hero is that he is a child. Kirikou tells his grandfather that he would like to be grownup so that he can defeat the sorceress, but his grandfather tells him that "none of the grown-ups succeeded." The story of Kirikou and the Sorceress was beautifully told. I didn't notice the soundtrack very much, but when I did notice the music it was quiet and pleasant to listen to. Even though the songs with words are earworms that got stuck in my head, those were also pleasant to listen to. The animation makes me think of watercolor paintings. The pictures on the screen are fairly sparse, the village scenes don't have a lot of added details, the plants are stylized, and the people are mostly outlined blocks of color, but this is perhaps the strength of the animation. I think this reflects the simplicity of the story, it isn't supposed to be a really complicated story, just what matters.I would recommend this movie to people who are invested in the concept of story and suggest that they consider the differences in classic American story (descended from European story) and classic African story.

catscholle Kirikou and the Sorceress is a delightful story of an unlikely hero whose confidence and quick wit enables him to overcome the evil in his village. Although quite small, Kirikou comes into the world with a sense of optimism that can only come from his pure innocence. He begins asking his mother questions then makes decisions that he will help his village become a better place. He is able to convince everyone in the village that he is strong and clever all while enduring their taunts about how small he is. He also is noticed by the Karaba, the Sorceress, as a threat to her and orders her fetishes to watch him. Kirikou finds out from his mother that only his Grandfather knows why Karaba is "so mean and evil". Kirikou's journey to get to the mountain to find his Grandfather becomes a series of challenges that we hear him think through and endure. Along the way, Kirikou earns the trust and admiration of forest creatures that are able to overcome their own fears and help him. Once he finds his grandfather, he learns the source of Karaba's evil and that his own strength is within him and he has carried it all along. My favorite quote was from Grandfather, he told Kirikou that "you will always find people that want to harm you no matter how good you are to them, as water will drown you and fire will burn you".This type of story has been told hundreds of time, in many cultures, over many generations. In my generation, this story of overcoming evil by finding the strength within was told through The Wizard of Oz and a variety of Walt Disney feature films. Unlike all of those, Kirikou and the Sorceress takes on a more traditional folktale approach to telling the story. The story told through the eyes of a child, retains its innocence by using simple illustrations and the music serves to enhance the narration instead of foretelling the story as it moves along. The artistic interpretation of what is good and what is evil makes the entire movie flow and would be very easy for a child to understand. With wisdom beyond his years and the ability to forgive, Kirikou is more of a man than all others in the village. Those two were both misunderstood and found a mutual respect and understanding that no other would be able to provide them. Although I initially found the ending to be odd, as I thought about it, it was perfectly fitting.As with any movie, it is important for parents to review it first before sharing with young children. The story is beautiful and perfectly suitable for kids; however, cultural differences may cause some discomfort with the nudity. I found it tasteful and an opportunity for an open family discussion.

jasonhahnfl I felt that the animated film Kirikou and the Sorceress, directed by Michel Ocelot, and was an enjoyable film. Ocelot does a great job portraying African culture in a fun and traditional manner.This culturally rich African folklore presents a classical hero story which was great because of the unique manner in which it was presented. Although the film was your typical hero story, it was the introduction of an unlikely hero that first got me. Little baby Kirikou, fresh out of the womb; lighting quick and very wise is what first took me out of my comfort zone. In addition to our hero being a naked infant, all the characters run around topless which wasn't bad thing, just different. The movie was very simple and yet very complex at the same time. Simplistically speaking it was the actual story line, the graphics, the communication between characters it all very direct meaning if there was a problem the character would state the problem and then how he should fix it, which made the story easy to follow. The colors in this film made it clear how you were suppose to feel. With technology and the evil sorceress being represented in dark colors and culture, tradition seen as the village represented in light colors and fun music. I felt the complexity lied in the overall message the movie was trying to convey and by many people this message could be interpreted in different ways.Overall I enjoyed the movie because it conveyed a serious message in a fun and entertaining manner. As I stated before, the movie was culturally different for me but this unique experience also kept the movie exciting. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes anime-folklore films or almost any Disney fan of any type because I felt this film had a strong "Disney" element to it. Disney element, basically meaning the film was friendly and the manner in which they told their story was cute and fun.