Back in early 2014, I was totally enchanted by the Belgian/French/Luxembourgian co-production of Ernest & Celestine, a darling little film that had debuted in its native countries two years earlier, but saw no exposure in the States — aside from a few film festivals — until home video release in June 2014.
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| The mysterious, jasked Mifasol refuses to abide by Gibberitia's repressive law against music, much to the annoyance of the bear police patrol. |
This sequel once again boasts the lush, hand-drawn watercolor beauty of early Disney animated films and the more recent efforts of Hayao Miyazaki, albeit in a gentler manner. Animation director Davy Durand and his team focus more on character; settings — building interiors, cityscapes — are simpler, often fading into the background.
As before, this saga is faithful to the look and atmosphere of the two dozen-plus children’s books published by Belgian author/illustrator Monique Martin, employing the nom de plume Gabrielle Vincent, derived from the first names of her grandparents. She concocted gentle adventures for best friends Celestine, a scrappy little mouse, and Ernest, a grumpy bear musician.
The franchise this time has been taken over by directors Julien Chheng and Jean-Christopher Roger, working with an original script by Guillaume Mautalent, Sébastien Oursel and Jean Regnaud, from an idea by Agnès Bidaud and Didier Brunner. (If this sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen, we’ll get back to that.)
The story begins on an exciting day, as Ernest (voiced by Andrew Kishino) wakens from his long winter hibernation. Celestine (Ashley Boettcher), thrilled to have her boon companion back, gets too excited and accidentally damages his beloved Stradibearius violin. He’s dismayed; she’s absolutely crushed (and nothing is more heartbreaking than Celestine looking and sounding forlorn).
The only person capable of repairing the violin is its maker, Octavious, who resides in Ernest’s homeland of Gibberitia. When Ernest inexplicably refuses to make that trip, Celestine — battered violin in its case — impulsively begins the journey without him.
That rouses Ernest, because he knows the route can be dangerous. Once reunited, the pair board a skyway that takes them into the heart of Gibberitia, which he has described as a magical place full of music and art. But their arrival in the town square is oddly quiet ... too quiet. Ernest’s attempt to play an accordion attracts a squad of angry bear police, who tell them that — according to Ernestov’s Law — all forms of music have been banned for many years.
(In a droll touch, pretty much every statement in Gibberitia ends in “-ov.”)
Pianos and other musical instruments are allowed to play only one note — Do (middle C) — which makes for rather bland concerts. Songbirds are discouraged by water cannons.
Worse yet, the law was established — and continues to be enforced — by Chief Judge Naboukov (David Lodge) ... who happens to be Ernest’s father. (Now there’s an awkward family reunion.) This hard-hearted attitude appears to have prompted an estrangement between Naboukov and Ernest’s mother Kamelia (Anne Yatco) and younger sister Mila (Lena Josephine Marano).
One of this film’s best sight gags involves the manner in which Naboukov and Kamelia no longer live together, but stay in the same house.
Ernest is understandably dismayed, and even the usually buoyant Celestine is taken aback; how can the damaged violin be repaired in this environment?
Ah, but a a masked musical chaos agent is at large, known only as Mifasol — after the third through fifth musical notes — and very much in the mold of the title character in Harlan Ellison’s multi-award-winning short story, “Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman.”
The repressive environment notwithstanding, nothing in this story feels dangerous. Even the bear police are more cuddly than threatening. We’ve no doubt that Ernest, Celestine and Mifasol will figure a way out of this mess.
Unfortunately, that might require Ernest to re-evaluate whether his artistic passion — and his friendship with Celestine — should be sacrificed in order to satisfy tradition (the familiar parent/child divide).
The soft character touches are matched by the always droll contrast between tiny, delicate Celestine and lumbering, cranky Ernest; merely watching the two of them interact always prompts a smile.
On-screen events are enhanced by the (ironically) sumptuous orchestral score from composer Vincent Courtois, returning from the first film. And, as with its predecessor, Chheng and Roger wrap things up in an economical 80 minutes.
However ... the somewhat overcooked script is a bit clumsy. We’ve no idea why Ernest initially left Gibberitia, or why — apparently in response — his father then enacted Ernestov’s Law, or why everybody subsequently tolerated it. (Seems an awfully Draconian response to a family squabble, if indeed that’s what it was.)
I’m also dismayed by the fact that we have access solely to this film’s English-dubbed version, and thus lose the charming French voicings by Lambert Wilson (Ernest) and particularly Pauline Brunner (Celestine). A small detail, but unfortunate.
Fans who can’t get enough of these characters will want to investigate the TV series of 52 13-minute episodes that ran from 2017 to ’21. The first 26-episode season is readily available via YouTube, with English subtitles.
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