More from the movie corner of Graziella: Kirikou and the Sorceress
And now for something completely different, to start the holidays with the right film, this week we propose a traditional animation film, Kirikou and the Sorceress (Kirikou et la Sorcière, 1998). Director/designer Michel Ocelot used a West African folktale, passed down from generation to generation by one of the continent’s most vital oral traditions. A suitably mythical tale about something that might be on many people’s minds this time of the year (no spoilers), Kirikou and the Sorceress is also a stunning piece of animation that won the Grand Prix at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 1999. Eventually, Ocelot’s film was so successful that it was adapted into a stage musical (Kirikou et Karaba) and followed by Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages, 2005). The instances of graphic nudity (necessary for a realistic envisioning of the tale) were controversial enough in the U.S. and the U.K. to prevent the film’s release. Judge for yourselves.
Watch Kirikou and the Sorceress on Kanopy HERE.
