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Ernest & Celestine

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Ernest & Celestine
US theatrical release poster
Directed byStéphane Aubier
Vincent Patar
Benjamin Renner
Written byDaniel Pennac
Based onErnest & Celestine
by Gabrielle Vincent
Produced by
StarringLambert Wilson
Pauline Brunner
CinematographyStéphane Aubier
Vincent Patar
Edited byFabienne Alvarez-Giro
Music byVincent Courtois
Production
companies
Distributed byStudioCanal (France)
Cinéart (Belgium)
Release dates
  • 23 May 2012 (2012-05-23) (Cannes)
  • 12 December 2012 (2012-12-12) (France)
  • 19 December 2012 (2012-12-19) (Belgium)
Running time
80 minutes[1]
CountriesBelgium
France
Luxembourg
LanguageFrench
Budget€8.9 million[2]
Box office$8.1 million[3]

Ernest & Celestine (French: Ernest et Célestine) is a 2012 animated comedy-drama film directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner. The film is based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent. The film was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival,[4][5] as part of the TIFF Kids programme at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival[6] and at the 2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival.[7]

It was selected for the grand competition at feature film edition of the 2013 World festival of animated film Animafest Zagreb and was screened as the opening film. The film was released in the United States in 2013 by GKIDS.[8] There is also an English dub that was released on 28 February 2014, with the voices of Forest Whitaker, Mackenzie Foy, Lauren Bacall, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Jeffrey Wright.[9] The film received widespread acclaim, and became the first animated film to win the Magritte Award for Best Film.[10] It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 86th Academy Awards, but it lost to Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated musical Frozen.[11]

A sequel, entitled Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, was released in France on 14 December 2022.[12]

Plot

[edit]

Celestine is a young mouse who lives in the underground world of rodents. At the orphanage where she lives, the caretaker known as the Gray One tells scary stories about the evil nature of the bears that live in the outside world, though Celestine doubts that they are entirely true. She loves to draw but must soon study dentistry, since that's what all rodents do, and to prepare, she must travel above ground to collect the lost teeth of a cub from underneath pillows. On one such occasion, the bear family catches Celestine in the act and chases her into a trash can where she is trapped and spends the night. The next morning, a destitute and starving grizzly bear named Ernest discovers Celestine and attempts to eat her. Celestine convinces him to let her go by helping him break into the basement of a candy shop, where he can eat his fill. He is soon caught by the store's owner, however, and arrested. Celestine, who is behind on her quota of collected teeth, agrees to free him from the police wagon if he will help her break into and rob the teeth from the office of the store owner's wife, who happens to be a dentist.

Although the robbery initially seems successful, the pair soon find themselves being pursued by the police forces of both the rodent and bear cities. They manage to evade capture by stealing a van, and escape to Ernest's remote cabin. Ernest is initially reluctant to allow Celestine to stay with him, but they begin to bond after he discovers her love of art. He reveals to her that his current destitution is a result of his rejection of his family's plan for him to go into law, like his ancestors, due to his desire to become an entertainer. The two spend the winter happily together, though their joy is somewhat dampened by the constant radio broadcasts declaring that both police forces are still searching for them as well as how civil unrest has become rampant around both of their homes with the once submissive and complacent poor now rising up against their upper class oppressors.

In the Spring, the police are able to track the stolen van to the cabin. Ernest is arrested by the rodents, while Celestine is arrested by the bears. Both are simultaneously put on trial, in the main floor and basement of the same courthouse. Though each of them protest their unfair treatment along with the government's bias and prejudice, as well as refusing to sell out their respective companion, the furious judges refuse to listen. Ernest and Celestine then call the judges and the rest of the higher class out on their cruelty to the lower class common folk. During the proceedings, a fire is accidentally started in the courthouse, and while the rest of the citizens flee despite the furious judges' demands to stay, Ernest and Celestine each stay behind to rescue their respective judges. The judges are both humiliated and broken that their people, the ones they thought they could always rule, have abandoned them to save their own lives while the ones they sought to wrongfully punish are their saviors. Having truly admitted defeat in their own hearts, the shameful judges drop the charges against them and have no other choice then to grant their wish to be able to remain living together. All the while, the judges express their inability to comprehend the concept of unconditional bonds; and can only watch along with the shaken populace of each place as the courthouses burn to the ground.

Reunited in Ernest's cabin, the pair decide to write and illustrate a book, telling the story of their friendship, though with some embellishments after Celestine protests including the part of their meeting where Ernest attempted to eat her.

Cast

[edit]
Character French
voice actor 		English dubbing actor[13]
Ernest Lambert Wilson Forest Whitaker
Celestine Pauline Brunner Mackenzie Foy
The Grey One Anne-Marie Loop Lauren Bacall
The Rat Judge Pierre Baton Paul Giamatti
The Dentist Dominique Collignon William H. Macy
Lucienne Brigitte Virtudes Megan Mullally
Georges Patrice Melennec Nick Offerman
The Bear Judge Féodor Atkine Jeffrey Wright
Chief Police of Bears Vincent Grass David Boat
Antionette Ashley Earnest

Critical reception

[edit]

Ernest & Celestine received acclaim from critics. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 98% approval rating, based on 81 reviews with an average score of 8.20/10; the general consensus states: "Sweet and visually charming, Ernest & Celestine offers old-fashioned delights for animation lovers of all ages."[14] Metacritic assigns a score of 86 based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15] Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia writes, "The result is a human story of two unlikely allies, a mouse living in harmony and befriending a bear. It is essentially that simple and it works just fine."[16] Writing on Roger Ebert's website, Glenn Kenny of MSN awarded the film 3½ stars out of 4, praising it for its positive messages of friendship. Kenny wrote: "Ernest and Celestine is the coziest movie you'll likely see all year. Every frame is suffused with a fireplace kind of warmth that, for me at least, cast an immediate spell that didn't let up."[17]

Accolades

[edit]

In June 2013, the film won the Award of the Hungarian National Student Jury at the 8th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials.[18]

Awards
Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
Academy Awards[19][20] Best Animated Feature Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner Nominated
Amsterdam Cinekid Festival[citation needed] Best Picture Won
Annie Awards[21] Best Animated Feature Nominated
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production Patrick Imbert Nominated
Directing in an Animated Feature Production Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Nominated
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Zaza, Zyk Nominated
Writing in an Animated Feature Production Daniel Pennac Nominated
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production Fabienne Alvarez-Giro Nominated
Belgian Film Critics Association Grand Prix Nominated
Cannes Film Festival[22] Art Cinema Award (Directors' Fortnight) Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Nominated
Prix SACD (Directors' Fortnight) Nominated
Prix SACD (Directors' Fortnight) - Special Mention Won
César Awards[23] Best Animated Film Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner, Henri Magalon Won
Dubai International Film Festival People's Choice Award Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Won
Galway Film Fleadh Audience Award for Best International Feature Runner-up
Gijón International Film Festival[24] Enfant terrible Prize for Best Feature Film Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards[25] Best Animated Feature Won
Magritte Awards[26] Best Film Won
Best Director Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar Won
Best Sound Frédéric Demolder, Emmanuel de Boissieu, Luc Thomas, Franco Piscopo Won
Portland International Film Festival Audience Award For Best Animated Feature Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Won
Satellite Awards Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature Nominated
Seattle International Film Festival Youth Jury Award Won
Toronto International Film Festival[6] People's Choice Award for Best Drama Feature Film Nominated

TV series

[edit]

A television series is adapted from the film, Ernest & Celestine, The Collection, made up of 52 episodes of 13 minutes[27][28] and broadcast on France 5 on 1 April 2017. Near the end of 2017, a selection of four episodes of the series was released in theatres under the title Ernest & Celestine in Winter.[29]

Sequel

[edit]

In February 2022, StudioCanal announced that a sequel entitled Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia was in production, to be released on 14 December 2022. The film was directed by Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger.[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ernest et Celestine – Ernest & Celestine". StudioCanal. British Board of Film Classification. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Ernest & Celestine". jpbox-office. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Ernest & Celestine (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (24 April 2012). "Cannes 2012: Michel Gondry's 'The We & The I' to Open Director's Fortnight". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  5. ^ "2012 Selection". quinzaine-realisateurs.com. Directors' Fortnight. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  6. ^ a b "tiff.net". Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  7. ^ "HK Neo Reviews". Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  8. ^ "GKIDS to distribute Ernest & Celestine". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  9. ^ Chitwood, Adam (3 February 2014). "Trailer for Best Animated Feature Oscar Nominee ERNEST & CELESTINE". Collider.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  10. ^ Engelen, Aurore (3 February 2014). "Ernest and Célestine triumphs at the Magritte Awards". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  11. ^ "The 86th Academy Awards (2014) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  12. ^ a b Welk, Brian (20 February 2022). "'Ernest & Celestine' Sequel Gets First Look From Studiocanal". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Characters". Ernest & Celestine. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Ernest & Celestine". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Ernest & Célestine". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  16. ^ Chan, Andrew (29 April 2013). "Ernest & Celestine". [HK Neo Reviews]. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  17. ^ Kenny, Glenn (14 March 2014). "Ernest & Celestine". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  18. ^ 11. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 8. Európai Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál Archived 30 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2013.
  19. ^ Staff (16 January 2014). "2013 Academy Awards Nominations and Winners by Category". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  20. ^ Koch, Dave (16 January 2014). "Animated Film Oscar Nominations". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  21. ^ "Complete list of 2013 Annie Award nominees for animation". Los Angeles Times. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  22. ^ "Palmarès et nominations du Festival de Cannes". Allo Ciné (in French). AlloCiné.fr. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  23. ^ Amidi, Amid (23 February 2013). "Ernest & Célestine wins the Cesar Awards". Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  24. ^ "La animación coge fuerza en el FICX". Gijón Film Festival (in Spanish). 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  25. ^ ""Ernest & Célestine" wins LAFCA award". Wallonia. Wallonia.be. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  26. ^ "Prix et nominations : Les Magritte du cinéma 2014". Allo Ciné (in French). AlloCiné.fr. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  27. ^ "Annecy 2019 - France Télévisions entre deux rives". Le Film Français (in French). Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  28. ^ Ernest et Célestine - Saison 1 (Valisette métal) - DVD (in French), Aventures Intérieures, archived from the original on 13 January 2024, retrieved 13 January 2024
  29. ^ "littlekmbo". littlekmbo (in French). Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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