'A Monster In Paris' lacks depth but still worth a watch
A Monster In Paris
(Cert U, 90 mins, Animation/Romance/Musical/Comedy/Action)
Cinema projectionist Emile (voiced by Jay Harrington) and truck driver Raoul (Adam Goldberg) fool around with test tubes of strange liquid inside a gargantuan greenhouse.
There is a massive explosion and the resulting cloud of gases causes a flea to mutate to hulking proportions.
The insect bounds across the city and finds an unlikely ally and musical companion in cabaret chanteuse Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), at the L’Oiseau Rare nightclub.
Together, Lucille and the heavily disguised insect, who is christened Franc (Sean Lennon), become the talk of the French capital.
When bumbling police commissioner Maynott (Danny Huston), who hopes to win Lucille’s affections, discovers his rival is not even human, he decides to secure his re-election by slaying the beast.
A Monster In Paris is a computer-animated fable that teaches us to never judge a wingless, blood-sucking parasite by its spiny legs or hairy abdomen.
Bibo Bergeron’s film puts a colourful, Gallic spin on the classic fairytale of Beauty And The Beast, using the power of song to bring together two characters who are a world (and species) apart. It is an effervescent and mildly entertaining confection that makes good use of the 3D format – available exclusively on Blu-ray – in the action sequences.
Characters’ back stories are overlooked for the sake of expediency and a little more meat on some of their computer-generated bones would certainly help.
Vocal performances are solid and the film sparks to life when Franc grabs a guitar to provide musical accompaniment for Lucille’s toe-tapping ditties.
Rating: 3/5.
Click to stay connected with
more stories like this:
more stories like this:
