Over the Christmas / New Year holiday time the New Zealand Herald
newspaper ran this series of articles with journalists giving their
suggestions for New Zealand's favourite family film for The Great
Family Film Poll ...


*Ernest* *&* *Celestine*
I could easily list a platoon of family films that I
loved as a kid, but I'd struggle to call most of them
"timeless".

Nowadays, progressive parents might shield their
children from Sleeping Beauty because of its ancient
view on gender roles or The Lion King because of its
ultra-capitalist leanings.

But no one's personal allegiances can affect the purity
of Ernest & Celestine, an old-fashioned charmer about
the unbreakable value of friendship.

The hand-drawn animation is downright gorgeous,
drenching every frame in watercolour to make it look
like a children's picture book in motion. Originally
voiced by French actors, the English dubbing is
flawless - a rare feat for foreign films - with a
perfectly pitched Forest Whitaker as growly, lethargic
Ernest and Mackenzie Foy as sly, squeaky Celestine.
The leads are aided by vocal veterans Paul Giamatti
(Turbo), William H. Macy (The Wind Rises), Megan
Mullally (Bob's Burgers) and Nick Offerman (The Lego
Movie).

Ernest is on bitter bear, singing songs on the street
about how poor and hungry he is to a crowd who couldn't
care less. Celestine is a forward-thinking mouse,
questioning why she's being taught to fear bears while
the other young mice simply accept it. Appropriately,
the two outcasts meet each other in a pile of
thrown-out rubbish, where Celestine slaps Ernest for
rudely trying to eat her.

Their first encounter is one of many scenes that take
you in with unfathomable cuteness while refusing to
surrender wit for easy jokes.

There's a simple joy, for kids especially, in seeing
Ernest chase birds away from his bread-crumb breakfast.
There's also a surprisingly multifaceted joy, for
adults only, in hearing a father bear break down his
ruthless business model to his son (he sells kids candy
to fuel his wife's dental practice).

But the greatest pleasure comes with seeing a lonely
pair become friends, even when their towns wrongly
believe they cannot. Yes, it's a simple lesson, but
when simplicity is told with beauty, charm and
elegance, it can capture the hearts of any generation.
That's exactly what Ernest & Celestine does, and that's
what makes it timeless.

- Liam Maguren, Flicks.co.nz Contributing Writer
4 January, 2016

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