Synopsis
Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Doudou Gueye ThiawKirikou enfant (voice)
- Maimouna N'DiayeLa Mère (voice)
- Awa Sène SarrKaraba (voice)
- Robert LiensolLe Sage dans la montagne (voice)
- William NadylamKirikou jeune homme (voice)
- Sebastien HebrantKirikou jeune homme (voice)
- Thilombo LubambuL'Oncle (voice)
- Rémi BichetKirikou adulte
- Marie Augustine DiattaLa femme forte
- Moustapha DiopLe fétiche sur le toit
Recommendations
- 91
Christian Science Monitor
Many times more African than "Tarzan" and "The Lion King" combined, Kirikou and the Sorceress is one of the best movies so far in this very young year. - 80
BBC
Taking its artistic inspiration from African sculpture and Egyptian art, the distinctive pictorial style of Ocelet's award-winning feature is bolstered by an authentic soundtrack from Senegalese musician Youssou N'dour. Couple this with the film's pint-sized but big-mouthed hero, and you've got one of the most enchanting animated features in quite some time. - 80
The Dissolve
Kirikou is a wonder because it’s such a familiar kind of story, told in such an unusual way. - 80
Empire
A welcome antidote to anodyne Hollywood cartooning. - 80
The Observer (UK)
The sweet-natured Kirikou and the Sorceress, is a French animated movie drawing on a West African tale that has an authenticity The Lion King lacks. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Kirikou and the Sorceress is definitely a sunny spot in the mire of frenetic, violent and often dopey cartoon films produced by Hollywood. It's also far more imaginative that most. - 75
Washington Post
Coupled with the fact that the plant and animal life (hoopoes, zorilles and ground squirrels, among other beasties) really look African, and that the film's original score is by the great contemporary Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour, Kirikou and the Sorceress's surprising honesty about the banality of evil makes the movie -- even with all its magic -- feel truly authentic. - 70
Chicago Reader
The plots of animated features are often excuses for visual showboating, but here the lilting story line, based on west African folktales, complements the alternately sumptuous and austere images.
