Kirikou and the Men and the Women

The pint-sized — or more like peanut-sized — child hero Kirikou returns in the new feature from world-renowned animator/director/storyteller Michel Ocelot, who NYICFF audiences should be well familiar with from Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar, and Tales of the Night. This third film in the Kirikou trilogy weaves together a collection of short-form fables, mixing traditional storytelling and mythology with bits of humor and wit, backed by an upbeat musical score from Malian, Togolese and French artists. Ocelot’s vibrant use of color is everywhere on display — a black panther creeps into the village at night against impossibly deep blue skies, firelight sets off shadows against thatched huts, a Bedouin boy wrapped from head to toe in azure robes blazes like a sapphire against the tawny desert sand — while a village elder introducing each story lends an Arabian Nights quality to the film. Throughout, Kirikou is called upon to save his village from perils both supernatural and human, which he does with a combination of speed, cunning and humor — as well as a certain naiveté about the way the world really works. It is precisely such innocence that makes Kirikou such an endearing and enduring character.