Music, Style & Culture

A Monster In Paris

Echoes of Beauty and the Beast and King Kong in cluttered animation.

Released in cinemas 27th January 2012.

Shark Tale director Bibo Bergeron heads back to his French roots for this nostalgic 3D family animation.

Set in a flooded 1910 Paris, it follows a pair of mismatched buddies Emile and Raoul (with the English-language voices of Jay Harrington and Adam Goldberg) who, along with an exceptionally smart baboon, accidentally create a monster in the botanical gardens.

The cluttered first half is an endurance, with characters and story all over the place and stilted humour. However, when the beast is born, A Monster in Paris finds its spark.

The titular monster is a giant mutant flea with a stunning singing voice, who leaps from rooftops repulsing the city's fearful inhabitants. He finds a safe home with popular nightclub chanteuse Lucille (Vanessa Paradis). Their friendship is endearing, with the beautifully rendered flea (now named Francoeur) a nervous, vulnerable and terribly sweet creation, trembling like a lamb until he literally finds his angelic voice (provided by Sean Lennon).

With echoes of Beauty and the Beast and King Kong, Francouer becomes a target of the ambitious Préfet Maynott (Danny Huston), a blustering, vain man on a power-trip. The slight story is stretched with Emile and Raoul's uninvolving missions of love, and several moments of extremely Gallic slapstick and wackiness.

The DreamWorks-like animation is bright and charming with particularly pretty colouring and designs. However, the characters themselves aren't especially likeable; a waiter called Albert is especially grotesque, Emile blends into the background, and the two lead female characters look identical. The songs are thin on the ground, which is a shame as - when they happen - Paradis and Lennon's numbers are an enchanting treat.

Speaking of which, while Paradis keeps her seductive French accent, the coarse American voices grate alongside, and sit uncomfortably with the animated recreation of Paris. For all the characters' talk of inventions, cinema and technology, it's a remarkably unimaginative affair. Only the absolute delight that is Franceour the flea will entice children, and there's little else for adults.

Rating: 5/10