Animation in Obscurity: A Monster in Paris

Given how popular my Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart review is, I thought it best to review the animation studio's previous film A Monster In Paris! I remember when it first came out & it quickly gained a cult following, so I saw it in the cinema (only one other family was there) & I remember loving it so much! I caught it on a film channel when there was nothing else on TV, so I just decided to watch it and was inspired to review it given that it kind of has faded into obscurity. Directed by the same guy who did Shark Tale (AKA probably Dreamworks' worst movie), & starring Johnny Depp's ex Vanessa Paradis, Adam Goldberg, Jay Harrington, Danny Huston, Cathering O'Hara and Sean Lennon, is it as good as I remember watching it in the cinema, or is it a case of a second viewing changing my opinion? Let's find out!

Story: The best way to describe this movie in a nutshell is that it's a kid-friendly version of The Phantom of the Opera but with no romance between the 2 main leads & mostly centres on the antics of 2 other best friends and how the 3 of them try to save the monster from the police. It can get pretty fun & I do like that the relationship between Lucille and the monster is more platonic, and it is admittedly cute if not a tad underdeveloped partly thanks to other side plots going on (we'll get to them in a minute). The humour is mostly a mix as some of it can be funny like a little nod to Phantom of the Opera and Francoeur's cuteness in general, but others like an overrunning sequence involving Maynott on helium and a running gag with Raoul's supposedly fur coat really being made out of straw just confused me. Although I tried to be entertained by it, honestly, at times I ended up bored when watching it. I do have some issues, including the predictability partly thanks to the characters & what role they play & the pacing felt very off as it takes about 15 minutes for it to introduce the characters before it finally gets going at the halfway point & the final act only takes place in a matter of hours & takes up most of the movie. The subplot with Maude and Emile isn't interesting to watch at all nor does it really connect to the main story at all and Lucille and Raoul's 'we hate each other but we secretly like each other' plot is very cliched & isn't resolved until literally the end of the movie. The set-up with the 1910 flood however, was pretty interesting even if it doesn't really connect to the plot until the climax It's good & quirky, don't get me wrong, but the execution & side plots cramming for attention is really what makes it suffer.

 

Animation: Honestly, compared to the studio's next animated film, the animation isn't as good. I do like the quirky style it goes for compared to other animation studios like Dreamworks or Pixar with the overall look and the character designs, going for kind of realisitic while cartoony at the same time (and just wanna say Francoeur is the cutest looking monster ever), although some do look out of place like Albert and Pate where the cartoony look is overdone. With the character animation, it does feel pretty inconsistent as at times it looks fluid like whenever Lucille and Francoeur dance, while others it can look clunky, stiff or cartoony, in particular whenever characters are running (especially in one sequence at the Sacre Coeur) The backgrounds are also a big praise I must give as they capture the look of Paris in 1910s perfectly, with the attention to detail of the Eiffel Tower being pretty amazing along with the architecture in general. Even the Rare Bird club also manages to look nice with the use of lighting creating a calm atmosphere along with the Professor's greenhouse full of interesting experiments and creatures and when we see everything from Francoeur's perspective in the title musical number are also pretty impressive. I will also say that the detail on textures like hair, skin and fur can be a bit inconsistent depending on which character they animate comparing the main characters to the extras, but when it's done on characters like Lucille, it is pretty good! Probably the best moments with the animation come from the action scenes in the climax and the musical numbers, in particular during the reprise of La Seine because that's where it goes all out with the creativity and character animation. There may be problems with it, but given that it was their debut and the budget isn't as big as other popular animation studios, this really isn't a bad effort at all & I love the quirkiness it brings!

 

Characters: If I can be honest, the characters in this can be considered the weakest thing in this movie since they can easily be qualified by their stereotype. The main character, Raoul honestly annoyed me with his antics being egotistical for most of the movie and having an obvious crush on Lucille despite having a good heart when it comes to Francoeur. I found his friend Emile more likeable possibly due to his more shy & sweet personality and having a passion for film even if his subplot with Maude (who isn't interesting at all) isn't really that interesting to watch. Lucille can mostly be qualified as the Belle-esque character being a bit sassy, rejecting Maynott's advances and developing a brother-sister-like friendship with the titular monster. She is likeable & tries to prove she can be more than just a love interest, but her character is pretty predictable. Maynott is probably the worst character as he's pretty much a carbon copy of Gaston wanting to kill the monster for his personal gain & winning Lucille's heart despite her obvious disinterest in him. Carlotta (voiced by Catherine O'Hara) is Lucille's aunt who constantly tries to get her with Maynott & ends up with Pate (who was Maynott's assistant until he has an obvious change of heart) and Albert is a waiter who thinks he's talented Finally, there's the monster himself, Francoeur (voiced by Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon), who's feared by everyone in Paris who Maynott wants to kill even though he's nothing more than an innocent flea who can play the guitar very well & has a beautiful singing voice. Another thing I want to mention is that I'm honestly not a huge fan of the English actors they chose as although Vanessa Paradis did both the original French & English dubs to this movie, she retains her natural French accent in the latter while the others speak with American accents & it feels very jarring when watching it. Despite that, despite their stereotypes, not really being developed and some of them annoying me, most of the characters are still likeable in their own right.

 

Songs: Probably the best thing in this film is the musical numbers! Written by singer Mathieu Chedid, better known as M, they are all highly memorable and really quirky. The first one is a solo version of the main song La Seine sung by Lucille, which has a nice slow cabaret feel to it. The titular song is also nice and rather melancholy as Francoeur expresses his sadness over how he's seen by the denizens of Paris (I will say that I prefer the original French version even if Sean's version is good) and I love the strings used throughout. The third song is a reprise of the first song and it's much more entertaining as Francoeur shows off his guitar playing skills and it's very catchy with the animation at it's best. Papa Paris is pretty much filler as Lucille sings for Maynott at the Sacre Coeur for the opening of the Montmartre Funicular, but it's still a small catchy tune. Love is in My Soul is a pretty tragic song which I can't really explain for spoilers, but it is memorable and it's pretty calming to listen to. Just A Little Kiss, sung by Lucille and Francoeur is the final number which is also really catchy to listen to. I love all of the songs in this, although I will say that I prefer the original French version & this isn't really a full-blown musical.

A Monster in Paris may not be as good as I remember it thanks to the weak story and characters, but the nice animation and memorable musical numbers still make up for it mostly. I know there's people who absolutely love this movie, and I do recommend watching it at least once if there's nothing else on, because this isn't bad by any means. It's just that one other viewing after not watching it for a while can change my opinion & I don't regret it at all!
Story: 6/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 5/10
Songs: 10/10
Overall: 7/10