Chabat is mostly an acquired taste. He is a goofy light comedian. His movies are in line with the Zucker-Zucker-Abrahams movies. His humour is brave and absurd on a performance level, but ultimately it does not probe or bring any new meaning concerning the human condition. It's just fun.
Frankin is a great and original french artist. His world is inhabited by very quirky misfits (Gaston Lagaffe), sometimes by heroic characters (Spirou and Fantasio). In interviews, Chabat has said he has wanted to do something based on Frankin for many years, but the rights to Spirou are all tied up. Then he found a loop hole. Don't go in expecting a straight up adaptation of one of the books, though parts of "Le Nid Du Marsupilami" are in there for sure, including the babies at the end.
Chabat brings his own tone and spin on the subject, which probably won't please all the fans. He had the same trouble with Gosciny when he adapted "Asterix Chez Cleopatre". Despite that film's popularity and success, the creator of Asterix hated the Chabat touches and insisted on other film makers for the next instalments (all inferior).
Marsupilami has some of the veneer of Frankin's world, through the art design, mostly. Much of Chabat's quirky humour is overlapped on the story. I got a great kick out of the South American dictator who is Celine Dion's #1 fan. The musical number towards the end is right up there for absurd comedy.
The CGI is okay for what it is. Marsu is adorable. Some of the other effects are borderline for a film of its budget. The animatronic creatures are very good.
Chabat's and DeBouze's performances are excellent. But Lambert Wilson really steals the show.
My sons loved it. We are all fans of Didier, Asterix and Cleopatra, RRRrr and City of the Dead.
Frankin is a great and original french artist. His world is inhabited by very quirky misfits (Gaston Lagaffe), sometimes by heroic characters (Spirou and Fantasio). In interviews, Chabat has said he has wanted to do something based on Frankin for many years, but the rights to Spirou are all tied up. Then he found a loop hole. Don't go in expecting a straight up adaptation of one of the books, though parts of "Le Nid Du Marsupilami" are in there for sure, including the babies at the end.
Chabat brings his own tone and spin on the subject, which probably won't please all the fans. He had the same trouble with Gosciny when he adapted "Asterix Chez Cleopatre". Despite that film's popularity and success, the creator of Asterix hated the Chabat touches and insisted on other film makers for the next instalments (all inferior).
Marsupilami has some of the veneer of Frankin's world, through the art design, mostly. Much of Chabat's quirky humour is overlapped on the story. I got a great kick out of the South American dictator who is Celine Dion's #1 fan. The musical number towards the end is right up there for absurd comedy.
The CGI is okay for what it is. Marsu is adorable. Some of the other effects are borderline for a film of its budget. The animatronic creatures are very good.
Chabat's and DeBouze's performances are excellent. But Lambert Wilson really steals the show.
My sons loved it. We are all fans of Didier, Asterix and Cleopatra, RRRrr and City of the Dead.