Julianne Hoffrogge Kirokou et la Sorcière was a very good story in many ways. It was a story that showed how size doesn't matter; you can be mighty even if you are small. The movie reminds me of a mixture of many Disney fairy tales that I am familiar with. In this film the colonization of the community was in the sorceress steeling all the men, gold, and children. The idea that someone can have so much power is unbelievable, but in real life there is someone, or more than one, that has similar power.Kirokou is a very brave young child that was always mature for his age. He always did things that should be done by a man, but he was able to do it. He did not really have strength that most heroes have. He could run fast, cared about his people, and most of all was smart. To become smarter he was very curious and asked many questions that he was determined to find out. Not many good stories have the hero being a smart individual, but strong. Here this characteristic of being wise is looked upon as a wonderful thing.As the days go on he does more and more to help the people. He saves the children, gets back the water, and the sorceress. He saves the sorceress by pulling the thorn out of her back that has been giving her great pain for years. She is then grateful to Kirokou. When she kisses him he turns into a handsome man to heal her event farther. Having the thorn in her back represented the pain she was put through, rape. When Kirokou show her his love she also falls in love with him.The excerpts from Sundiata, similar to The Lion King, which was read in class, had a similarity to the film. In the beginning it was a determination effect, as some of Kirokou's, to get up and walk so the people would respect him as their leader. In both of these pieces the mothers play important roles. They are both there for the type of support the child needs. In the film the child need his mother's opinion when he is trying to save his and the sorceress' lives.Not all heroic stories are like this one, but it has great meaning and teachings behind it. I really enjoyed this film. Those who view this particular film need to be mature individuals. For my one personal preference the women could be wearing tops and it would be then appropriate to show to children. This I think should be done because it would be something great for children to watch. Not just children, but a good quality family film.

Chris Bregger Kirikou is the story of an African boy in a small town that in the end proves that you do not need to be of great stature to be an important asset to your community. Although Kirikou was unbelievably tiny, he saw things that others did not. He was able to see the true problems with Karaba the sorceress. When the watering hole no longer produced water, Kirikou went right to the source of the problem and fixed it himself. He was unlike the other people in his village; instead of fearing and complaining about Karaba the sorceress, Kirikou sought a way to fix the problems Karaba had caused for the people of the village.The fact that this film is a cartoon drastically changed the way in which I perceived the message that it was relaying to the viewer. By using animation the viewer is much more able to focus on the points that the story is making socially about modernity versus tradition. Because almost every person in this story is partially nude I think that the important social commentary that Kirikou has made might be lost on some audiences. In America we are not used to seeing as much nudity as is exposed in this film, especially in a story that is intended for children, so in my opinion it is nice that this film is a cartoon as opposed to real actors and actresses. I do not think that this film would have been nearly as helpful in the understanding of the struggles that African's have with modernity if real people were used as opposed to the cartoons that were. For example the men of the village have all been taken by the sorceress Karaba and are being used as her slaves. They represent modernity because they have been transformed into robots. This is a not so subtle way of showing the evils associated with modernity as seen by the African people.Anyone that enjoys films like the Lion King or Aladdin will love Kirikou. The thing that I found most interesting about this film was that it gave American's a way to see what stories African's use to teach their children lessons. In America we use animated films to teach kids lessons much the same as they do in Africa. The main differences between the two are the lessons that are taught. I thought it was fascinating how Ocelot taught such an important lesson to children and people alike with the use of animated people in Kirikou and the Sorceress.

kutchehl I really liked watching Kirikou and the Sorceress because the story was a classic struggle against evil. The hero is about as unlikely as they come (how many newborn babies match wits with sorceresses?) he's brave, and kind, and smart, and sometimes he feels "a little small and frightened." What I love best about Kirikou as a hero is that he is a child. Kirikou tells his grandfather that he would like to be grownup so that he can defeat the sorceress, but his grandfather tells him that "none of the grown-ups succeeded." The story of Kirikou and the Sorceress was beautifully told. I didn't notice the soundtrack very much, but when I did notice the music it was quiet and pleasant to listen to. Even though the songs with words are earworms that got stuck in my head, those were also pleasant to listen to. The animation makes me think of watercolor paintings. The pictures on the screen are fairly sparse, the village scenes don't have a lot of added details, the plants are stylized, and the people are mostly outlined blocks of color, but this is perhaps the strength of the animation. I think this reflects the simplicity of the story, it isn't supposed to be a really complicated story, just what matters.I would recommend this movie to people who are invested in the concept of story and suggest that they consider the differences in classic American story (descended from European story) and classic African story.

fashionista629 These days the heroes that we have are flawed heroes like Dexter who is a serial killer that murders criminals. Now there's someone that you want your children to look up to. Kirikou on the other hand is everything that someone should inspire to be, and is a hero in the traditional sense and since he's one of the only truly African heroes left it is important to take that into consideration. He's innocent, curious and he believes in himself. This is the type of person you really want your children to look up to not Spiderman, Batman, or other vigilantes.First, even the colors used in the animation to portray Kirikou and his environment are bright and colorful, while characters like Batman are all in black and surrounded by darkness. They are very lonely characters and have to hide who they are in order to save the world. Kirikou is able to be himself in order to save the world and has nothing on his person most of the time save a dagger or a knife.Second, Kirikou also kills no one except for a beast in the movie that is drinking all of the water from the stream inside of the mountain. This is the only time he really resorts to violence. Kirikou would rather run away or out smart his enemies rather than kill which shows how noble he is. This compared to Batman or Spiderman who always punch or tie up their enemies to get them arrested by the police. Which would you rather your child resort to when he or she is in trouble? Finally, Kirikou physically doesn't fit the typical hero. He is not tall or muscular and is even made fun of for being tiny. This instead shows children its not about how you look, but rather about who you are on the inside that makes you a hero. The ability to beat up bad guys, as is shown in most comic books, does not make you a hero and can in this case make you a bad guy. They even portray magic in a negative light until the very end when Karaba turns Kirikou big. Thus giving the message that you don't have to have superpowers or be big and strong to defeat evil.Kirikou does remain nude throughout most of the movie and there are breasts shown, but Kirikou is probably one of the best role models for kids that I've seen in a long while. This movie is for people that want a different kind of hero, but not one with a dark side. Instead, one that they can share with their children without fear of them picking up violent tendencies from. I loved this movie! It's like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White but shows women of all shapes and sizes while being able to maintain a male audience.