Kirikou and the Sorceress main backdrop
Kirikou and the Sorceress main poster

Kirikou and the Sorceress

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7.3/10 • 1.1K

1998-12-091h 11m

FantasyAdventureAnimationFamily

Can Kirikou save his village from a terrible curse?

Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.

Directors
Michel Ocelot
Writters
Michel Ocelot
Editors
Michel Ocelot, Dominique Lefever

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Doudou Gueye Thiaw

    Doudou Gueye Thiaw

    Kirikou enfant (voice)

  2. Maimouna N'Diaye

    Maimouna N'Diaye

    La Mère (voice)

  3. Awa Sène Sarr

    Awa Sène Sarr

    Karaba (voice)

  4. Robert Liensol

    Robert Liensol

    Le Sage dans la montagne (voice)

  5. William Nadylam

    William Nadylam

    Kirikou jeune homme (voice)

  6. Sebastien Hebrant

    Sebastien Hebrant

    Kirikou jeune homme (voice)

  7. Thilombo Lubambu

    Thilombo Lubambu

    L'Oncle (voice)

  8. Rémi Bichet

    Rémi Bichet

    Kirikou adulte

  9. Marie Augustine Diatta

    Marie Augustine Diatta

    La femme forte

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Aug 28, 2023

7/10

This is a really joyous animation to watch. A pregnant lady gives birth to a determined young infant who can immediately walk, talk and who names himself "Kirikou". Enthusiastic, questioning, innocent - he discovers that his village well has been stopped up by the evil sorceress "Karaba" and so decides to rectify the situation. His adventures are fun, simple - as is the animation - with plenty of humour from the dialogue, just the tiniest degree of menace and some interesting characterisations for our young man to engage with along the way. The film looks a little at the superstitions that guide this small West African community, but also at their people's synergies with nature - the whole collaborative way in which humans and other animals co-exist (or not). The themes are relayed cleverly using the naivety of a child's eyes - and that's frequently poignant, comical, amusing - and surprisingly practical. The young boy engages with the animal kingdom in a plausible way too - they don't speak, indeed frequently the collection of squirrels, wart-hogs and snakes react naturally when they encounter him - scoring away or taking him on. "Kirikou" is a can-do child! Sure, if he was your's you might have wanted to throttle him at birth - he is a tad precocious, but if this film doesn't make you smile and feel better, then I don't know what will....

Media

  • Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
  • Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
  • Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
  • Kirikou and the Sorceress poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
French
Budget
$4,495,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
folkpower of goodnessfolktalebad witchcultures of west africaafrican talefrench