User Reviews

Kirikous and the Sorceress is a piece of African animation, supposedly for children.

I loved the drawing, I loved the African flavor, and I even loved the theme song which I have at home and play from time to time.

But the best thing about it was something else.

The story of the evil Sorceress is that back when she was young and sweet, some men held her down and pushed a thorn into her back. Living with the agony of that made her mean and evil to the point where she does not even look the same. She looks hard and old.

She rides the crest of her evil to where she is the most powerful person, and no one can oppose her. She has the villagers living poor, she has all their gold, and she takes their men.

She won't let anyone take the thorn out because she knows the process will be hellish, so she just lives with the pain, becoming more and more evil all the time. I could see that this was a metaphor for anyone that needs healing from a traumatic event, but it hit the nail on the head for bitter women. It made me think of my own experiences as well.

Also the grandfather reminded me very much of Ausar or Obatala, African deities.

I was already entertained by Kirikou, but having a sophisticated bit of substance slipped in there when I wasn't looking was a beautiful surprise.

In America, the answer to the villager's problem would have been to cut the Sorceress' head off or some such thing.

In Kirikous and the Sorceress, the solution is very "African".

Heal the person and put them back in balance, and everyone will be better off for it.

Beautiful.

Usually, when you think of a hero you think of a strong character. A character that is not afraid of anything. A hero is most of the time a man or portrayed in some form of a man like, Shrek. In the animated film "Kirikou et la Sorciere" you encounter a surprise when you see the character, Kirikou. Kirikou is the tiniest hero I've ever seen. He is very clever and optimistic. Kirikou lives in a small village with his mother and his family. Kirikou's biggest heroic journey was when he went to see his grandfather. He had to be very careful and smart because he couldn't let the evil sorceress, Karaba, see him.

Karaba is the evil sorceress. She stood out in the movie the most to me. She did evil deeds like she took the water, took all of the men and turned them into obedient servants, she took all the gold, and she stole the children. Karaba was not always mean and evil though. She was a beautiful, young woman. Later in the movie you find out that she is so mean and evil for a reason. Karaba was in pain. Karaba was raped by many men and they put a poisonous thorn in her spine. The thorn seemed to be a reminder of what had happened to her.

Karaba to me represents a lot of women in this world today. There are so many women that have been hurt by men. Since women don't know how to heal from the hurt or we don't get help to heal from the hurt; we as women hold onto the hurt. Holding on to that hurt causes women to be very mean to men. Women tend to be miserable, and has we all know misery loves company. This situation turns into a generational curse. Wounded women are raising little girls. Little girls are being taught to hate men because of their mothers' wounds. All wounded women need is a hero like Kirikou to take the thorn out of their backs, so we can feel no more pain and we could feel free like Karaba.

I would watch this movie again. I would recommend that women that have been hurt before watch this movie. Watching this movie has made me realize some things. One thing being, we should learn to forgive! If women could learn to do that we would feel FREE!

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.

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.

In Kirikou et la Sorcière, Kirikou shows us that violence is not always the answer. Kirikou is a great example of how we (as Americans) should take a step back and look at our "hero's" on the big screen. In children's Disney movies, the hero kills off the "bad guy".

In these Disney movies, the hero has no mother in the picture, and usually uses violence to get what he wants. In Kirikou et la Sorcière, Kirikou has a mother and loves her much. Kirikou also does not use violence in any way, even when his mother gives him his father's dagger, Kirikou only uses it as a shovel to help him dig his way into the forbidden mountains and back home.

Compared to Disney movies, Kirikou's story is friendlier. I would say that this story is extremely appropriate for children, though the graphics of the movie may not be. This story is much more appropriate for children compared to Disney movies in that it gives an alternative to violence. Many parents, now a day, claim to be worried about their children playing violent video games and watching violent movies and TV shows. But what they don't realize is that the Disney movies are just as violent. These parents are used to the violence in the Disney movies and don't see it. They think that because they are killing the "bad guys" it is okay. Though, in video games you are killing the "bad guys" as well; there really isn't that big of a difference (with violence) between Halo and Disney movies.

When Kirikou goes to the forbidden mountains, he is faced with some difficulties along the way. When the skunk attacks the squirrels, he does not use his dagger to save them; he just pulls on its tail and hisses at it until it leaves. Also, when the wild boar tries to attack and kill him, he does not retaliate with violence; he tries to tame the boar. When he arrives back at the sorceress's temple, he does not try to intentionally hurt her, he only wants to help her. By pulling the thorn out of her back, he releases her from the evil power.

Kirikou et la Sorcière is a great children's story. Though the graphics in the movie are not very child friendly, you could re-make this movie with kid-friendly graphics, or just listen to it. This film would be great for children of more mature ages to watch, but if you only listen to the story, it is great for children of all ages. This film teaches children that violence may be more fun to watch but in real life, it is never the answer.