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 et la Sorcière Kirikou is a young boy who was just born at the beginning of the movie. One of his better characteristics that he has is bravery. He comes out as this little boy, and all of the children in the village always make fun of him and just tell him that he is too young and small. What they do not know is that he is a hero to their village. The entire village is scared of the sorcerer. She has power, an army and the fear of everyone. The entire village feels like she is the one who took their water from them. The sorcerer takes their gold and their men, from what they think. Kirikou wants to help the last male fighter from the village to fight this sorcerer. Kirikou learns of his grandfather. His grandfather has power and knowledge. Kirikou is the only one who is small enough to sneak past the sorcerer underground. He finds out that she only has evil in her because she has a thorn in her back that is causing her great pain. Kirikou, being brave decides he will be the one to pull out the thorn. The thorn being nailed in her back was a metaphor for her being raped. After he removes the thorn she becomes nice again. She has been given freedom from kirikou. She gives him whatever he wants after this. Kirikou receives a kiss from her, and he becomes a big strong man and him and the sorcerer fall in love. This was a movie that I really enjoyed. It was really funny. The movie kind of impressed me because, the music was very interesting. It used many different colors for good and evil. After reading "The Rabbi's Cat" , I was able to notice the color difference. I liked how they made a small boy become a hero in the movie. The entire time this movie really kept my attention. It had a very good story to it also. In a way I can relate to kirikou. When I was really young, I was always the smallest one in my group of friends that I hung out with. A lot of the time I was shut out from sports, games and other activities because I was always so small. But I ended up proving myself to everyone that I might be small, but I am also pretty good at things, just like everyone else was. Being the smaller one, you always feel like you have to prove yourself, and that makes you do things better and also brings out a brave side just like in Kirikous case.

And I mean, adults as well should watch it, no questions asked. Instructive, well made, and very entertaining for all ages and backgrounds.

The great thing about this cartoon is being made in France. There is sincerity and undeviated focused subject. Life in simply beautiful and still perilous after watching Kirikou's folklorist adventures.

Cartoons like Prince Achmed and so many others are strictly intended to grab children's attention using universal subjects to boost instinctive feelings, such as imagination and heartfelt.

The artistic style perfectly matches its content without hurting its purpose making Michel Ocelot indispensable as a kinder-garden teacher with a PHD in anthropology.

Role model cartoon!