HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Nichole Simpson We love our heroes! We idolize them and put them on t-shirts, cereal boxes, make action figures out of them, etc. But when one stops to think about our heroes, what do they do? They destroy the bad guys and bring peace. How do they do this? Usually there is a lot of fighting, things are destroyed, and the bad guy either goes to jail or is killed. The film Kirikou and the Sorceress is the story of a hero, but a different kind of hero. Kirikou does not have great battles or destroy anything. He is kind and wise. What was his heroic action? To restore peace to his village, but the most important thing to him was finding out why Karaba, the Sorceress, was so mean and evil.Michel Ocelot, the director and writer of this film, does an excellent job in portraying how he feels Africans should respond to the clash of colonialism and tradition. He uses several types of characters in this film to represent the different attitudes people in Africa have taken. First there is Karaba, who represents colonialism and modernity. She is seen as terribly mean and evil. She eats the men and tries to steal the children. Through various revolutions men have tried to fight colonialism and many have died. Children have been swayed by the allure that modernity has brought, and they have completely rejected their traditional ways. Second are the village people; they sit at home and get angry over colonialism, but all they ever do is complain. Then there is Kirikou, who is wise and kind and does not want to destroy or kill Karaba. He asks a question and seeks the answer that no one is willing to ask.Ocelot shows, through Kirikou, that it is possible for the villagers and Karaba to live in harmony with each other. Through kindness Kirikou becomes the hero, saving not only the villagers, but also Karaba. One does not have to make a choice of tradition or modernity. Ocelot says that we can have a combination of the two. They do not have to constantly be at odds with each other.This is an excellent film! It is a cartoon and thus designed more for children, but who doesn't like a good cartoon?! I would prefer to show this film over other superhero films to children, because of the simple lessons taught. Evil does not have to be killed or aggressively fought against to destroy it. Sometimes all it takes is a little kindness and understanding.

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.

mehmelae Kirikou et la Sorcière is a story that has many morals. For example, the story demonstrates that even the smallest person can be a hero; and also that it is because he is small that he has not been corrupted to the ways of the world and into accepting his lot in life. Kirikou has courage, wisdom, and curiosity that helps him to save his village from the Sorceress, but also the Sorceress from her evil power. He is small, but he is not afraid to do what is right, and what has to be done. Since Kirikou was so tiny he was able to crawl into the water spout and find out what had stolen the water from his villagers. He was able to crawl through the underground maze to see the Wise Old Man of the Mountain. One does not have to be big to be brave.Another moral is that relying on one's family for help is not a bad thing. Kirikou seeks help from his mother throughout the whole movie, especially in the end. He loves his mother very much. Kirikou also seeks help from his grandfather who helps him many times as well with his wisdom. A family is there to help whenever help is needed, and Kirikou was not so grown up, though of course he wanted to be, that he would not ask for help when he needed it.An important moral is forgiveness. The Sorceress was evil and very cruel to the villagers. She supposedly ate their men, stolen their water, gold, and children, but in reality she only did one and tired to do another. She was cruel; however, Kirikou saves her from the evil power that has corrupted her. When he brings her back to the villagers they refuse to accept that she is no longer evil and they threaten to kill the Sorceress and Kirikou. She was truly sorry for the things she did while under the influence of the evil power, the villagers should have given her a chance to prove her sincerity.Though for some this movie would be laughable because of its graphics and how the story is written. The women of the village are drawn with varying shapes and sizes that are hilarious. Also the village elder is portrayed as a complete imbecile. However, one has to look beyond the literal text to see the metaphorical meanings. The director uses the colors and graphics as symbols. The colors in the village and around it very beautiful; they are so bright and vivid. They symbolize life and goodness. The colors around the Sorceress hut are dark, dreary colors symbolizing evil and ugliness.This movie would be best for little children because they will not pick apart the movie looking for bad directing or horrible graphics. Those things do not matter to children. They will see that Kirikou is a small boy that does great things, and they will love it. Also they are more likely to pick up on the morals of the story than adults who always think meanings have to be hidden, and who cannot see the easy things. Of course, many adults will like this movie if they like challenging their minds to see beyond the surface of the story into what it really is all about.

Anna Horine 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.