Genre: Comedy | Adventure

Director: Bibo Bergeron

Writers: Bibo Bergeron, Stéphane Kazandjian

MPAA Rating: PG

Run Time: 90 minutes

Synopsis:
A wacky inventor, his camera-crazy best friend and a madcap monkey make a massive mistake when let loose in a mad scientist’s laboratory. With lotions and potions spilling everywhere, the troublesome trio accidentally creates Franc, the product of a reaction between a common flea and one of the scientist’s mystery concoctions. What they fail to realize, however, is that this ‘monster’ is actually a soft-centered soul with an astounding talent for music.

With the help of an enchanting nightclub singer Lucille, Franc becomes the talk of the town, just as stories of Paris’s newest monster attract the attention of the egotistical police commissioner, hell bent on securing a big prize to help his battle to become mayor. The unwitting scientists and the singer must team up to protect Franc, a monster with more than a musical career to protect!

Venture into the delightful Parisian cityscapes 1910s and spellbound by the visually opulent family adventure of A MONSTER IN PARIS, directed and written by Bibo Bergeron (Shark Tale) and produced by world renowned filmmaker Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp and Bergeron’s Bibo Films. With an exceptional English-language voice cast of French singing sensation Vanessa Paradis, singer/song writer Sean Lennon, Catherine O’Hara (Penelope), Adam Goldberg (A Beautiful Mind), Bob Balaban (For Your Consideration), Danny Huston (Hitchcock) and Jay Harrington (Private Practice), A MONSTER IN PARIS harkens back to the classic tale of beauty and the beast, and delivers vibrant storyline packed with elegant characters, unforgettable song-and-dance musical numbers and beautiful CG animation that the whole family will enjoy! This critically acclaimed international major motion picture also features enchanting, honey-toned vocals by Vanessa Paradis and Sean Lennon, with music score by popular French singer/songwriter Matthieu Chedid (aka M) and Patrice Renson.

Trailer: A Monster In Paris
[youtube]http://youtu.be/XkkNJYhZlHA[/youtube]

As a mother of young children I was sort of taken aback that there was an animated movie that had been completely off my radar. I’m well versed in children’s movies, and couldn’t believe there was something out there that I hadn’t heard of. The basic reasoning behind this being that the movie is, in fact, French, rerecorded in English.

The first half of the movie is lovely. It follows a couple of bachelors, Albert (Matthew Géczy) the film operator and Raoul (Adam Goldberg) the amateur inventor as they bumble their was through an accidental encounter with an unattended chemistry set which brings a tiny flea to great proportions and talents. The bachelors eventually find their way to songstress Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), but so does the flea whom she names, Francoeur (Sean Lennon) and she introduces him to musical performance.

It really does start to feel like Beauty and the Beast, but just when it does, just when you start to think you know the story, it adds on more layers of story. After watching it several times there are two areas that seemed really unnecessary. First of all there are a lot of details thrown into the second half of the movie that really didn’t add anything to the movie. It’s a movie that really could have benefited from some simplification on that end.

Secondly, at one point there is a gun that comes into play, and it’s not really the presence of the gun that bothered me, but just that the scene and the shooting went on for a what seemed like a really long time, like longer that necessary.

At the end of the day it seems like it was a really sweet idea that started out great and just got all jumbled up in unnecessary plot and gun shots by the end of it. All that being said I’ve still watched it at least 5 times and the early humor from Raoul (Adam Goldberg) and the songs with Lucille (Vanessa Paradis) and Francouer (Sean Lennon) are really beautiful. My girls (ages 9 and 4) have long since stolen my DVD to watch upstairs at their own whim.

While the film isn’t by any stretch perfect, it is entertaining and I encourage you to check it out on DVD and Blu-Ray when it’s released April 16th.

On April 16, 2013, Shout! Factory, in collaboration with EuropaCorp, invites kids and families across America to a whimsical world of Parisian adventure and fantasy when Shout! Factory, in collaboration with EuropaCorp, unleash A MONSTER IN PARIS on DVD and on two-disc Blu-ray™ 3D Combo Pack.  The Blu-ray™ 3D Combo Pack allows viewers to enjoy A MONSTER IN PARIS on the platform of their choice and includes spectacular movie presentation on Blu-ray 3D and 2D, DVD and a digital copy of the movie compatible with PC, MAC, iTunes, iPhone and AppleTV.

EXCLUSIVE TO TWO-DISC BLU-RAY™ 3D COMBO PACK
Movie presentation on Blu-ray 3D and 2D, DVD and a Digital Copy of the film

Technical Information – BLU-RAY™ 3D COMBO PACK
Street Date: April 16, 2013
Running Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes
Layers: (BD25)
Aspect Ratio: 1080p 1.78
Language/ Subtitle: English / English SDH
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

ON DVD

Technical Information – DVD
Street Date: April 16, 2013
Running Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Language/ Subtitle: English / English SDH
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Despite the issues I have with the film, we’ve enjoyed it as a family several times since we’ve added it to our library. It’s a really pretty to watch and the music is quick to catch and I’m found myself in the car humming it several times.

I give A Monster in Paris Three Out of Five Stars.

[AMAZONPRODUCT=B004TJ1HEC]