''Kirikou and the Sorceress'' (french: Kirikou et la Sorcière, ) is a 1998

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

written and directed by

Michel Ocelot Michel Ocelot (born 27 October 1943) is a French Screenwriter, writer, Production designer, designer, storyboard artist and Film director, director of animation, animated films and television programs (formerly also animator, background artist, n ...

. Drawn from elements of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba. The film was originally released on 9 December 1998.Kirikou Et La Sorciere (Kirikou And The Sorceress)
. ''www.bcdb.com'', 13 October 2012 It is a co-production between companies in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(Exposure, France 3 Cinema, Les Armateurs, Monipoly, Odec Kid Cartoons),

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(Radio-Télévision belge) and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

(Studio O, Trans Europe Film) and animated at Rija Films' studio in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

and Studio Exist in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It was so successful that it was followed by ''

Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages ''Kirikou and the Wild Beasts'' ( French: ''Kirikou et les Bêtes sauvages'') is a 2005 French animated feature film. It premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May and, unlike its predecessor, received only festival screenings in all En ...

'', released in 2005, and adapted into a stage

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, ''Kirikou et Karaba'', first performed in 2007. Another followup, '' Kirikou et les hommes et les femmes'', was released in late 2012.

Plot

In a little

n village, a boy named Kirikou is born. He is not a normal baby, as he can speak before birth and walk immediately after birth. After Kirikou's mother tells him that an evil sorceress, Karaba, has dried up their spring and eaten all the men of the village except for one, he decides to accompany the last warrior, his uncle, to visit her and use intercourse as a means to stop her. Kirikou manages to trick the sorceress and save his uncle by waiting inside his uncle's hat and pretending that it's magic. Additionally, he saves the village's children from being kidnapped both by the sorceress's boat and tree, and kills the monster who was drinking all the village's water, gaining trust and stature in the eyes of the previously skeptical villagers. With the help of his mother and various animals, Kirikou then evades Karaba's watchmen and travels into a forbidden mountain to ask his wise old grandfather about the sorceress. His grandfather tells him that she is evil because she suffers from a poisoned thorn in her back, which causes her great pain and also gives her great power. After learning this, Kirikou manages to take the sorceress's stolen gold, thus luring her outside to where he can trick her and extract the poisoned thorn. As a result, the sorceress is cured of her suffering, and she kisses Kirikou, who then becomes an adult. When Kirikou and Karaba arrive back at the village, no one believes that the sorceress is cured until a procession of drummers arrive with Kirikou's grandfather. The drummers turn out to be the sorceress's watchmen and henchmen restored to their original human forms, the missing men of the village, whom she hadn't eaten after all.

Cast

French voice cast

* Doudou Gueye Thiaw: Child Kirikou *

Awa Sene Sarr Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) l ...

: Karaba * Maimouna N'Diaye: Kirikou's mother *

Robert Liensol The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

: Kirikou's grandfather *

William Nadylam William Nadylam (born ) is a French actor. He is best known for playing the role of Yusuf Kama in ''Fantastic Beasts'' film series from the Wizarding World The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fa ...

: Adult Kirikou *

Sébastien Hébrant Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of pasté Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', ...

: Adult Kirikou *

Rémi Bichet The Remi were an ancient Belgic tribe. Remi may also refer to: People * Georges Prosper Remi (1907–1983), a Belgian comic book writer and artist, best known for his comic ''The Adventures of Tintin'', better known as "Hergé" * Jose Vega Sant ...

: Adult Kirikou * Thilombo Lubambu: Kirikou's uncle * Marie Augustine Diatta: the force woman * Moustafa Diop: the fetish on the roof * Isseu Niang: the small woman * Selly Raby Kane: Zoé, the big girl * Erick Patrick Correa: Boris, the big boy * Adjoua Barry: Boulette, a girl * Charles Edouard Gomis Correa: a boy * Marie-Louise Shedeye Diiddi: the little girl * Abdoulayé Diop Yama: the old person * Josephine Theodora M'Boup: a woman * Tabata N'Diaye: the old woman * Samba Wane: fetish talked * Aminatha N'Diaye: a mother * François Chicaïa: man of the village * N'Deyé Aïta N'Diaye: woman of the village * Abdou El Aziz Gueye: man of the village * Boury Kandé: woman of the village * Assy Dieng Bâ: Karaba's scream * Michel Elias: animal sounds

English voice cast

* Theodore Sibusiso Sibeko: Kirikou * Antoinette Kellermann: Karaba * Fezile Mpela: Uncle * Kombisile Sangweni: The Mother * Mabutho Kid Sithole: The Old Man

Swahili voice cast

* Samson Komeka: Kirikou

Japanese voice cast

Ryūnosuke Kamiki is a Japanese actor. Regarded as a child prodigy across 25 years in the industry, he has garnered many awards for his performances. Personal life After he was born, he was in the intensive care unit for four months and remained in critical c ...

: Kirikou *

Atsuko Asano is a Japanese actress.
, sponichi.co.jp; accessed September 3, 2015. Upon marrying Tsutomu Uozumi, a reputed ...

: Karaba *

Kaori Yamagata is a 2015 Japanese animated action fantasy film based on ''Pretty Cure'' franchise created by Izumi Todo, and its twelfth series, ''Go! Princess PreCure''. The film is divided into three segments: ''Cure Flora and the Mischievous Mirror'', ''P ...

: Mother

Production

The film is a co-production of Les Armateurs, Trans Europe Film, Studio O,

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

cinéma,

RTBF The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...

and Exposure in France, Odec Kid Cartoons in

and Monipoly in

. It was animated at Rija Films'

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals ...

and Studio Exist in

, with backgrounds painted at Les Armateurs and Paul Thiltges' animation studio, Tiramisu, in Luxembourg,

digital ink and paint Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...

and compositing by Les Armateurs and Odec Kid Cartoons in Belgium and voices and music recorded in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

.Closing credits of the film. The original French voice acting was performed by a cast of West African actors and schoolchildren and recorded in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. The English dubbing, also directed by Ocelot, was made in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. A dub of the film in the

Swahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

was produced in Tanzania in 2009 through the help of the Danish Film Institute (DFI) and John Riber of Media for Development in Dar es Salaam.

Controversy

The film contains many instances of nudity that reflect the non-sexualized view of the human body in the West African culture depicted. This was controversial enough in the U.S. and the U.K. to prevent its release. Eventually, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

gave the film a few screenings in the U.K., and in the U.S. specialist distributor Artmattan released it to a small but appreciative

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

audience.

Release

The film has been licensed by distributors in numerous countries, including: *

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

– Prodifilms *

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

– Cult Filmes (VHS), Paulinas Multimídia (DVD) *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

– Remstar Distribution *

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

– Angel Films A/S *France – Gébéka Films *

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– MFA Filmdistribution *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

– Mikado Film *

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

– Albatros Film (2003, theatrical), Ghibli Cinema Library/

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

– RUSCICO (2004, video) *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

– Alta Classics S.L. Unipersonal *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

–

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

– ArtMattan Productions (2000, dubbed)

Soundtrack

The ending theme for the film is called Kirikou by Boubacar Mendy, released on

Virgin EMI Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...