Review No.29: A Monster in Paris

So a week removed from half term seems like an appropriate time to review two children/family films. First up is one that didn't really have that much mainstream publicity but in actuality is a redubbed version of  French animated film released last year. A Monster in Paris, or Un Monstre a Paris if you're a French sympathiser, sees Vanessa Paradis reprise her role as Lucille a cabaret singer who finds fame when she is accompanied by a giant flea who was turned into a monster following an accident with some fertilizer. This accident is caused by Lucille's would-be-love-interest lorry driver Raoul and his friend projectionist Emile who in turn is in love with fellow cinema-worker Maud. All these stories come to a head when the investigation is headed by police chief Maynot someone who also has his eyes on Lucille and is intent on getting the monster. The love triangle, Emile's feelings for Maud and the monster's true identity are all bought out in a final battle set against The Eiffel Tower.

I hate to describe anything as blah but that's sort of how I felt after watching A Monster in Paris. The opening featuring old film reel and Emile's job as a projectionist were all handled well but once the roguish Raoul was bought into the story things sort of went a bit downhill until the final third of the film. The final set piece was handled well and to me evoked memories of Hitchock's The 39 Steps and King Kong with the plot as a whole also owing a debt to Little Shop of Horrors. If I was a fan of anything in this film it had to be the musical sequences handled extremely well by Paradis whose voice performance is the best thing about Bibo Bergeron's film. I'm sure if I were the target audience for this film, which played in 3D in cinemas, then I would probably enjoy the large insects and the obvious plot points but I'm afraid I'm just an old cynic.

Verdict: A film I found just OK I'll give a bigger score to just because I think it probably appealed to its target group so it seems about right to give it 6/10