Critic Reviews
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Derek Adams, Time Out
'A Monster in Paris' borrows some of its tics from silent cinema, but it also reaches out to films such as 'Frankenstein', 'Phantom of the Opera', 'The Fly' and 'King Kong' for inspiration.
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Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
French monster movie encourages looking past the surface.
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Bill Gibron, Film Racket
proves there is life beyond the Hollywood hit machine and the omnipresent House of Mouse
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Jim Schembri, 3AW
Lovely French animated period comedy offers a monster story with a charming difference... A flighty, enjoyable confection and very pretty to look at.
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Simon Foster, Screen-Space
A heady, intoxicating blend of the romantic majesty and rich culture of the City of Lights and the legacy provided by a century of great animation from both sides of the Atlantic courses through this beautiful film's DNA.
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Graham Young, Birmingham Mail
From its curiously light opening to its emotive climax, the best thing about this animation is that it gets better and better as you grow into its own little world.
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Dan Brightmore, Little White Lies
Above all it's just plain fun, and the songs are catchy, too.
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, This is London
Bibo Bergeron's charmingly animated but fiendishly plotted feature is up for an Oscar and just about deserves the compliment for originality, if not for its storyline.
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Andrew Osmond, SFX Magazine
Solidly staged and charmingly quirky, but be prepared for a few longueurs.
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, Liverpool Echo
There are some decent laughs and energetic set pieces despite a flimsy script.
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Allan Hunter, Daily Express
The manic story shoots off in so many directions it is a mess but Paris looks marvellous, the songs are pretty and the film has charm.
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Christopher Tookey, Daily Mail [UK]
You'd think fun could be had with the idea of fleeing a flea, but gags are few and far between.
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Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
The film has something of Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame, and indeed King Kong, but has an eccentric style of its own: a decent children's film.
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Lucy Barrick, Radio Times
While the attempts at humour occasionally fall flat, there's plenty of excitement in the chase scenes and a refreshing lack of sentiment, and the movie is topped by bewitchingly memorable songs.
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Neil Smith, Total Film
It's hard to fathom who this 3D combo of horror, musical and twinkly retro nostalgia is aimed at.
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Roz Laws, Birmingham Post
It is clever, quite funny and beautifully animated, with lovely Parisian scenes, though the 3D version is pointless.
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Tim Evans, Sky Movies
Youngsters will be enthralled by the adventures of the troublesome trio while mum and dad may find themselves singing along to a Matthieu Chedid's score, a rich pastiche which sweetly drives the narrative along.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Beautifully animated with impressive background work, likeable characters and a couple of catchy songs, this is an enjoyable and frequently charming family adventure that should appeal to both adults and children...
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Siobhan Synnot, Scotsman
The animation is charming, the musical numbers rather sweet, but the plot struggles for excitement, unexpected twists or comic moments.
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Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
3D fun for all the family with impressive visuals and some catchy tunes.
Read all 20 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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I wonder if there is a slight case of lost in translation with Monster in Paris as the script just doesn't work with what is going on. The animation is hit and miss, at times impressive but sometimes amateur. The story is nothing special either and most of the characters are… More
I wonder if there is a slight case of lost in translation with Monster in Paris as the script just doesn't work with what is going on. The animation is hit and miss, at times impressive but sometimes amateur. The story is nothing special either and most of the characters are forgettable and some a little too familiar to other animated characters. I support any studio that takes on the big boys but I'm afraid you'll have to do better than this if you want to make any impact.
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Loved this animation. Really recommend everyone to watch. Great movie to watch with your family.
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There's always something fun about watching an animation that doesn't come from a big studio. A Monster in Paris is a charming little CGI animation that mixes the traditional Disney fairytale formula with romantic French gothic literature such as Phantom of the Opera and… More
There's always something fun about watching an animation that doesn't come from a big studio. A Monster in Paris is a charming little CGI animation that mixes the traditional Disney fairytale formula with romantic French gothic literature such as Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Dame. Two bungling friends make a delivery to a scientist who is out of town, his ape butler invites them in and they start messing with his formulas. They accidentally create a large Flea monster that escapes into the night. As people begin to fear the monster, a young singer discovers he is gentle and has an exquisite singing voice. But the police commissioner is already on the trail, hoping the slaying of he monster will bring him fame and fortune. The animation is wonderful, if sometimes a little stiff, and the character designs are very enjoyable. I was also very impressed with how the film mixes bright colourful daytime scenes, and then hints at darker horror with fog filled nights. The relationships between characters are built up nicely, and there is more going on than in your usual animated family film. Towards the end it shrugs off the darker tones for more family friendly slapstick, and exciting action adventure chases. This is where it kind of betrays those tragic love stories, but I understand this is for kids.The songs range in styles and quality. It was fun to hear the voice of Sean Lennon as the monstrous flea. He has a very distinctive style, far removed from his late father's. It's one of those films where all involved should be proud, but may wish to take some greater risks in the future.
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What starts out as an interesting mixture of francophilia and post-B-Movie eeriness quickly derails into a formulaic and bland family adventure that lacks finesse and interesting characters. Of course, a giant flea sound like something but what is the point if the film just copies… More
What starts out as an interesting mixture of francophilia and post-B-Movie eeriness quickly derails into a formulaic and bland family adventure that lacks finesse and interesting characters. Of course, a giant flea sound like something but what is the point if the film just copies other animated movies page per page. And do not get me started on the singing ... I am sorry, but Vanessa Paradis and Sean Lennon in a super falsetto duet is nigh unbearable. Bland and generic, skip this one. The animation is not on par with big budget production, which is fine if you can even the odd knack out with vision or art direction but the film does not do anything of the kind. Instead, we get clunky animations and lots (lots) of stretched textures and empty, liveless spaces.
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oh, France, you're going to have to do a lot better at animation if you want to compete with Japan or America.
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