Mia et le Migou (Mia and the Migoo) (2011)

38% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(871 ratings)

Created from an astonishing 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, the gorgeous second feature from French animator Jacques-Rémy Girard is a work of art, breathtaking to behold. Figures are outlined in pencil and then bathed in rustic watercolors, with backgrounds that burst at the seams with… More Created from an astonishing 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, the gorgeous second feature from French animator Jacques-Rémy Girard is a work of art, breathtaking to behold. Figures are outlined in pencil and then bathed in rustic watercolors, with backgrounds that burst at the seams with painterly detail, like a Miyazaki film painted by Van Gogh. The story is a thrilling family adventure that pits a plucky, wild haired young heroine Mia against profit-hungry developers, with the future of life on Earth in the balance. One night Mia has a premonition. So after saying a few words of parting at her mother's grave, she sets out on a journey across mountains and jungles to search for her father, who has been trapped in a landslide at a disaster-plagued construction site on a remote tropical lake. In the middle of the lake stands the ancient Tree of Life, watched over by innocent, bumbling forest spirits called the Migoo, who grow and change shape as they please, morphing from small childlike beings to petulant giants. It is the Migoo who have been disrupting the construction to protect this sacred site - and now together with Mia - they join in a fight to find Mia's father and save the Tree. -- (C) GKids

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Jacques-Rémy Girerd
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Art House & International

In Theaters: Mar 25, 2011 Limited
Studio: GKIDS

Critic Reviews

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
So heavy-handed that only the youngest audiences won't feel talked down to. Instead, they're likely to be freaked out.
Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times
Distracting flashes of crude humor dissipate any connection to the characters and odd encounters derail the momentum. And the climax muddles the film's eco message.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
This generally involving film is gorgeous to watch thanks to its 500,000 hand-painted frames of vibrantly colored, enormously artistic animation.
Rachel Saslow, Washington Post
What kind of kid will be able to appreciate this serious plot, which involves investors pulling out of a land-development deal and a scary, knife-wielding witch?
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Far too childish to intrigue adults yet too slow and dull for kids.
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Shares a spiritual link to the Japanese works of Hayao Miyazaki but lacks his films' narrative drive and magical overlay.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
...it is not the words nor the acting that matter here as much as the beautiful visuals which wear the influence of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki on its sleeve.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
The story's serviceable, if unexciting, with themes of child-parent love and the importance of peaceful interactions.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
The influence of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki is obvious here, and it's a comparison that doesn't flatter French filmmaker Jacques-Remy Girerd's movie.
Shawn Levy, Oregonian
It's lovely, truly, but so heavy-handed and slipshod that it's probably best enjoyed with the sound off -- an option they're not likely to offer at the movie theater.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
The toke-tastic visuals are an endless delight, especially the Migoo themselves, who look like the offspring of McDonald's Grimace and Calvin and Hobbes' killer monster snow goons.
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Magical realism adventure promotes family, environmentalism.
Simon Abrams, Slant Magazine
A cliché-riddled kid's film whose sole inventive hook is its hand-painted, Cray-Pas-by-way-of-water-colors animation style.