April and the Extraordinary World (2015)

Lack of good storyline.

An absolute waste of money

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's an alternate history. In 1870, Napoleon III meets with scientist Gustave Franklin who is developing a serum to turn animals into super soldiers. Two lizards escape and an explosion kills everybody. The young Napoleon IV signs a peace treaty with Prussia and thereby extending the Napoleonic age into the future. Scientists disappear and the world remains stuck in the steam age. Coal and Europe's forest have been used up. In 1931, the government is kidnapping any remaining scientists to prepare for impending war. The Franklin family is continuing their research into the invulnerable serum. Inspector Pizoni fails in their arrest and vows to avenge his demotion. The parents disappear after being attacked by a lightning black cloud. April (Marion Cotillard) escapes with her serum-altered talking cat Darwin. Ten years later, Julius is working for Pizoni to keep track of April and her grandfather Pops. April hopes to finish her parents' work and ends up uncovering a shocking conspiracy.This is a fascinating world. The animation is interesting. It's comic book animation. I would stay with April more consistently and keep the reveal secret longer. Revealing the parents so early takes away some of the tension. It could be a more compelling shock. April needs more comedic scenes to add to her appeal. She's a little stiff. The talking cat could have been fun except for his sickness. Nevertheless, the overall sense is one of a good adventure.

Avril's Extraordinary world is an alternative time line in which Napoleon V rules France and the scientist that help built the foundations of technology are missing, forcing the world into a steam punk setting, and Avril a young scientist herself has the key to our future. It's animated quite beautifully. I'm a huge fan of steam punk and I love seeing the design all over the movie. I also like the style of 3D animation blended with computer generated images. It's always a welcome change to see this other than the world we live in right now that is dominated by 3D animation. It was a great adventure film, filed with character and characters that were smart and funny, and accessible to everyone.Good watch.

I absolutely LOVED this film! An excellent an complex scenario based on a nice and original "what-if" idea, well-constructed characters, good voices, a well-constructed universe, it was absolutely perfect! The peculiar use of music -only present when music is actually played in the story-, was great, very interesting, and gave a very unique feel to the story. The drawings and animation change from the big modern Disney blockbusters that we've gotten used to, but this is something that actually goes very well with the BD-like style of the film: you really feel like seeing an high-quality comics that somehow came alive, it's fantastic! A must-go!

"Avril and the extraordinary world" was presented before the official release at the Anim'est international animation festival in Bucharest. I went to see it after a brief look at parts of the official trailer, without knowing anything about the cast, cartoonist, director and the plot in general. I have to say that it was a magnificent movie, reminding me of some classic Disney style hand crafted animation that I used to love when I was a child. It is beautifully drawn and looks without any flaws. The story takes place in an alternative universe, where some modern inventions where never discovered or made available for the advancement of our societies. This makes you question how would the world look like if we have never used electricity or petrol in our daily lives. And the movie answers a lot of these questions. The plot keeps you for most of the movie engaged and in some small parts at the edge of your seat. The comic release character, a talking cat with the name of Darwin was instantly liked by all people present at the screening, adults and children together. His comments of various situations in the movie proved to be very effective, bringing smiles and laughter all around.