Santa Monica, Calif.-based media company Buffalo 8 announced today that the French animated feature Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be will arrive on video on demand platforms next Friday, July 28. Inspired by the bestselling children’s books Le Petit Nicolas and the lives of their creators, the 2D picture took home the Annecy Cristal for best feature film in 2022.
Synopsis: Somewhere between Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny lean over a large white sheet of paper and bring to life a mischievous and endearing boy, Little Nicholas. From schoolyard games and fights to summer camp prank and camaraderie, Nicholas lives a merry and enriching childhood. As the adventures of Nicholas and his friends unfold, the boy makes his way into his creators’ workshop and light-heartedly questions them. Sempé and Goscinny will recount the story of their friendship, career, and reveal a childhood filled with hopes and dreams.
The labor-of-love film several years in the making was directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, and featured an accomplished voice cast: René Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempé are portrayed by award-winning actors Alain Chabat (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra) and Laurent Lafitte (The Takedown, Elle).
The film was co-written by Anne Goscinny, René Goscinny’s daughter, with Michel Fessler and Massoubre (I Lost My Body). Producers are Aton Soumache (The Little Prince, Miraculous) and Lilian Eche (White Fang, The Room) fo ON Classica and Bibidul Productions. The film’s score was composed by Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Ludovic Bource (The Artist, Escape from Planet Earth).
First appearing in 1959 in the Sud-Quest Dimanche newspaper, more than 222 Le Petit Nicolas stories were published and later created into books. These have since sold more than 15 million copies, and have been translated into 40 languages.
Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be will be available through Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play/YouTube, Vubiquity, Redbox, Charter/Spectrum, Comcast/Xfinity and Cox starting July 28.
