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They’re back!
The plucky little mouse and the slovenly, musical bear who charmed audiences in the feature Ernest & Celestine (2012) have returned to the big screen. An adaptation of Gabrielle Vincent’s children’s books, Ernest & Celestine received an Oscar nomination, numerous critics and festival awards, and the César for best animated feature. The sequel, Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, will open in the theaters in the U.S. on September 1.
The 2D-animated feature, which is produced by Folivari, Mélusine and StudioCanal with France 3 Cinema and Les Armateurs on board as co-producers, is directed by Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger. The duo recently discussed the new film in an interview conducted via email. (They responded to the questions jointly, following their practice sharing tasks on the production.) They began with the obvious question: Why a new feature for these characters, 11 years later?
Adding More Drama
“We believe producer Didier Brunner has had the idea of producing another Ernest & Celestine movie since the first film was released,” they said. ‘‘But he didn’t find the right story or team to really get it going. When we collaborated with him on the Ernest & Celestine TV series, he asked us to consider directing a new feature. The first scripts for a new film were written at that time, around 2016. We worked alongside the producers and screenwriters for many years before finding the right tone — a mix of intimacy and bigger drama.”
The new film explores Ernest’s back story. When he wakes from his winter hibernation, Celestine urges the sugar-loving bear to go out and start busking to earn money for food. During the ensuing arguments, Celestine accidentally breaks his violin — a rare “Stradibearius.” Ernest explains that the only individual in the world who could possibly repair the antique instrument is a luthier in his homeland of Gibberitia. When he refuses to go back to find the artisan, Celestine sets out alone on the long, perilous journey through rugged snowy mountains. Soon after, Ernest goes to rescue her in their ramshackle van.
Author/illustrator Gabrielle Vincent said the Ernest character was inspired by a man she knew from Eastern Europe. In the television series, Chheng and Roger showed that Ernest was an immigrant, from the country of Gibberitia (“Charabie” in French). “He left his country for reasons unknown — which we discover in this second film,” they continue. “Screenwriters Guillaume Mautalent, Sébastien Oursel and Jean Regnaud developed the story to give Celestine a chance to visit Ernest’s past and fix what is broken in her friend’s heart.”
Once she crosses the blizzard-wracked peaks, Celestine finds herself in a mountainous country that suggests late 20th Century Eastern Europe. Bears travel on tramways and go about their daily lives in quaint, colorful houses and grand public squares.
“The name ‘Charabie’ comes from the word ‘charabiov,’ which designates Ernest’s native language in the series. It sounds like a word from some Slavic language,” Chheng and Roger explained. ‘‘From the very beginning, we looked for visual references in the Caucasus, especially since Gibberitia is a country of mountain bears. The architecture of the houses evokes the old houses of Tbilisi in Georgia. We’ve travelled to the far north of Pakistan, to the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges. We’ve also worked in the Ukraine. All these memories and experiences enriched our vision of what Gibberitia could be.”
Celestine is puzzled by the strange country: Its inhabitants don’t even know what a mouse is. But the strangest things about Gibberitia is the complete absence of music. Government officials chase away birds that try to sing; the few officially sanctioned performers play only one note. (A concert piano in Gibberitia has a single key.) Conditions in Gibberitia may remind some viewers of the unhappy kingdom Jerry Mouse ruled in the 1945 Gene Kelly musical Anchors Aweigh.
With her usual perseverance, Celestine gradually uncovers the link between the government’s rigidly enforced anti-music policy and Ernest’s decision to abandon his native land. Her good nature and courage enable her to forge an alliance with the musical equivalent of a resistance movement.
‘Sometimes we feel powerless about what’s going on in the world. But it’s human beings who are the source of everything, and we think it’s important that children be made aware of the potential their life contains.’
— Directors Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger
Because music is a key element in the plot, Chheng and Roger worked closely with composer Vincent Courtois. “We wanted Vincent Courtois’ music to be very melodic and emotional, playing around the musical theme of resistance, which Gibberitia has long forgotten. We didn’t feel like it needed lyrics to further describe what the notes of his score evoke so well.”
The directors had worked with Courtois on the TV series, so when they began the film, they were happy to expand the collaboration. “From the start of development, we searched together for what would be good for the film and the music,” they added. “We drew the storyboards and made a first rough edit by integrating them with the first samples of the music that Vincent composed in parallel. The music is so important for the story that, in our minds, we could not separate it from the structure of this film. It was essential to establish the rhythm of the film and the development of the story through the evolution of the score. The symbiosis between the visuals and the music is a characteristic of the film.”
New voices have been chosen for the film’s English-language version. “Forest Whitaker is unfortunately not rejoining the cast and Mackenzie Foy has aged out of the role,” Chheng and Roger said. “We cast it to match those original voices, so audiences should expect a very similar sound.” Canadian musician and actor Andrew Kishino, who’s done numerous voices for animation, plays Ernest; Ashley Boettcher, whom anime fans know as the magical Hina Amano in the English dub of Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You, voices Celestine. (Renowned French actor Lambert Wilson voices the bear in the original-language version.)
Making Art for Future Adults
Monique Martin (1928-2000), the creator of Ernest & Celestine, was initially known as a watercolorist. ‘‘She took the pen name of Gabrielle Vincent to create the Ernest & Celestine books because being an author of a children’s book was frowned upon — children’s books were considered to sub-art,” Chheng and Roger explained. “But she was interested in children — she considered them to be full-fledged people. We share that vision: We strive to make films for young audiences and families by considering children as future adults.”
“The theme of this film is: Everyone must write the script of their own life,” the directors concluded. “Sometimes, young people do not receive enough encouragement to develop themselves. They’re advised to be safe. But the future lies in the pioneering spirit and creative daring of today’s youth. Sometimes we feel powerless about what’s going on in the world. But at the end of the day, it’s human beings who are the source of everything, and we think it’s important that children be made aware of the potential their life contains.”
GKIDS will release Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia in the U.S. on September 1 (see the list of participating theaters here). The movie opened in some European territories, including France, last year.
