A Robert Boner, Benoit Dreyer presentation of a Max-LeFilm (Switzerland)/Future Films (U.K.)/Nexus Factory (Belgium)/Cinemanufacture (France) production, in co-production with la Television Suisse Romande, co-produced by 2B et MIG, in association with Wild Bunch (France). Produced by Boner. Executive producer, Benoit Dreyer. Co-producers, Stephen Margolis, Kwesi Dickson, Sylvain Goldberg, Serge de Poucques. Directed by Samuel Guillaume, Frederic Guillaume. Screenplay, Emmanuel Salinger, Christine Dory.
Normally, derelict dads, genetic engineering and class warfare would not constitute the stuff of funny-animal fables, but in the freres Guillaume's impressive animated feature, social realism and critiques of capitalism amusingly enter the realm of the fantastic. Reputedly the most expensive Swiss film ever made, the Annecy fest audience award-winner left enthusiastic critics perplexed when it bombed in its first two weeks of European release. Aggressively pushed as a family film, "Max & Co" could conceivably fare better in the less demographically specific niche of such stop-motion puppet animation as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
Fifteen-year-old fox Max -- an accomplished musician on the "bigoude," a hybrid accordion/electric guitar -- comes to the town of Saint Hilaire in search of his father, whom he has never met. Saint Hilaire's sole employer, Bzzz & Co., a monopolistic manufacturer of fly swatters, has floundered under the leadership of frog playboy Rodolfo, and Max's arrival coincides with that of a team dispatched by the bottom-line parent company to streamline production.
While a number-cruncher fires most of the town's populace, a mad scientist unleashes swarms of mutant flies to increase swatter demand, and Rodolfo hires a sexy cat chanteuse as spokesfeline. Led by Max and mousy girlfriend Felicie, the denizens of Saint Hilaire take arms against Bzzz & Co. and, after many misadventures, eventually triumph.
Helmers Samuel and Frederic Guillaume have chosen a puppet design reminiscent of 19th-century fairy-tale illustrations wherein animals move, speak and act like humans, generally conveying emotions through evocative body language. Though hero Max is nominally a fox and Felicie a suitably accessorized mouse, both are roughly the same size (probably not biologically explained by Felicie's doggy dad).
Absent is American-style "personality animation," save for Rodolfo, a champagne-swilling frog whose eyes and pliable facial features are hilariously expressive.
Fully fleshed-out script by live-action scribes Emmanuel Salinger and Christine Dory is rich in sly whimsy: The company's mad scientist scuttles about in a spider-legged wheelchair, and when angry workers storm the factory, they are knocked down by giant metal flyswatters.Pic's sparse but lively musical numbers never overstay their welcome.
Given the general tendency to consider animation a kiddie medium, "Max & Co" is difficult to pin down with its fairy-tale design and kid hero on the one hand, and its socially sophisticated storyline on the other. The art-film route charted by animated features like "The Triplets of Belleville" and "Persepolis" might merit distrib consideration.
Stop-motion animation, drawing from an international talent pool, is excellent and expertly voiced. Incorporation of realistic landscapes and lighting by celebrated live-action lenser Renato Berta displays rare subtlety.
Camera (color, widescreen), Renato Berta; editor, Jacques Comets; music, Bruno Coulais; costume designer, Pierre-Andre Chanez; animation supervisor, Guionne Leroy; character design, Felicie Haymoz; puppet construction, Andy Gent (Mackinnon & Saunders); backgrounds, Laurent Baude; computer graphics, Luc Van Driessche, Fabrice Faivre; sound (Dolby Digital), Raphael Sohier, Nicholas Becker, Jean-Jacques Ferran, Stephane Thiebaud. Reviewed at New York Children's Film Festival, March 2, 2008. (Also in Annecy Animated Film Festival, France.) Running time: 76 MIN.
Voices: Lorant Deutch, Patrick Bouchitey, Amelie Lerma, Micheline Dax, Virginie Efira, Sanseverino, Denis Podalydes.
(French dialogue)
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Date in print: Mon., Mar. 17, 2008