As part of the Centerpiece section, this is one of the many animated features playing at TIFF 2025. It seems that after FLOW and THE WILD ROBOT last year, it was a reminder of the demand for animation at TIFF!
About: Based on Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling novel The Character of Rain, the magical animated feature Little Amélie or the Character of Rain looks at the world through the eyes of a Belgian girl living in Japan and approaching her third birthday. The film traces Amélie’s growing understanding of the world, balancing the joy of discovery with unexpected tragedy.
Reaction: An eye-popping visual delight from France/Belgium that is an absolute highlight of TIFF as it’s a festival that prides itself on animation (I mean this is where I saw FLOW last year and we all know how well that movie turned out!) and also entirely shows the growing up process from the perspective of a little three year old who has one wild imagination.
One aspect of the movie that sets itself apart is the thick watercolour animation that initially makes you think it is a rushed in comparison to other recent animated features, but then the movie uses that as a branching off point to show a little girl’s eventual coming of age but not shying away from staying at this mindset. At a brisk 75 minutes, the movie reminded me of Canadian animator Torill Kove whose previous short MAYBE ELEPHANTS but of course, the 2000 Jean Pierre Jeunet movie AMELIE which was also so kind and life-affirming.
My only curiosity is if Gkids will do an English dubbed version for its eventual North American release. I don’t have a problem with the subtitles, of course, but this might be a barrier for younger kids to see. Either way, this is a delightful and quite original story about growing up and reminding us that we should always have a little bit of kid-like wonder in us at all times.
Note: Special thanks to the GKids team for an advance screener ahead of the festival!