April and the Extraordinary World (2015)

This animation tells the story of a post Napoleon would, where all scientists are captured, and the world becomes very different due to a lack of technology. The last surviving free scientists strive hard to create the serum that can make life perpetual, but mysterious forces are after them.The colour scheme of the animation is dark and dull. The characters are not cute either, and therefore it's hard for me to develop a liking for it. Though the story is quite engaging, I still don't find myself developing a connection with April and her experiences. The normally careful April all of a sudden trusts a stranger appearing from nowhere doesn't make sense, which annoys me quite a bit. Overall, the story is strong but has a loophole or two. I would have liked it better if the colour scheme was brighter.

Had great anticipation, after reading a write-up on a local paper, and made special plans to clear one evening to go to the local theater and see this. While the drawings depicting the city of Paris in imaginary time extensions were beautiful, the action sequences seemed dull. The story too was a bit outmoded, seemed to steeped into traditional storytelling of graphic novels of four decades ago. And the character of Inspector Pizoni was just a inherited old baggage from Tintin's Dupont and Dupont. Not funny anymore. Also, in a Europe that is more and more intertwined with different cultural streams, this plot was entirely Franco-centric, with nostalgic references to an imperial France that stubbornly still hinges of some people's minds. Get over it. It's over. There is so much "new", so why keep on bringing back the "old" ? At the end, left the theater somewhat disappointed.

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.

"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.