After being recommended this film, I finally watched Ocelot’s animated masterpiece, KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS. I was skeptical at first, but this film so eloquently and poignantly weaves culture through such a specific animation style and such a specific color pallet that it brought me to tears. Wise beyond his years, Kirkikou’s represents a Messiah; yet unlike overt religious tropes, Kirikou’s identity is flawed and, as old as he may get and as wise as he is, still barred by an inert childishness.
That, however, isn’t a negative trait but one that brings the film and the tale it weaves into a space of its own. Ocelot’s use of color, shape is so familiar to me, and is reminiscent of the drawing style of Black illustrators such as R. Gregory Christie. There’s a link there that I wish to so much more investigate in “identity-pallets”!
Michel Ocelot’s KIRIKOU and The Sorceress (2000)