Madeline: Lost in Paris (1999)

Beautiful, moving film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Madeline: Lost in Paris, Eh? First off, Its for kids aged 4-8, maybe 9. I had this when i was little, and i watched it today because i wuz bored. I wuz alone, though. I have just finished watching it, and i must say, its a little boring, but, well, its for kids age 4-9, so, what can i expect? The songs were a little catchy, (in an annoying way) So anyway, it shows about 5 new songs, one sining about familys, another for the grown ups entertainment done by the girls etc. So anyway, if you have little kids aged 4-8, i'd suggest this movie. If you cant find it on the shelfs or in a bargain bin for 5 bucks, i'd go on E-bay or Amazon. So yeah, thats about it.

That Madeline is an orphan is a popular misconception, added to by the plot of this movie; she lives in a boarding school, not an orphanage.This is a cute cartoon, and truly is appropriate for the whole family, unlike films like _Shrek_ that contain inappropriate humor. The music and animation are very simple, but have a nice, relaxing effect. Too many children's shows use frenetic imagery and postmodern art that encourages hyperactivity. This is My main critique is that, while the story gets different in the last part, the beginning is a very obvious rip-off of _Annie_. There are several other clichés throughout the story, but it still has enough originality to make it worthwhile.

Is this movie represented by the band called Lost in Paris out of Philadelphia at www. lost in Paris band. com (no spaces)I was curious because I do not think there is a very close connection, but perhaps one of the band members is somehow related to the director of the film. In fact I believe I did hear one of the members saying something about that, and that is how they came up with the name. Perhaps they were trying to promote familiarity with the movie title in artistic circles.Still it seems a very remote possibility as the music performed is not original, but rather cover songs

O.K here's a quick summary of the plot: Madeline is an orphan. She is a good girl but one always seems to end up in some sort of trouble because of her tomboy-ish nature. She lives in a home in France with 11 other little girls who walk in straight lines and tend to say everything in unison. They are looked after by a kind-hearted nun(?) and have an abnormally smart dog. Other characters include the somewhat dim-witted governor of the house and the son of the Spanish Ambassador who lives next door with his father and seems to hold a torch for Madeline. This was originally a book that was a favourite for females in the 5-8 bracket, before becoming an animated series from which this film is derived from.To start with, the animation is a huge improvement from the TV programme, with bright colours and some actual movement in the background. Madeline and her friends are pretty simplisticly drawn, but the art does it's purpose and does not claim to be Toy Story quality. The voiceovers are typically in English but done in French accents: how these people who were born and bred in France are fluent in English is not explained, neither is why they never use their native tongue (They write in it a couple of times) but it sounds amusing nontheless, with Lauren Bacall the undoubted highlight playing the very bald villianess.The storyline gets pretty frenetic at times, but not so much that young minds will get lost in it. There are some pretty scary moments involving a child abduction and threats made with a pair of scissors, but nothing that should unduly concern any parent of a child of school going age. However, the songs in the film are absolutely dreadful, with forced rhymes and twee lyrics a common factor: don't expect the accompaning soundtrack album to exactly sell out in the shops. A good idea to praise the inventor of the mute switch, methinks. Aside from that, they are a couple of moments for grown-ups in the movie, like when a police artist does a Picasso rather than what he is instructed to do, but such parts are rare and mostly this is a kid-only enterprise.Basically this is an ideal babysitter for the sprogs when Mum and Dad are busy round the house, but anybody over the age of 10 will probably quickly tire of it any go off to do something more interesting. By all means watch it with your young un's, but don't be surprised if you nod off after half an hour. There are certain cartoon films out there designed for all the family and people of all ages, like Shrek and Ice Age. This is not one of them.5/10