You know what's great? To have an initial impression of something, then having that something change your mind for the good. Ernest and Celestine, an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature, is like a childhood book come to life. The first 20 seconds or so of the trailer had me sitting here wanting to hit stop, "Ughh...another artsy animated movie" said me. Then, as soon as we see the first meeting of the two title characters, that all starts to morph meh, to like, to love. The story, which I'm sure is a rather intelligent and astute allegory for our current state of fearing what is different, seems like it will be one of those which is sweet and fun enough to let all children enjoy but heavy and smart enough that they, hopefully, will learn some important life lessons. The look, which admittedly jarred me at first, grows on you almost immediately once you make the connection between it's style and that of so many children's books that we all spent so many hours reading and re-reading. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think. If you ask me I think we have one of those very rare films that knows how to entertain a young audience without being devoid of a deep meaning.
