'The Illusionist', made by the folks that brought us the delightful 'Triplettes of Belleville', is most definitely not the type of animated film you would take your kids to, and with it's slow pace and lack of dialogue it might not be the type of animated film you would even go to. Two guys actually walked out of the movie this afternoon, something I haven't witnessed in a long time.
All that being said, I really enjoyed 'The Illusionist'. It's a sweet and charming as well as melancholy. The title character, The Illusionist, is one of a dying breed of vaudeville performers who are being weaseled out of their spotlights by 50's rockers that fill the seats with screaming and swooning girls. He's a sweet old man who just wants to perform, and after a series of not so great gigs he goes to Scotland where he meets Alice, a young girl who believes his magic is real. I think that he's rejuvenated by this belief and when Alice ends up running away to join him in Edinburgh, he lets her stay.
They stay in a boarding house full of characters, a ventriloquist, a very sad clown, three identical acrobats, all vaudevillians looking for a stage. Unfortunately work for all of them is getting more scarce and Alice's wants are growing, she wants new shoes, a new coat, a new dress. And since she thinks they just appear out of thin air and the Illusionist doesn't want to dispel this notion he goes to ever depressing lengths to get them for her. As his fellow vaudevillians slowly give up the Illusionist keeps on trying. However, the last straw for him, is making bras and perfume 'appear' in a department store window, while wearing a terrible pink suit. During this time Alice is growing up and falls for a young man in the city. Alice was a frustrating character for me. She's a silly girl, the kind that drives me crazy. She wants to grow up too fast, and while she seems fairly intelligent she ignores how hard life is for the man that's caring for her. When he sees that she's finally grown up and he's given up he leaves a kind of heart-breaking, yet obvious note, that 'Magic is not real.' A bittersweet ending for a bittersweet tale.
The real scene stealer for me throughout this sweet, sad tale was the Illusionist's white rabbit, that he pulls from the hat in his routine. This rabbit is hilariously mean. It bites him and anyone else who tries to touch it. Constantly tries to run away. Despite all this, the rabbit is part of his family. This is most evident when the Illusionist comes home to a stew made by Alice. When she leaves to deliver soup to the other residents of the boarding house he looks at the recipe [we see the pages change in the wind, but he doesn't] and sees 'lapin' [rabbit] is one of the ingredients. He then worriedly starts to look for his mean, white friend. When he's finally given up the magic life he sets his little buddy free out in a field. The scene as the rabbit realises he's finally free is so adorable.
While I'm still sure that 'Toy Story 3' will be the big winner on February 27th [and really, come ON! It's Pixar, and they can do no wrong in my eyes], it's wonderful that little gems like 'The Illusionist' can get some well-deserved press.
Until next week, which I've just realised is my all-time least favourite 'holiday', Valentine's Day, ugh. Don't get me started. ANYWAYS! See you next week when I'll be watching a movie that has nothing to do with that ridiculous made up cash cow for chocolate-flower-card companies.
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