They are still young for John Carpenter’s films (Halloween. The Night of the Masks, Christina…), but they have already seen too much Casper, Brad Silberling’s “gentle ghost” (1995)? As Pumpkin Festival approaches, here are five suggestions, from the most harmless to the most terrifying, to teach children to exorcise their fears through fiction. Light the candles, heat the popcorn and shake with pleasure!
“Little Vampire”: the cutest bat
For the little ones (and their comic-loving parents), Little Vampire constitutes a nice introduction to old-fashioned cartoons, not too polished, populated by deformed monsters but not so evil, and above all endowed with a caustic humor. Adapted from the work of Joann Sfar himself, this feature film tells the friendship of the said Little Vampire, “10 years for three hundred years”, with Michel, a young orphan in search of adventure. The two boys will join forces to fight a moon-headed monster, who does not want this strange cohabitation between the living and the dead. In its animated form, Little Vampire reveals itself to be a gem of imagination and poetry, which will delight young and old alike despite (or thanks to) its subtext on mourning. Even if they don’t understand everything, this film allows 5-6 year olds to gently become familiar with the figures of horror.
Animated film by Joann Sfar (France, 2020, 85 min). Available on VOD on MyCanal.
“Hotel Transylvania”: a festival of black humor
What if good old Count Dracula was more than a vampire? What if he was, in reality, a sugar daddy, who sings lullabies on the ukulele and knows how to change a diaper with the snap of his fingers? This is the bet of Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated film, which makes the impaler a good family man on the verge of making his old dream of opening a hotel for the region’s monstrous clientele come true. Undead, ghosts, werewolves and other yetis are welcome there, with the disasters that go with them. The brand Hotel Transylvania now has no less than four films and an animated series, but the feature films remain the most interesting (especially the first and third), which skillfully mix the figures of the macabre tale and the codes of children’s entertainment (from 6 years). Thanks to a few jokes and references specially made for them, adults will not be bored.
Animated film by Genndy Tartakovsky (United States, 2013, 91 min). On Netflix.
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