I noticed a comment here stating "this is no Kung Fu Panda 2" with the great FX, they then realised after 30 minutes that this movie needs no such action rather than FX. I hope that person will now watch more European Cinema as this is the standard and in animation it was a great effort especially considering the score was written and sung by one very talented person.A movie to enjoy with your children and a movie to watch with a glass of wine with your significant other at age 52 or 7 or 99, the music/melody is sublime and I have ordered the DVD and the CD to play at dinner parties.It is classical French theatre and the music/lyricist is a genius. You will also note that the movie adds a hat tipping to a very French classic which I will not say to spoil the movie. It also teaches us about people that may look different but are the same and can add to any culture.Especially for those parents that worry about what can only be said to be money churning action animation and movies, this will start to introduce them to world culture. I give it a 10 as it is animation and no actors to examine and the composition is fantastic.

I'd seen a few images from this computer animated film, no trailers though, it was an easy to work out title, and it had fair reviews from critics, so I gave it a go, directed by Bibo Bergeron (The Road to El Dorado, Shark Tale). Basically set in Paris, France in 1910, during the time of the Great Flood, the city is flooded by the River Seine, Raoul (Adam Goldberg) by day is a Parisian delivery man, but by night he is a scientist determined to brainstorm an important new invention. With the help of his friend Emile (Jay Harrington), a cinema projectionist with a lust for women, Raoul tries to carry out an experiment in a greenhouse, an unintentionally the two friends create an unexpected side effect. Using a special potion created, a drop falls onto the body of a tiny flea, from the fur of a proboscis monkey named Charles, and this liquid expands the flea until it grows to seven feet tall. The enormous flea gets loose, and some sightings cause word to spread quickly that a monstrous bug is haunting the streets of Paris, wealthy mean-spirited politician and police commissioner Victor Maynott (Danny Huston) is heightening the fear of the public with his publicity, saying that he plans to catch it. Raoul's childhood friend Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), a pretty cabaret singer and performer, is the one who finds the giant bug, she is frightened initially, but she sees it is not dangerous, it is gentle and friendly, she names him Francoeur and gives him posh clothes, suit and hat, and a mask to hide his monster image. Raoul and Emile find out about Francoeur, but Lucille convinces them he is no threat, she has also found out he is talented at singing and playing guitar, he soon joins her on stage as part of her act, and the viewing audience are all impressed. Victor discovers Francoeur eventually as well, and a big chase begins as he tries to catch and kill the enlarged flea, of course in the end the villain is defeated, and there is a potion created so that Francoeur can be enlarged permanently, Emile finds a real relationship with coworker Maud (Madeline Zima), and Raoul realises his true feelings after many years for Lucille. Also starring Sean Lennon as the singing voice of Francoeur, Bob Balaban as Pâté and Catherine O'Hara as Madame Carlotta. This film was made in France, but reanimated and re-dubbed to English, the animation is nice and colourful, the best moments are the on stage musical numbers and chase sequences, the Paris backdrops are good to see as well, I admit many moments are predictable, and near cheesy, but the family will have fun watching, it's a reasonable animated fantasy. Okay!

I watched A Monster in Paris with my boyfriend. I was pretty baffled to see the low rating it got cause I think it was absolutely brilliant. If you crave for something new, this movie would be refreshing.I love Europe arts, statues and buildings and Paris is indeed beautiful but I don't think you have to love Paris in particular to be loving this movie. The animation is good, the soundtracks are amazing, the artwork is beautiful. Especially during the Monster's song. And it has good messages. Do not be quick to judge. It was truly a remarkable experience.

This apparently was released as a 3D movie but I saw it on DVD from my local library, at home in 2D.The story is fairly entertaining but one thing I did not like, and never like in movies, whether animated or not ... the characters do some incredibly dumb things to facilitate the story. Other than that it is a nice little story, although towards the end the use of a gun to shoot at and try to kill the "monster" is a bit off-putting.The story involves several interesting characters in early 1900s Paris, and love of course is part of the story. But the main event that sparks the rest of the story involves two young men making a delivery to a large exotic greenhouse of sorts, and in spite of a clear warning "not to touch anything" they merrily began to screw up and then mix a potion which causes things to grow unnaturally large.Some of this affects a tiny flea that grows large enough to stand about 7 feet tall, it busts out of the top glass of the greenhouse and invades Paris. He is the monster. But he in fact is not a monster, is very gentle, can sing and play guitar, and falls for Vanessa Paradis as the stage singer Lucille . She recognizes his goodness but the authorities just want to destroy him.So much of the last third of the movie is his being chased and avoiding getting killed. I suppose if there is any message, it is to not be too quick to judge the value of others who might be quite different.