Little Nicholas
Little Nicholas
G | 10 October 2009 (USA)
Little Nicholas Trailers

Nicolas has a happy existence, parents who love him, a great group of friends with whom he has great fun, and all he wants is that nothing changes. However, one day, he overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that his life might change forever, his mother is pregnant! He panics and envisions the worst.

Reviews
FilmCriticLalitRao

In the history of motion pictures there are innumerable films for children as there are films meant to be watched only by adults. However, it would be an absolute disaster to state that "Le Petit Nicolas" is solely a children's film. In reality, it is a film made by an adult person about some mischievous children whose world is completely different from those of adults. As it is a film which features both children and adults, it can be said that it can be watched by all sections of society. At the heart of this film is the birth of a baby boy which triggers a series of hilarious adventures involving Nicolas and his friends. For a young child, a school and a home remain two of the best places where maximum learning happens. This is also true about this film's kids who seem to have a lot in common even though they come from diverse socio cultural backgrounds. Most of this film's adult characters do not seem to be popular with young children as they live in their own world with their own problems. One young, lady teacher is the only exception to this rule as due to her 'caring nature' she is able to make some difference in the lives of innocent children. Any viewer who has enjoyed school days as the best time of life would surely appreciate "Le Petit Nicolas" for revealing a world of innocence where mischief and pranks are as useful as books and pens in learning about life and beyond.

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Reno Rangan

The movie was so cute and fun. It has been 4 years since it was released and I wonder where is its sequel, because this movie deserves one or maybe those who loved it will anticipate like I do. The characters were very well created and developed, the timing of jokes was excellent. When I saw Kad Merad on the first frame of his appearance in this movie, I could not control myself from laughing and knew it would be an awesome and I gonna have a nice time with it. And I did.This movie was based on a series of French children's books. It reminds me 'Diary of a wimpy kid', about a kid who had his own imagination and mistook the occasion he witnessed with his parents which makes him to act quickly to make it right. So the little Nicolas forms a little gang from his school friends and theirs adventure is ours (audience) fun ride.As a children movie fan I loved it from my heart and wanted more of it which was lasted for just 90 minutes. Watching a movie like it make me a kid, sometime it will recall my childhood memories. I feel I am so lucky to see it and hope you won't miss after reading this review. Highly recommended for kids movie fans.

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Maciek Kur

Before I saw this movie I was strongly skeptical. First of all "Nicholas" while being one of top 10 children books ever made... Have no storyline. It's just series of very funny but very short stories center around a group little French boys. There's no adventures or perils – just amusing anecdotes from every day life of Nicholas and his friends. Second of all the books was written by Rene Goscinny. A French author most know for his comic books "Asterix" and "Lucky Luke". While those are some of the most delightful peaces of graphic novels I ever read I sadly must admit they where butchered during the last decades with some horrible, horrible adaptations (with few exceptions, second Asterix movie was pretty good) "Nicholas" being a hard material to adapt already felt like a bad idea, and the fact so many of Goscinny's work was made into terrible movies wasn't a sing they will treat it with a proper respect. To be honest making "Nicholas" into a movie felt like going pretty low to get some money from his creation. When I was a kid I dreamed of Asterix being made into a movie even back there Nicholas felt like a absurd idea.The third reason I know it won't work was the fact it was a children movie. Obviously it wouldn't work in any different way but the fact is Nicholas stories never had morals or life lessons. In fact stories where pretty cynical. A lot of humor came from the fact that Nicholas pals would get into fist fights very quickly. The kids would call each other names all the time and Nicholas parents would fight and argue all the time. It was part of the charm, however we live now in the age of Political correctness so I was sure they will tone down the violence, make it more sugary sweet/cute and ad some morals… To my big surprise… Non of those problems appear in the movie! The script makes a excellent combination of different Nicholas stories and stay true to the characters and their personalities and in fact spends a lot of time playing with the character and their personalities. I like this type of movies as you never feels the plot rushing you just enjoy the ride and individual time spent with each character. The humor is great. It uses a lot of lines from the book but ads a lot of jokes… and I must say It actually gets pretty dark at moments. I don't got to much into detail since some of the biggest laugh-out-loud jokes come from the black humor. The kids actor where fantastic and where cast very well reflecting different personalities from the book. There is even a sequence which is a homage to Goscinny's other work (Asterix) as well a cute paper-cut-out opening sequence which is a tribute to Sempe – the illustrator. In a way it was very much like the book. Just collection of small anecdotes but tide into a larger story at the same time which build up to a terrific and incredible funny punch line. The ending is in fact very sweet and heath worming without being off-character for the series. My only complains are total nitpicks. Some characters where completely different (fiscally) that the way I imagine them in the books (especially Nicholas parents) but the actors manage to make them work in their own way. Few characters (girl that's Nicholas love interest or the next door neighbor) felt to be forced into the script just because "they where in the books" and their scenes serve no purpos other then showing those characters for the fans. There was maybe one or two gags that where completely off-character for the series as well few small moments that don't make sense in any translation out-side of France.Overall It's surprisingly fun movie both adults and kids will enjoy. One of best adaptations of Goscinny's works!

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egillsigurdur

This movie is amazing. It is not often that I go to see a foreign movie, but people had told me how good this one was so I just went. And I do not regret it. The actors all seem to fit perfectly for their part. I found it hard to imagine how they were any different in real life. One gets kind of nostalgic, seeing those children in their school uniforms. The story is just wonderful, and it is really, really humorous, the entire audience laughed throughout the movie. It is not that kind of funny in the way normal Adam Sandler and those Hollywood movies are. It has something more to it, it is not, well, hollow (cannot really describe it). The way the director has got this set up, to see the world the way a kid sees it, to look into what's going through their mind, this is all just wonderful. I walked out of there with a little smile on, I was all fuzzy after having laughed so much.I would really like it if my town would start showing more foreign movies like this one.

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