'Little Amélie or the Character of Rain' Review: A God-Tier Animated Portrait of Early Childhood
The titular lead of Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is not even three years old, and yet, she harbors more complexity than most of the people that I know. This dazzling French 2D animated film, based on the novel Métaphysique des tubes (Character of Rain) by Amélie Nothomb, tells the story of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl who believes she is God, combining the whimsy of Jean-Pierre Jeunet with the soul of Miyazaki. You can only guess that this marks one of my favorite animated features of the year, if not one of the year's best movies overall.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of GKIDS
MPA Rating: PG (thematic content, peril and brief scary images)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 18 Minutes
Language: French
Production Companies: Maybe Movies, Ikki Films
Distributor: GKIDS
Directors: Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han
Screenwriters: Liane-Cho Han, Aude Py, Maïlys Vallade, Ediine Noël
Cast: Loïse Charpentier, Victoria Grobois, Yumi Fujimori, Cathy Cerda, Marc Arnaud, Laetitia Coryn
U.S Release Date: October 31, 2025
Set in Japan in 1969, Amélie is the youngest member of her Belgian family. For the first two years of her life, she remained silent and passive because she believed she was a reincarnated God, operating on the "Queen, never cry," mindset. She connects with her grandma and her gifts of white chocolate more than anyone. Upon Grandma’s departure, Nishio-san, a Japanese woman and housemaid, helps Amélie find her heritage and identity.
Little Amélie is visually splendorous as it is endlessly imaginative
Little Amélie bursts with visual zest and brilliant imagination. The film's flat vector hand-drawn art style and sense of whimsy are reminiscent of a children's picture book. It is incredibly fluid and vibrant in motion, particularly when directors Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, and their animation crew, hyperstylize Amélie’s perception of the world, with flowers growing to gargantuan heights as she experiences her first spring outdoors. Whether it be for humor's sake, her development of self-awareness, or illustrating the joys of early childhood, you find yourself wrapped up believing Amélie's little God complex, from her cold expressions to preconscious interactions with her family, all accompanied by Loïse Charpentier’s confident narration.
Vallade and Han maintain a perfect balance between the childlike, wide-eyed wonder Amélie has of the world and keeping it in check when mature things happen around her.
Little Amélie creeps into the complex with its themes of identity, life, and death
The emotional center of the film is the touching connection between Amélie and her nanny, Nishio-san. I'm a sucker for the mother-nanny trope, and their connection acts as the film's emotional glue, only getting stronger as it progresses. The narrative shifts gears, examining the cultural divides between this nanny and child, after Nishio-san confides in a curious Amélie about her upbringing following an unforeseen tragedy. Simultaneously, Japan’s historical elements reveal the complexities of the cultural conflict between Nishio-san and the Nothomb’s landlord, who is adamantly opposed to the Belgian family due to post-war trauma.
Aude Py, Eddine Noel, Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang, and Maïlys Vallade effortlessly integrate themes of mortality with the post-World War II conflict that influences the upbringing of this Belgian girl in Japan and her relationship with her nanny. Through Amélie, you feel the weight of these first-time emotions. Playing to that Ghibli wonder, you watch this kid navigate the mature adult stuff that makes you feel even more attached to the characters and the circumstances around them, especially when Nishio-san and Amélie's relationship is put to the test and delves into heartbreaking realms.
Little Amélie evolves from a solid and stunning slice of life to an emotionally riveting and life-affirming spectacle. Despite its short 75-minute runtime, the profound depth packed into this aspect of childhood and becoming one with the world made me want to watch it again right away.
Final Statement
While Little Amélie or the Character of Rain may not be a god in the end, this beautifully animated portrait of a childhood, full of imagination and sophistication, brought me more joy than any god could.
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