Good concept, poorly executed.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

My Life as a Zucchini or Ma vie de Courgette is a 2016 Swiss-French production directed by Claude Barras. It is an adult stop motion animation that was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th academy awards, but lost to Zootopia. It is an adaptation of Gilles Paris' 2002 novel Autobiographie d'une Courgette. On rotten tomatoes my life as a zucchini has a rating of 98%. The site's critical consensus reads, "My Life as a Zucchini's silly title and adorable characters belie a sober story whose colorful visuals delight the senses even as it braves dark emotional depths."plot SPOILERS : Icare, the main character, lives with his mother who has become a irritable and sometimes violent alcoholic since her husband (Icare's father) left dissapeared. Icare is seen flying a kite decorated with a crayon drawing of his father in a stormy sky- making believe that his absent father is a super hero. Later his mother apporaches him in a druken rage when he accidentally knocks some emty beer can down the stairs. Icare accidentally closes the stair hatch in fear on his mother and loud crash, implying his mother's death is heard. Icare is then pictured in a police station ansering the gentle questions of a police officer named Raymond. He tells officer Raymond he wants to go by his mother's nickname for him: Courgette (translates to zucchini). Raymond takes courgette to a orphanage that is neither miserable nor joyous. One of orphans, a ginger named Simon bullies Courgette. Courgette comes to learn the various situations of each of his fellow orphans and eventually reveals his own situation. A new girl named Camille arrives at the orpahnage shortly there after and Courgette is immediately infatuated with her and they grow to become close friends quickly. However Camille's spitful aunt repeated tries to for Camille to come live with her so she can collect government benifits. However, when court day to review the custody case arrives, Simon redeems himself by playing a recording of how Camille's aunt talks to her, causing her aunt to have an outburst in court and lose the case. ect. ect.You should watch My life as a zucchini not only because it one of the few highquality stop motion animations made every year and its careful visual design, but for its simple and quiet, yet well developed and excellently excuted story. It's a welcome change in pace from the flambouyant action, flat charcter trophes, meaningless slap-stick dialogue, and massive, world-changing narrative archs that make up the majority of animated films. There is plenty of comedy, but it never detracts from or contradicts the scenes mood or distracts from the ongoing story. The focused and contemplative quietness of this film and the intense attention to the nuanced emotions its characters experience build both starkly sad and tenderly uplifiting moments with out betraying reality. It is only 66 minutes long and makes full use of every second. Also the ending credits song is fire - Le Vent nous portera, covery by Sophie Hunger. The (French) voice actors, particularly Gaspard Schlatter and Sixtine Murat who play the two main leads Courgette and Camille did an excellent job of bring to life a child's perspective. I haven't watched the English dubbed version, but I've heard it doesn't measure up to the orginal voice acting in French, so I'd reccomend watching the French version if you can.One review called "My Life as a Zucchini" undercooked? Its main complaint was that the "emotional heft of the film is unexpected and the problems some of characters face are nothing that a child should have to deal with" and they "don't know who'd I recommend this (film) to". While their observation that the cast of characters face disproportionately heavy problems despite their young age is true, it doesn't detract from the overall movie because the film's target audience was not necissarily elementary age children even though its main characters are. In fact, I don't think this movie is well suited to a very young audience (I think some parts are proabably too mature for kids under 12or13-ish). I think the main aim of the movie was not to provide high-energy entertainment aimed at children, but to explore the emotional complexities the characters face as result of their situation. These themes are presented in layered and often nuanced ways that only an adult or adolescent would be likely to pick up on or find interesting. Another criticism of My Life as a Zucchini is that its story, which starts as a tragic orphanage situation is too cliche. While this criticism is fair in that the story does have a cliche set up, the way in which the characters navigate and cope with their situation and their emotional complexities is thoroughly explored, well executed, and ultimately very heartfelt.

One of the most tender and sweet-hearted movies of 2017, and some of the greatest stop-motion animation I've ever seen. Sure, its heart doesn't always feel earned, as some characters switch on a dime just to suit the story. Still, this is a beautiful and devastating look at the insane world foster-care kids are forced into, with the natural naivete of a child being forced into incredibly grown-up decisions. Fix some of the clunk character psychology, and this would be an all-timer.

'My Life as a Courgette' was the last of the five 2016/7 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominees viewed by me, and that it is (to me) the weakest of the nominees and still manages to be a very good film is testament to how great the other four films ('The Red Turtle', 'Kubo', 'Moana' and the winner 'Zootropolis', so very stiff competition) were.There is not a whole lot wrong with 'My Life as a Courgette'. At just over an hour it is a little too short and it did have a story that was deserving of a longer length, and the depiction of orphanages (usually a dark and unhappy environment that people can't wait to leave) is rather rose-tinted. Otherwise, it is a beautifully done film that has much more to it than the quirky if silly title, the cute-looking characters and bright colourful visuals make out. Not classing these attributes as bad things in any way, but it is so easy hearing and seeing it advertised to get the wrong idea about 'My Life as a Courgette', thinking it will be a quirky film with children as its primary target audience, bright colours and witty humour when actually there is much to the film than that.It is a beautifully animated film certainly. It is very vibrantly bright and colourful, with parts of truly haunting atmosphere, a vividly immersive world and meticulously detailed backgrounds and overall visuals from the little things to the bigger effects. Just as good are the eye-catching character designs that are modelled smoothly and even with the oddball looks look and behave very authentically, for characters they are very unique and charmingly unusual (what other title character has blue hair and a red nose?).Furthermore, the music score is appropriately atmospheric and whimsical, while the writing has quirks and poignancy. The story could have benefited from a longer length but still charms, amuses and moves, with a surprisingly sober tone, while not being afraid to take risks and brave more difficult subjects with sensitivity and never heavy-handedness. This is including one of the boldest opening sequences in any animated film (perhaps the boldest since that for Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'). Everything is paced beautifully too.Characters are very easy to warm to and have engaging, distinct personalities. Voice acting in both the American and particularly French versions is very emotive.On the whole, beautiful film and has much more to it than one would think. 8/10 Bethany Cox

An animated French film about a young boy nicknamed Courgette (French for Zucchini) who moves to an orphanage after his mother dies in an accident. From the poster you can see that the film is in claymation; at first, creepy, but becomes rather cute and beautiful when in motion. For a kid's film, it has quite a dark opening that would freak kids out even if they don't understand what's going on. I wasn't sure where it would go from there. The film turned out to be quite heartwarming and funny, cute and rather gentle. A great message on the relationship between parents and children and it's importance, that kids and adults can both get something out of. Sitting among kids and adults in the cinema, I had a great time.