#Erick Abbate

[abs0luteb4stard]

WATCHING

[adamwatchesmovies]

My Life as a Zucchini (2016)

My Life as a Zucchini was nominated for an Oscar in 2016's “Best Animated Film” category but ever since Shark Tale, that Award's reputation has been dodgy. Does this picture stand toe-to-toe with Zootopia and Moana, or was it a scramble to find 5 nominees?

Orphaned after his perpetually drunk mother falls down the stairs, Icare “Zucchini” (voiced by Erick Abbate in the English Dub, by Gaspard Schlatter in the Original French) is sent to an orphanage. There, he experiences the same joys and sorrows all children do while waiting for a family to adopt him.

What you’ll notice about this French/Swiss production from the first frame are its visuals. Even in a year that featured wonderful CGI Imagery, traditional animation courtesy of Wild Bunch/Studio Ghibli, and another great picture by Laika, My Life as a Zucchini stands out. The colors, character designs, and overall style are so perfectly suited to the story anyone suggesting anything else would seem like pure idiocy. With their exaggerated proportions and color-coded features, the characters evoke children’s drawings - the ones you used to do when you couldn’t count so everyone got about a dozen fingers on each hand - polished and brought to life. Instantly, you're transported to a time of innocence and simple joys, but there’s more to this film than basic emotions.

The silly-sounding title may lead you to believe that this is a picture for little kids, but you'd be wrong. Inside the adorable children living at the orphanage are feelings that would be difficult to handle even for adults. I wouldn’t recommend it for those under the age of 10, but for everyone else, wow. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking that Zucchini has an empty beer can and a drawing of a superhero as mementos representing his dead mother and long-absent father. Without ever being sappy, forced, or cloying, the film turns towards you and opens its arms. All you can do is open yours in return and give it a big, warm hug. You’ll laugh at the children’s silly games, the way they ask each other about life’s big questions, and their wild logic-defying antics… until you start to think about them. At that point, you might be brought to tears.

It’s ultimately pointless to try and avoid falling in love with the characters of My Life as a Zucchini. I don’t know if I would’ve selected it as my pick for the best animated film of 2016, but it certainly would've been a contender. This is an excellent film, so bold in its visuals and so rich in heart. I had to jump through all sorts of hoops to see it and they were all worth it. When you check it out, stick around for the end credits. There’s a scene at the very end that gives us some insight into the process that brought this story to life. (Original French version on the big screen, October 7, 2017)

[vulturehound]

Plasticine Has Never Been So Endearing - My Life As A Courgette (DVD Review)

Plasticine Has Never Been So Endearing – My Life As A Courgette (DVD Review)

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[thecraggus]

My Life As A Courgette (2017) Review

My Life As A Courgette (2017) is a tiny movie about great big things. #Review

“My Life As A Courgette” is a tiny little movie about great big things. Clocking in at a mere 66 minutes long, you’d be forgiven for expecting something frothy and whimsical to go along with the eye-catchingly colourful character design. In fact, the movie deals with the weightiest and darkest of subject matters with a disarming frankness and charm which comes from seeing the world and its evils…

[flickfeast]

My Life as a Courgette (2016)

The 'utterly charming' #MyLifeAsACourgette is out in cinemas tomorrow. Here is our 4-star review:

When a debut animated feature by Swiss filmmaker Claude Barras was nominated alongside Disney and a co-production with Studio Ghibli in this year’s Academy Awards, it raised a few eyebrows. But with a screenplay by Girlhood director Céline Sciamma, this short yet sweet debut is a surprising coming-of-age film. Based on the 2002 novel by Gilles Paris, My Life as a Courgette (original title: Ma Vie…

[ethanalter]

'My Life As a Zucchini' English-Language Trailer: Hear Nick Offerman, Ellen Page and More (Exclusive)

Twenty-five years ago this February, Beauty and the Beast made Oscar history by becoming the first animated film to be announced among the nominees for Best Picture. Another landmark moment came in 2008, when the Israeli animated feature Waltz With Bashir joined the ranks of that year’s Best Foreign Language nominees. And history could be made again when this year’s Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 24. That’s because the Swiss stop-motion feature, My Life as a Zucchini, may become the first cartoon to be nominated in both the Best Animated Feature and Best Foreign Language Film categories. One of nine titles on the Foreign Language Film shortlist, Zucchini has a strong chance of being among the final five nominees and seems likely to being among the animated feature line-up as well, particularly on the heels of its surprise Golden Globe nomination. And now Yahoo has the exclusive first trailer for its American release. (Watch it above.)

Related: ‘My Life as a Zucchini’: What You Need to Know About the Surprise Golden Globe Nominee

The movie’s American distributor, GKids, is ready to take advantage of the movie’s elevated profile. Slated for release on Feb. 24, Zucchini, the feature debut of Swiss animator Claude Barras, will be released in the U.S. in both its original French version and a new English-language cut boasting the familiar voices of Nick Offerman, Ellen Page and Will Forte. Young actor Erick Abbate voices the title character, an orphan whose late mother gifted him with the nickname Zucchini. Following her death, he’s brought to an orphanage by a kindly police officer (Offerman) and falls for rebellious new arrival, Camille (Ness Krell). A gentle mixture of comedy and drama, My Life as a Zucchini is a film that can easily bring fans of foreign language cinema and great cartoons together.

[aion-rsa]

My Life as a Zucchini Review

This is an advance review. My Life as a Zucchini opens stateside February 24th.

There is a simple beauty to the imagery in My Life as a Zucchini, the Oscar-nominated animated feature. It is, however, a simplicity that is used to serve up a tale of love and loss and family, which is all rather more complicated stuff. Directed by Claude Barras, the Swiss, French-language release is now being distributed in the U.S. in English as well (this review is based on that English-language version).

My Life as a Zucchini clocks in at 67 minutes, putting it on the more brief side of feature-length fare, but each and every one of those 67 minutes is fully devoted to getting the story and emotion across, and the movie does so with nothing short of excellence. As it is important, it must also be stated at this point that the movie is not about a zucchini but rather Zucchini. That is, Zucchini is the nickname of the main character (voiced by Erick Abbate).

Continue reading…

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My Life as a Zucchini

Zucchini struggles with life after his mother's death. He is sent away to a foster home. On the way there he befriends a police officer who strikes an instant bond with Zucchini.  Zucchini struggles at first but then begins to find his place in the foster home.

This film was much better than I had expected. It had a darker element to it but it was presented in a sweet way. It had a Mary and Max feel to it.