Le Petit Spirou (2017)
Directed by Nicolas Bary

Film Review

Le Petit Spirou (a.k.a. Little Spirou) is the latest entry in a slew of adaptations of popular comic books to hit French cinema screens in recent years. Lucky Luke (2009), L'Élève Ducobu (2011), Boule et Bill (2013) and Les Profs (2013) have met with varying degrees of success, but none has surpassed the 14.6 million spectators attracted by Astérix et Obélix : Mission Cléopâtre in 2002.  In common with more recent comic book adaptations, Le Petit Spirou is aimed more at a family audience than a conventional mixed mainstream attendance, although its infantile handling of its source material by Philippe Tome and Janry makes it more suitable for young children.

The film is directed with a vague smattering of flair by Nicolas Bary, his third feature after two previous well-received book adaptations: Les Enfants de Timpelbach (2008) and Au bonheur des Ogres (2013).  Right from the get go, Bary's directorial efforts are frustrated by a script (which he wrote in collaboration with Laurent Turner) that fails spectacularly to rekindle the anarchic fun of Philippe Tome and Janry's original stories.  Instead, what the film's authors deliver is a somewhat limp coming-of-age tale that is too shallow to engage an adult audience and too strait-laced for the youngsters.

On the plus side, the cast boasts some formidable acting talent, with François Damiens, Pierre Richard and Natacha Régnier coming across as humongously sympathetic, although newcomer Sacha Pinault fails to make much of an impact as the titular little Spirou.  Ill-receieved by the critics, Le Petit Spirou was not a great success at the box office - it attracted less than half a million spectators.

Film Synopsis

Spirou is a happy 14-year-old boy who is destined to become a hotel bellboy, like every member of his family.  At the moment, he is leading the insouciant life of any boy of his age - doted on by his affectionate grandfather, messing about with his unruly classmates and struggling to summon up the courage to tell the apple of his eye, the beautiful Suzette, that he is madly in love with her.  Then comes the fateful day when his mother tells him he is to be enrolled in a special school for bellboys, where he will learn to train for his chosen profession.

It is an opportunity that most boys of Spirou's age would  jump at - if only for the smart red uniform, complete with cap, which they will get to wear!  What a honour and privilege it must be, to attend to a lift in a prestigious hotel frequented by some of richest and most important people in the world!  But Spirou is uncertain whether this is really where his future happiness lies, so without his mother knowing he consults a fortune teller.  It seems that Spirou's future will be far more exciting and unpredictable than he imagined.  His adventures are only just beginning...