Last year, due to the pandemic, we had to pause Pizza and a Movie (PaaM). This school year we are happy to announce: we are back and virtual! First Fridays of every month, we log on, meet other teens from all over NYC, present three movie choices and put it up for a vote. Majority wins, after we watch the winning movie, we talk it out like old times. While we can’t offer pizzas virtually, everyone is welcome to BYOS (Bring Your Own Slice).

Hello, my name is Andrew, Teen Programs Intern, and I’m so excited to be introducing you to the first Slice post for Virtual Pizza and a Movie Night!  In the spirit of connecting with people despite our differences, we decided to kick-off the New Year with International Myth Animation. Each film on the movie menu was based on a different myth from Japan, West Africa, and India.

Here were the three great choices the teens had to choose from:

And the people chose…

 

Kirikou and The Sorceress

1h 14m | 1998

Director: Michel Ocelot

Writer: Michel Ocelot

Starring: Doudou Gueye Thiaw, Maimouna N’Diaye

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what the teen audience had to say…

Final Rating: 8/10

Every Virtual PaaM night, we ask the teens what they thought about the winning movie. Keep scrolling, to read what they had to say about Kirikou…

Describe the film using three words.

Karolyn: colorful, adventurous, and wild

Chloe: cultural, heartfelt, weird

Kareena: different, vibrant, and cultural

Eliana: interesting, weird, wonderful

**Spoiler Alert** Kirikou and the Sorceress is a beautifully colorful movie with a lot going on, both visually and in its storytelling — you can see that from the teens’ responses below. From this point on there will be heavy spoilers.

What was your favorite moment?

The animal scene:

There was a lot of love for the few scenes where Kirikou interacts with the animals of the area. Sarah mentioned that she loved the scene where the animals embrace Kirikou, Eliana was a big fan of any scene with the squirrels in it, and Emily was a fan of the birds. They weren’t the only teens who felt like this, Chanel, and Karolyn also really liked the animal scenes.

 

The Grandfather Scene:

Another really popular scene was when Kirkiou finally got the chance to meet his grandpa in the cave. Katrina brought up an interesting point, that she really liked the scene because Kirikou finally got to admit he was tired from saving the day all the time. Eliana said that she really liked how Kirikou’s grandpa just embraced Kirikou and gave him a chance to rest. Chloe, Ibraheem, Jared, and Emily all expressed the same feelings about how they loved this scene. 

Have you ever seen any other movie like this one?

Emily: The water monster reminded me of the monsters from Studio Ghibli movies a little bit.

Danielle: It reminds me of Ponyo’s mother.

Chloe: Rise of the Guardians

What would you title this movie night?

Ibraheem: Culture

Jared: A time before CGI lol

Eliana: Animation nation

Sarah: Le film français

Seems like Jared has something they want to say about CGI (lol) but that’s a topic for another blog and Sarah is cool enough to know French. 

What was the hardest challenge Kirikou faced?

Ibraheem: His height overall because he almost died cause he got stomped on.

Katrina: killing the water creature, or stabbing out that cave because the knife definitely would’ve at the very least been dull.

Eliana: to gain acceptance from his village

Chloe: Facing the sorceress alone

What was the most unexpected moment?

Emily: The way he walked out of his mom’s womb at the start with hair and no blood was the most unbelievable for me lol

Sarah(in response to Emily): and he’s walking and talking soon after…

Emily(in response to Sarah): Talking from the womb

Katrina: He has the same hair as an adult, and it’s as if it’s a family trait b/c the dad had the same hair.

Maridie: As soon as he came out the womb talking everything else made sense.

Would you recommend this movie to a friend?

Plenty of people said they would recommend it to their friends but Chloe was ahead of everyone else because she recommended the movie to her cousin before the night even ended. Chloe really enjoyed this film, she even gave it a 9/10!!


Join us for the next FREE Pizza and a Movie!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 @ 5-8pm

RSVP @ teens.artsconnection.org/paam/

PLEASE NOTE: This is a TEENS ONLY event.