Miraculous: Ladybug Cat Noir, The Movie movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Miraculous: Ladybug Cat Noir, The Movie

This animated musical releases in theaters on July 21 and on streaming on Netflix on July 28, 2023

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 45 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about an ordinary teenager, Marinette, who lives in Paris. Magically, she becomes a ladybug with magical powers. (That’s a unique idea!) She must unite with her opposite, Cat Noir, to save Paris when a villain unleashes chaos into the City of Lights.”

The film was directed by Jeremy Zag. He also wrote it with Bettina Lopez Mendoza.

The Miraculous franchise began as a TV series in 2015, but I never saw it. Are you familiar with this cute franchise? The feature film’s animation is much more sophisticated than what’s in the TV series. Another difference is that not all of the episodes of the TV show included musical numbers. The animated series won the Teen Choice Award in 2018 and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award in 2020! The creator of the Miraculous series, Thomas Astruc, was not involved with the movie.

THINGS I LIKED:

The film takes place in beautiful France. I’m going there this summer! I’ve been before but my husband never has so I’m excited for him to experience the magic of France.
The animation is stunning. The textures of fabrics and hair are amazing. Mine sure didn’t look like that!
The voice talents are fantastic and include Annouck Hautbois, Benjamin Bollen, Marie Nonnenmacher, Martial Le Minoux, Gilbert Levy, Christina Valenzuela, and so many more in the French and English cast.
Wow! What a gorgeous library for a high school!
Fun Fact: The name of the original movie was called “Miraculous: Le Film.”
Tiki is a cute, little genie that, surely, will be popular as a stuffed animal sold in stores.
The singing talent is terrific. The songs are sweet and have great lyrics that carry the story forward.
The movie does a fantastic job incorporating classic French elements of the city, culture, famous tourist sites, landmarks, architecture, and delicious French pastries.
I thought it was cute that the painting that featured Adrian’s mom was done in the style of Gustav Klimpt. I highly recommend an excellent movie about that painting, starring Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren. It’s called Woman in Gold. You can see my review at https://moviereviewmom.com/the-woman-in-gold-has-heart-humor-and-history/
The messages for kids are solid without banging the audience over the head with preaching.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The yoyo gimmick to turn Ladybug into a type of Spider-Man felt pretty forced.
The same Wham! song clip was played over and over each time there was a romantic moment.
The romance is extremely predictable.
It’s a bit confusing that Cat Noir is all about chaos yet is a good guy.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Lots of farting
Animated violence
Lots of destruction

THEMES:

Chaos
Stronger Together
Anger
Magic
Love
Good vs. Evil
Self-confidence
Sacrifice for others

FUNNY LINES:

While there is humor in the film, nothing really stood out to me as hilarious.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Stop worrying about what others think. There’s only one thing you have to listen to…your heart.” – Marinette’s mom
“Mom, how do you make your dreams come true?” – Marinette “You just have to believe in yourself.” – Marinette’s mom
“Let darkness rise!” – Adrien’s dad
“Who saves a life, saves the world.” – Kim Chien
“Failure is not your enemy; fear is.” – Cat Noir/Adrian
“You must face your own fear to protect the ones you love.” – Tiki
“You don’t have to wear a mask to be who you already are.” – Tiki
“The only power stronger than death is love.” – Adrien’s dad