Ernest and Celestine is a French cartoon released in 2012. Written by Gabrielle Vincent and Daniel Pennac. This children’s film was shown at Simpson College as part of Tournées Festival.  There are an abundance of movies included in the French Film Festival.

The story starts with little mice in their beds and an old mouse telling them a story about how a big bad bear would come if they didn’t do what they were told. The old mouse also told them that bears and mice do not get along. Bears were something to be afraid of, but not all of the little mice thought that way.

Ernest was a big bear who was hibernating in his little house on a cold winter day. Some snow fell through a hole in his ceiling and hit his nose until he woke up.  When he woke up, he was hungry. There was no food in his house and the crumbs he did have were stolen by the birds.  So, he set out to find food and pedal his music on the square.

Celestine is a little mouse who had a mission to collect baby bear teeth and bring them down to the sewer where the mice lived. Then, the mice that were missing their teeth could have them replaced.  

The “Tooth mouse fairy” as the bears called it would take the teeth that a little bear had lost. Celestine was one of the mice who had to take the teeth, but that time she was seen by the bears and they were scared of her. While they were going wild she grabbed the tooth and was shoved out the window into the trash can where she was stuck until morning and Ernest found her.

Ernest tried to eat Celestine, but stopped because she shows him how to get food. While he was eating at the candy store, she scurried back down to the dentist to deliver her tooth. There, she got in trouble for only bringing back one tooth.

She told them her story about how she got stuck and met a bear. All of the mice become scared and told her that it is not right for a mouse to be friends with a bear. She doesn’t see the big deal, but the other mice were upset.

However they weren’t just upset about the bear, they were also upset about the one tooth Celestine brought back. Celestine was supposed to bring back 50 teeth and she hadn’t even come close.

The next day Ernest gets picked up by the police because he had stolen the candy from. Celestine saw it so she snuck into the police van with him. She told him she would set him free if he did her a favor and helped her get more teeth; he agreed and they were able to reach the goal of 50 teeth.

All of the mice were astonished with the teeth and threw a celebration in Celestine’s honor. Meanwhile Ernest woke up and scared all of the little mice. The two of them escaped from the mouse town and steal a van to go back to Ernest’s house to hide. They stayed there until spring learning about each other and helping each other when needed.

Unfortunately, the police found them and they were taken in for questioning and kept from each other. Soon, they are both sitting in courtrooms. Neither saw the problem with being friends, but all of the others said they were crazy.

Suddenly, a fire started in the mouse courtroom and it burned up to the bear courtroom. Everyone ran, but Ernest and Celestine saved the both judges. In return, they were each granted one wish. Both wished to be together and were then set free.

The story ended with them talking about how they wrote their story and made it a nicer story than how they had actually met. They were happy together being best friends and the movie ended with Celestine painting their story and Ernest narrating it.

This movie is an incredibly cute children’s film that is fun for the whole family. This is definitely a must see for all ages.