The Ernest & Celestine sequel is, improbably, one of 2023’s best political movies

30.08.2023 - 14:13 / polygon.com / Best

“A bear and a mouse busk for their supper” reads like a classic bar joke setup, tuned to suit children’s sense of humor and guileless outlook. “A bear and a mouse confront a musically anhedonic kritocracy” is more of a mouthful, and much less kid-friendly. So the education about rigid forms of government nestled in Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger’s sequel to the 2012 animated feature Ernest & Celestine, feels a bit out of the blue.

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But the first film focused on prejudice and ethnocentrism, concepts that seem equally advanced given the film’s intended accessibility for younger viewers. If you’ve ever wondered whether cartoon mice and bears can be friends, Ernest & Celestine has the answer. But the film answers bigger questions with its timeless themes of acceptance and inclusion. Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, on the other hand, is timely, and in spite of appearances, it’s one of 2023’s best political movies, centered on two unlikely messengers for commentary about bureaucratic overreach.

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia begins with Ernest (Lambert Wilson, in the original French-language version) waking up from a three-month hibernation in a grumpy humor, much as he did in the first film. He’s hungry, but the cupboards are bare and his wallet is empty. Celestine (Pauline Brunner) fetches his violin, a rare and precious “Stradibearius,” thinking an impromptu concert might draw a crowd and earn them some coin. But she accidentally breaks the violin, to Ernest’s woe. Only one person can fix it: Octavius, a luthier who lives in Ernest’s homeland, Gibberitia. (The actual French name is “Charabia,” which a PR rep for the film translated as “gibberish,” explaining that the name “Gibberitia” was an attempt to localize the word for an English-speaking audience.)

For reasons Ernest won’t vocalize, he’d rather starve than go home. But Celestine’s guilt over the violin compels her to make the trip herself. Ernest, ever dutiful to his friend, catches up with her, and soon, they’re riding a gondola to his native country.

Something is rotten in the state of Gibberitia. Ernest, an enthusiastic and talented performer, talks the place up as a haven for music. But they find the city streets silent, apart from the bustling of the bear