Art of Ernest & Celestine
/Ernest & Celestine is an animation movie produced by La Parti Productions and Les Armateurs, directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner in 2012. The movie was based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent. A TV series was also developed in 2017. The pictures on this page are a collection of artworks created for the movie and the series.
THE STORY
Celestine is a young mouse who lives in the underground world of rodents. At the orphanage where she lives, the caretaker known as the Gray One tells scary stories about the evil nature of the bears that live in the outside world, though Celestine doubts that they are entirely true. She loves to draw but must soon study dentistry, since that's what all rodents do, and to prepare, she must travel above ground to collect the lost teeth of bear cubs from underneath pillows. On one such occasion, the cub's family catches Celestine in the act and chases her into a trash can where she is trapped and spends the night. The next morning, a destitute and starving bear named Ernest discovers Celestine and attempts to eat her. Celestine convinces him to let her go by helping him break into the basement of a candy shop, where he can eat his fill. He is soon caught by the store's owner, however, and arrested. Celestine, who is behind on her quota of collected teeth, agrees to free him from the police wagon if he will help her break into and rob the teeth from the office of the store owner's wife, who happens to be a dentist.
Although the robbery initially seems successful, the pair soon find themselves being pursued by the police forces of both the mouse and bear cities. They manage to evade capture by stealing a van, and escape to Ernest's remote cabin. Ernest is initially reluctant to allow Celestine to stay with him, but they begin to bond after he discovers her love of art. He reveals to her that his current destitution is a result of his rejection of his family's plan for him to go into law, like his ancestors, due to his desire to become an entertainer. The two spend the winter happily together, though their joy is somewhat dampened by the constant radio broadcasts declaring that both police forces are still searching for them…
