Animation Magazine — November 3, 2025
‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’ Directors Discuss Their Hand-Crafted Vision of Childhood

***This article was written for the December 2025 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 354)***

When Little Amélie or the Character of Rain premiered earlier this year in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, it was lauded for its bold graphic visual style and heartfelt story adapted from Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling autobiographical novel. The 2D, digitally animated French-language film went on to win the Audience Award at Annecy, had its North American premiere at Toronto and will reach U.S. theaters via distributor GKIDS beginning November 7.

In postwar Japan, where Western foreigners lived both inside and outside local traditions, Amélie (voiced by Loïse Charpentier) spends her early childhood in the care of her devoted nanny, Nishio-san (Victoria Grosbois). To her family, she is a distant and unknowable cipher, reflecting the Japanese belief that young children are more akin to gods than humans. That sense of mystery unravels on Amélie’s third birthday, when a family event — and her very first taste of chocolate — alters her world and sets her on a path of discovery.

The 78-minute film is directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han from a screenplay by Han and Vallade alongside French screenwriter Aude Py and art director and production designer Eddine Noël (Long Way North, The Little Prince). It was produced by Ikki Films and Maybe Movies, with producers Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire La Combe and Henri Magalon, and executive producers Jean-Michel Spiner and Mireille Sarrazin.

For Vallade and Han, both Gobelins alumni and longtime collaborators, the project is the culmination of years of shared experience. Yet it is also a first — their debut feature, one that brings to life the fragility and wonder of childhood through a handcrafted graphic style created with their close-knit artistic “family.” (Read full story…)