December 22, 2025 – This Belgian, French, Japanese animated film follows the early development of a child from the perspective of a child better than any movie I can recall. It tells the tale of the first three years in the life of a Belgian child born in Japan to a French-speaking family. During that time, a Japanese maid is the child's best friend. If that sounds confusing, that's because it is a bit confusing, but it is a good movie, just the same.

This film, first released in June in France, is full of color and vivid imagination as seen through the mind of a child, Amélie, who believes herself to be god. For the first two years of her life, she remains silent and unresponsive, until her grandmother coaxes her out of her shell with a Belgian stimulant.

Amélie emerges from her locked-in existence quickly, learning to walk and run, but she cannot talk right away. When she does start talking, her ability to express herself and the extent of her vocabulary surprises everyone. She is very sad when her grandmother leaves to go back to Belgium, but she forms a bond with a Japanese maid, Nishio, from whom she learns about Japanese culture. From Nishio, she learns the Japanese symbol for her name, which is the character of rain.

Nishio's close relationship with Amélie is welcomed by Amélie's family, but is strongly opposed by Kashima, the landlord who owns the property the family is renting. Kashima is very angry at what foreigners did to Japan in World War II. Nishio herself lost her family in the war, but does not blame Amélie or her family.

Nishio helps Amélie deal with the death of her grandmother, who died a few months after going back to Belgium. A lot happens to Amélie in a year, from her awakening at age 2, to her emergence into personhood at the age of three, including two near-death experiences.

Even at the end, Amélie imagines she is in control of her environment with god-like powers, seemingly parting the ocean and walking around under the fish, and communing with the dead, at least in her own mind. This dreamlike movie is a pleasure to watch, despite the sadness and hatred it depicts at times.

This film is directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang (“The Little Prince”) who also co-wrote the screenplay, along with Aude Py and Eddine Noël. It is being released by GKids in the U.S. I saw the version with French and Japanese dialog and English subtitles, not the American-dubbed version with English dialog.

While the film's fusion of Asian and Western cultures, particularly the Belgian-Japanese elements, combined with local Japanese history, seems somewhat foreign to me (For one thing, the Belgians did not, as far as I know, ever bomb Japan) this is still an enchanting movie for the most part. The animation is striking, like the movie itself, a fusion of Asian and Western styles. The characters are also compelling. This movie rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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