"In an old house in Paris
All covered with vines
Lived twelve little girls
In two straight lines
The smallest one
was Madeline"
- Ludwig Bemelmans
In 1939, the world was introduced to Madeline, a spunky, young little girl from Paris, France who, along with twelve other girls lived in a boarding school run by Miss Clavel. What started as a simple children's book soon grew into an entire media franchise that, at its peak, had several TV specials, a series, a direct-to-TV movie and, perhaps most famously, computer games. In fact, the old computer games are how I first discovered this franchise. Ever since then, I've been enthralled. A lot of this has to do with the charm and tenderness Bemelmans brought to every book (both Ludwig and his grandson John) and the abundance of personality Madeline brings to each story. Very rarely do you come across a character so mischievous, yet full of spirit. So, when the opportunity arose on my end to create a Madeline movie, I couldn't resist.
In fact, I thought big with this film, I was so convinced that this movie would do wonders, I came up with three sequels, the last one being entirely original. There were even plans to do a TV series when LRF NOW was still a thing! This is where I send you back down to Earth and tell you that sadly, unless this film does well, you can only expect there to be one, maybe two more movies featuring the bravest little girl. Even then, they'd be based on the other books of the series. The reason for this is because, admittedly, the Madeline book series has fallen out of the limelight these days, mainly being relegated to YouTube. That's not anyone's fault, it's just a natural circle of life for every product. You're released, people are interested, people forget about you, then you off the market and don't come back until the DVD, or the second edition, or once you get on a streaming platform, or you wind up on YouTube.
That's not to say Madeline isn't marketable or that Madeline can't be profitable in today's society, cause I believe it can, but it has to be said that, right now, Madeline isn't a hot topic in media. Regardless, Madeline has arrived to Last Resort Films and is currently playing at a theatre near you! What are my thoughts regarding the film now that it's come out? To be honest, it's a mixed bag. Allow me to explain.
Runtime:
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Jacob has written another movie that's some 3000 words or around that and for a movie of its nature, that's a fair bit too long. Well, no, for once, I was able to contain myself for the most part. The film is just over 2800 words long and for the most part, I think it moves briskly enough. It tries to juggle the first three stories of the Madeline series as best it can and tells a charming enough story in that time.
However, I fear that despite my efforts, it might still be a bit too much for some to handle. From my past experiences writing children's films, you don't want to write a family film that's 3000 words long. In my opinion, the ideal length for any family film, particularly one for children, is around 2000-2500 words. Not too long so that it doesn't bore your audience, but enough to tell the story. With that said, there's not much I can do about it now. All that's left is to wait and see what critics think. Hopefully, when it comes time for reviews, they won't view the runtime as a downside.
Unsure Direction:
It doesn't help that Madeline had something of an identity crisis while in development. Now, don't worry, I haven't touched too much of the stories themselves (outside of a few snippets here or there), but I wasn't fully certain about how I wanted to tell the film or how best to portray it. Initially, I wanted it to be a simple, quaint, children's feature adapting a beloved property, sort of like what Steve Martino did with The Peanuts Movie (we'll touch more on him later), but then I got the idea of it being a musical, and then I thought about giving Madeline a show on LRF NOW which opened a whole other can of worms regarding actor continuity before eventually going back to what I had originally.
As you can tell, this is a film that's had somewhat of an odyssey. If you're wondering why this film doesn't have a soundtrack, this is why. I was gonna pepper it with old Madeline songs (which no doubt would've been enhanced for a modern audience), then considered the possibility of French songs before finally deciding to release it without a soundtrack. I think the film itself was left mostly unscathed despite this, but I do wonder if any critics will notice anything off about it.
Too Many Characters?:
This last concern admittedly is minor compared to the others, but I think it's important to note, I gave almost every little girl a voice and a personality. Why? Because when I watched the Madeline TV show, I liked how they gave the other students their own little quirk. Chloe was the smartest, Nona was a sporty girl and Yvette was the snooty one. I wanted to honor the show's dedication to expanding on the world by doing the same to each little girl, excluding Janine. Janine was going to be Yvette's best friend, but I had run out of space for the cast, so she wound up being deaf instead.
While yes, it was a lot of fun getting to flesh out each and every character of the Madeline world, I think it also runs into the same problem with the length of time. I feel like some things could have been cut down or out entirely to save time. This time, I think I was able to clear out most of the fluff, but it's possible I missed a spot or two. I guess we'll have to see.
The Positives:
These three issues I feel are what hold this film back from its full potential. They may not be much, but in LRF, that can build up until you have a disappointment on your hands. Now, with that said, there's a lot about Madeline that I love, and these things are the main reason why I feel critics, as well as families, will have a good time with Madeline.
Casting
The first major positive Madeline has going for it is its cast, consisting of several A-List stars such as Meryl Streep, Hugh Bonneville, and Emma Watson (the latter being our narrator for the film) but mainly of child actors, most of whom also worked on Steve Martino's other film, The Peanuts Movie, and boy howdy is this a fun cast. Leading the charge is Miriam Spumpkin, a bright young actress who I suspect has a promising future ahead of her in LRF, here's hoping, at least. I think she does a terrific job with the character and helps add some much-needed energy to the character.
Another voice I want to highlight is Malachi Barton, another solid actor who has built up an impressive portfolio, which includes a role as Diego from Dora and the Lost City of Gold. He does an excellent job balancing mischievousness with a playful, friendly spirit, and it was a pleasure to have him onboard. Don't be surprised if we team up again in the future! In fact, don't be surprised if you find that we're working together on another project (in fact, Venus Schultheis is already signed on to a new animated film that, funnily enough, also came from a book that's played a big role in my life).
In general, I feel like I did a really strong job casting each character and giving them their own unique voice, and I'm hopeful that others agree with this sentiment.
Characterization
Another thing I believe this film has going for it is the characterization of each character, particularly with the supporting cast. Again, this ties back to what I said regarding the Madeline TV series, giving each character involved a chance to shine. In this case, I'd like to mention Yvette, played by Hayley Faith Negrin, this stuck-up showoff who tries so hard to impress everyone, only for things to fall through. She's such great fun in this film and, should I ever get the chance to do more films, I'd love to expand on the character.
But the two characters I especially want to highlight are Miss Clavel and Lord Cucuface (who is, by default, the main antagonist of this film). For this, I need to mention a conversation I had with Chad Taylor, asking where to best go with the film. He mentioned that it would be a good idea to build up the impending inspection led by Lord Cucuface and how Miss Clavel is handling everything and I can't thank him enough. This helped add an extra hint of depth to this film and added some character to Clavel, who now has to worry about keeping her boarding school's spotless reputation while also minding the chaos with Genevieve. That right there is the mark of great storytelling, and I'm happy Taylor suggested it.
Faithfulness
And finally, there's one thing that I feel is most important when writing not just this film, but really, any film adaptation. It's faithfulness to the source material. Now, given this film juggles three different books (Madeline, Madeline's Rescue, and Madeline and the Bad Hat), it can be a little difficult to give each story their due, but when you look at each story beat and point, I feel I did a good job keeping the tone and playful nature of each book.
Even with my own personal additions (Yvette being jealous of Madeline getting the attention, Pepito not torturing his animals but training them to torture others, the Miss Clavel and Lord Cucuface drama, the scene where Madeline and Pepito go in search of Genevieve), I kept in mind the spirit of the series and what would be acceptable in these circumstances. It's a big reason why I chose Steve Martino to helm this film. He's proven that he can adapt a beloved property for a modern era with The Peanuts Movie and is more than willing to give any project the time of day it deserves, and I think we both had the same idea regarding this film: "Do what made them great, and don't be afraid to add onto it if it makes sense".
Conclusion
Madeline is a film that, in retrospect, was a project almost a whole decade in the making, it's a film that not only serves as a love letter to the famed children's book series but the entire franchise as a whole. To briefly discuss what I mean, we have to go back to the days before LRF when I was a part of another movie-making game called Movie Tycoon. Given I was an at times obnoxious, socially oblivious middle school kid, you can probably guess that this resulted in quite a few duds. In fact, the Madeline film I wrote (Madeline's Great Adventure) is probably the first film I wrote there that was actually considered good. By that point, I was a more aware high schooler, so that might've played a part in this.
The film in question was called Madeline's Great Adventure and told the story of Madeline and her friends traveling to Hollywood to get Danielle back after she lets the allure of stardom invade her mind. It's likely a product of its time now, there are some things I would have changed looking back, but I still had a wondrous time working on it, as I did working on this film.
But regardless of past projects and behavior from my youth, I have to look towards the future and I can say with confidence that Madeline is a charming, sweet film that all ages can enjoy. Kids will enjoy the banter that comes from the characters, and adults will find peace in the film's atmosphere and intrigue with Miss Clavel's situation, but in the end, I feel that everyone will find something to enjoy about Madeline, as I did writing this film. How fitting is it that the last film I write this season, and the last film LRF will release in 2023 is one that showcases the bonds, the joy, and the memories left behind by a community of people who love and care for one another?
I find that to be the most beautiful coincidence of all. Happy new year everyone, I'll see you all in 2024.
"She turned out the light
And closed the door
And that's all there is
There isn't anymore."
- Ludwig Bemelemans
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