by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
Based on the French TV series, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Ladybug & Cat Noir: Awakening tells the story of a teenage girl, Marinette (Cristina Valenzuela), who has a hard time fitting in at her high school in Paris, when one night, she receives a gem that turns her into the superhero, Ladybug. Meanwhile, Marinette’s crush, Adrien (Bryce Papenbrook), is turned into Cat Noir by another gem. The two must figure out how to work together to defeat the evil forces attacking Paris, and deal with a complicated possible romance.
Firstly, I should clarify that I have not seen the TV series to which this is a prequel. However, I have seen enough clips from the series to see a significant upgrade in the animation for the film. Since it’s a series with over 100 episodes, you might think I’d be a bit lost, but luckily, this is an origin story before the series’ events. I get the impression the writers worked on the assumption most people watching won’t have seen the series. They do an excellent job of introducing the characters, setting, and lore surrounding how the two title heroes and the villain came to be.
What is more jarring about the opening and the story is when the characters break into song. The idea of a superhero film having songs seems odd to begin with. But it’s made even more off-putting by how poor the segues into the songs are sometimes. Coupled with the fact that the singing voices of Marinette and Adrien (Lou Jean and Drew Ryan Scott) do not match their speaking voices. There are several moments where they will be talking about something, and then suddenly, with no musical intro, a different voice will break into a song. The songs are visually attractive, but not very memorable, and the vocals all sound the same.
However, I enjoyed the gradual progression of Marinette’s arc into becoming Ladybug. There is an actual reason why they choose her, and she has a decent period of self-doubt before she embraces her new identity. As for Cat Noir, Adrien shows up in the costume, already convinced he can do it all, before realizing that he isn’t as ready as he thought. These different character arcs make for an interesting juxtaposition that seems to fit with the theme of balance, which their mentor Wang Fu (Paul St. Peter) talks to them about. I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for seeing characters gradually discovering what they can do and becoming more competent with time, so the scenes of them learning to use their powers were enjoyable.
Visually, this is a decent enough experience. There is the clear upgrade from the series in the level of animation, but by the standards of CGI films in general, it’s nothing special. But taking place in one of the most photogenic cities in the world, and being a film with many action sequences, makes it pretty easy to showcase a lot of stunning visuals. I have seen action films set in Paris before, but I can’t remember one that utilizes the Parisian landmarks quite this way. One moment in particular with the Louvre Pyramid made me chuckle. Oh, and take a wild guess where the climax takes place! The villain is also a fun idea visually, as he can possess other people and shape-shift into gigantic monsters, so the two heroes fight various things throughout the story.
Speaking of the story, it is probably the most prominent negative here. The opening act is an excellent introduction to the main character, but it is also very bland. I lost count of how many tropes are used early in the movie. To give a few examples, in the first few minutes, we learn the main character’s parents are overprotective; the main character is embarrassed by them, they have no friends, and the popular girl at school is a bully. I could go on, but you get the gist. Many of the ideas covered are also rather unoriginal, and how they do it doesn’t feel like anything that hasn’t been done in far better and more exciting ways before.
The dialogue often feels clunky, as if the writers wanted someone to say something clever, but didn’t know how to do it. Any attempts at funny one-liners feel out of place, and the more dramatic moments are a letdown due to trite and corny wording. The teen romance scenes are particularly cringey, and the way the main characters can’t figure certain things out is moronic.
Overall, Ladybug & Cat Noir is a fun experience just for the visuals and the action sequences, and the climax is a particular standout visually with its use of lighting. But outside of that, there isn’t much worth seeing here. The characters are dull, and there are probably too many for a 90-minute film; though, to be fair, they were originally in a TV series. The story and dialogue are unimaginative and tedious to watch or listen to. I don’t understand why the filmmakers decided to have songs in this, as they all feel out of place and add nothing to the story; presumably, the series also has songs, but if it does, I hope they are better than the ones in this. There’s a bit of satisfaction to the completion of Marinette’s arc over the story, but aside from that, the visuals are the only thing this experience has going on.
Rating: It’s Just Okay
Ladybug & Cat Noir: Awakening is currently streaming on Netflix
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