The Ernest & Celestine sequel is, improbably, one of 2023’s best political movies

polygon.com:

“A bear and a mouse busk for their supper” reads like a classic bar joke setup, tuned to suit children’s sense of humor and guileless outlook. “A bear and a mouse confront a musically anhedonic kritocracy” is more of a mouthful, and much less kid-friendly. So the education about rigid forms of government nestled in Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger’s sequel to the 2012 animated feature Ernest & Celestine, feels a bit out of the blue.

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But the first film focused on prejudice and ethnocentrism, concepts that seem equally advanced given the film’s intended accessibility for younger viewers. If you’ve ever wondered whether cartoon mice and bears can be friends, Ernest & Celestine has the answer. But the film answers bigger questions with its timeless themes of acceptance and inclusion. Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, on the other hand, is timely, and in spite of appearances, it’s one of 2023’s best political movies, centered on two unlikely messengers for commentary about bureaucratic overreach.

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia begins with Ernest (Lambert Wilson, in the original French-language version) waking up from a three-month hibernation in a grumpy humor, much as he did in the first film. He’s hungry, but the cupboards are bare and his