Alain Chabat

(In French, On TV, July 2019) I was looking forward semi-reluctantly to Sur la piste du Marsupilami. Adaptations of beloved French-language comic book series have been hit-and-miss so far, especially when tackling comedy-based series—the humour doesn’t always translate so well, and sometimes the material feels hostage to the filmic sensibilities of the time. On the other hand, Spirou was among my top comic-book series when I was young (something helped along by the versatility of the series), and the Marsupilami was one of my favourite characters from that series. I can’t recall most of the albums I read as a kid, but Le nid des Marsupilamis was something else. In any case, this 2012 movie adaptation retains the marsupilami and nothing else—the story becomes a comedy featuring writer-director/star Alain Chabat as well as comic superstar Jamel Debbouze as, respectively, a reporter urgently looking for one last scoop, and a small-time hustler with his own issues about the mythical marsupilami. This being said, there’s a lot more to the plot, including a rejuvenated botanist, a Céline-Dion obsessed dictator and a prophecy from the local natives. The humour is certainly hit-and-miss, at its weakest in kids-friendly silliness and at its strongest when most absurd. (The prophecy itself is hilarious, although everything sounds funnier when it’s narrated by as attractive an actress as Liya Kebede.)  The film, obviously, rests on the success of portraying the marsupilami on-screen, and here at least it succeeds well: The marsupilami is full bouncy CGI, with practical effects used for his interaction with objects and characters. Much of the classic comics gags are there (including the tail bunched up in a fist) and even more. The result is fine—even though the number of predictable or simplistic scenes far outnumber the inconsistent flashes of genius found here and there. Géraldine Nakache and Lambert Wilson also do nicely in their respective roles. Keep watching the credits—in addition to a singalong and a rather fantastic solo dance number, there are numerous gags sprinkled in the text of the credits themselves.