Earning an Oscar nomination for best animated feature (beating out the likes of Tangled and Despicable Me), this Illusionist follows a magician later on in his career as he makes his way around Europe with his small one man, one rabbit show. He meets a young girl, and the two form a strange friendship. The two settle down in an apartment - he works two jobs to support them, and she cleans, cooks, and then gets wrapped up in the finer things in life. While this is a French film, there are virtually no subtitles - there is almost no dialog at all.
The animation is exceptional and weird, just what I was hoping for. The story though was depressing, sad, and actually took aim at the current financial crisis in a round about way. I couldn't believe the dark places this movie went. While it wasn't blatantly inappropriate for children, I don't think any child should watch it as it basically says "life is tough, deal with it." The end message, which I won't reveal, is tantamount to telling a kid that Santa doesn't exist. This does not have the rewatchability that TOB does.
The negatives aside, this is a great movie from an animation standpoint. I would still put it behind Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon as a composed film, but it's still worth seeing if you're over the age of 10. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.
Parental Take: As I said in the review, the dark places this movie went shouldn't be seen by young children who still like having their movies happy and sweet.
If You Like The Illusionist Try: The Triplets of Belleville. It's a masterpiece.
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