Belle & Sebastian: The Adventure Continues (PG)
Director: Christian Duguay (The Art Of War)
Starring: Felix Bossuet, Margaux Chatelier, Tcheky Karyo, Thierry Neuvic.
Rating: ***1/2
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWStill a tough mutt to crack
A satisfactory second screen outing for France’s favourite cute-kid-and-even-cuter-canine combo.
In the first movie, plucky tween-age trouble magnet Sebastian (Felix Bossuet) and his faithful mountain-dog offsider Belle took on the Nazis in the Alps and came home victorious.
Now that WWII is over, the team must come to the rescue of Sebastian’s closest friend and motherly mentor, the noble Resistance fighter Angelina (Margaux Chatelier).
Her plane has crashed in a faraway forest, not accessible by either road or walking track. Can Belle and Sebastian save the day?
First they had better find a pilot willing to get them as close as possible to the crash site. There is only one candidate qualified for the daring mission.
Wouldn’t you just know it? This brave man of the skies is actually Sebastian’s long-lost father. What are the odds of that!
This is corny stuff for the most part, but it is hard to ever hold a grudge for long against those two very appealing title characters.
The pooch that plays Belle will never be hailed as the greatest dog actor around. Whenever little Sebastian cosies in for a cuddle, she looks like she’d rather be back in her kennel taking a nap already.
However, when the going gets rough — like when a fiery blaze breaks out in the forest — big ol’ Belle earns her keep with heroic feats aplenty.