Peter Saturday’s last post on the French animated/puppeteer movie Strings triggered a French movie moment on my part as well. Another great little known French release from 2006 that I highly recommend is Renaissance! This is a futuristic dark and gritty CGI film that looks like it was drawn by the guy that does the KMFDM album artwork (Brute!, aka Adrian Hughes)…but it wasn’t. If this sounds remotely interesting, I suggest you read on!

So here is a quick synopsis…it is Paris in 2054. Ilona Tasuiev, a brilliant young scientist, is kidnapped, and her employer, Avalon, a major health and beauty corporation, wants her found. Karas, a jaded police captain, is assigned to find her, fast. He seeks help from her sister, Bislane, and they are soon uncovering identify theft, missing files, and hints that something back in 2006 may explain what’s going on. Ilona’s mentor, Avalon’s vice president, a Japanese researcher, an underworld boss, and Bislane’s drug connection all figure in the mix. But you will have to watch to find out the whole story…no spoilers here.

Basically, there is nothing spine tingling about the plot, but it is well developed and executed. The movie on its own is just amazingly smooth and very original as compared to most adult animated movies. The English dubbed version is available and features the voice of the new James Bond…Daniel Craig! Anyway, I recommend you add this to your list if you are an animation lover like me.