"Scanner, Transfer, Virtualization!" Bonjour! And welcome to the wonderful world of French animations! =] Now my last three posts have been on cartoons, I know, but they are just so darn interesting! >.<; I want to take the time to escape from reality and into the alternate universe of vivid characters and exhilarating action sequences. Now, France (particularly Paris) is known for it's trendy fashion an internationally known culinary cuisine. But, what really goes unnoticed is the face that, like most major countries, the French do make cartoons.
Now, when Code Lyoko first came on Miguzi (a line-up of popular cartoons that showed for a couple of hours during the afternoons on weekdays)on Cartoon Network, I wasn't really interested in watching it. It was actually one of my brothers that got me into the show. I actually took the time to watch one of the earlier episodes, and i've been hooked ever since.
Code Lyoko (originally called "Garage Kids") in France, focuses on the lives of 4 adolescents/teens (Jeremy Belpois, Odd Della Robbia, Yumi Ishiyama, and Ulrich Stern) at Kadic Academy, which is a French boarding school. Jeremy, the smartest of the group and a total computer whiz, finds a hidden underground cellar that houses a computer that is linked to virtual world called Lyoko. While trying to unlock the computer's components, he stumbles across a virtualized girl that is given the name Aelita, that is stuck in Lyoko and can't get out because that is basically her home. But, home isn't always so peaceful. A supercomputer virus that goes by the acronym, X.A.N.A. activates "towers" in Lyoko that affect the real world in which the kids live in, leaving them in a situation. In order to resolve the situation and fight against X.A.N.A., all 4 kids must travel into the virtual world of Lyoko as the people they wish to be, but can't be in reality (i.e., Odd is a cat, Yumi is a geisha, and Ulrich is a samurai warrior). There, they must not only protect themselves, but most importantly Aelita, from the evil minions that X.A.N.A. has released in the different environments of Lyoko. They must guide Aelita to safety each time so that she can "deactivate" the towers and save the real world from eminent doom.
I think that pretty much sums up the show, hahaha! *sweatdrop* ^__^'
What I like most about this show is that it combines traditional two-dimensional animation along with CGI (which is basically three-dimensional computer graphics animation). It's a very good twist of reality and virtual reality. It's almost like the Lyoko gang is sent into a video game to save the world from evil or something like that, which is really cool and different. I also like the whole "return to the past" thing at the end of each and every show.
Now, Code Lyoko bashers are quick to point that the foreheads on the characters are too large and the plot just sucks. But i'm sure if people would look past that, and really learn to appreciate the artwork, they would most certainly enjoy the show. I think it's a very wonderful and inventive show coming from the French, and it is also one of my personal favorite shows. Not many cartoons nowadays combine a perfect blend of two and three-dimensional animation like so. The people on the show do a very good job =]
You would expect something like this from Japan, but many like to call it "French Anime". I wouldn't consider it anime (even though "anime" is French for animation), but it is a very good cartoon created by the unexpected. And that is certainly a reality.
-Monique
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