French movies for children 8-12

Paris 1930. Paul always had only one and the same horizon: the high walls of the orphanage, a severe building on the outskirts of Paris. Entrusted to a cheerful lady of the countryside, Celestine and her husband, Borel, the somewhat rigid gamekeeper of a vast estate in Sologne, the child of the cities, recalcitrant and stubborn, arrives in a mysterious and worrying world, that of a sovereign and wild region. The immense forest, the misty ponds, the moors and the fields, everything here belongs to the Count of the Comte de La Salle. Fresnaye, a taciturn widower who lives alone in his mansion. The Count tolerates poachers on the estate, but Borel is relentlessly hunting them down and hounding the most cunning and elusive of them, Totoche. In the heart of the fairytale Sologne, next to the poacher, a great nature lover, Paul will learn about life but also the forest and its secrets. An even heavier secret weighs on the estate, because Paul did not come here by chance.

Jacquou is a determined and attractive young man who transforms his vow of vengeance into a struggle against injustice.

In the countryside of France, two groups of boys from the rural villages of Longeverne and Velran are in constant war against each other. Their war is a tradition that passes from father to son and without a motive but the rivalry between the peasants. During the Second World War, the Longeverne boys are led by the intelligent William Lebrac, who has been the backer of his family since his father died, while the Velrans are led by the wicked Aztec. The boys are frequently fighting with their wooden swords, throwing rotten fruits or building traps in the woods expecting to remove the buttons from the enemies' clothes. But Lebrac is coming of age and he has a crush on the girl Lanterne while his teacher Merlin offers the chance for him to have a better study in another village.

For generations, two rival French villages, Longueverne and Velrans, have been at war. But this is no ordinary conflict, for the on-going hostilities are between two armies of young schoolboys. When he is beaten by his father for having lost his buttons, the leader of the Longueverne army, Lebrac, has an idea which will give his side the advantage: next time, he and his brave soldiers will go in battle without their clothes.

When the accident-prone daughter of a French businessman disappears in Mexico and the detective sent down to find her returns empty-handed, the businessman's company psychologist comes up with an unusual plan - send someone equally accident-prone to find her. Despite detective Campana's objections and disbelief in bad luck, he and Francois Perrin, the accident-prone man in question, are teamed up and head back down to Mexico to pick up the girl's trail.

Riding her bicycle on her way to school, a dreamy, ten-year-old, red-haired farm girl decides to take a shortcut through a ruddy and luscious autumn forest, somewhere in the mountainous region of eastern France. Unexpectedly, the young girl encounters a bright-eyed red fox, however, the untamed wild animal flees in an instant, leaving her longing to meet again. Since then, a whole winter has passed and still no sign of the elusive fox, but with the arrival of spring, the girl determined to find the animal, finally locates its den and an ambitious effort to grow accustomed to each other begins. As we witness a succession of compelling scenes, lost inside the enchanting and breathlessly exquisite landscape, we observe the bond between a human and a savage animal grow gradually stronger, yet, a wish and question emerge. If only we, humans, could talk to the wild beasts, and if we could, could we ever become friends?

Nicolas has a happy existence, parents who love him, a great group of friends with whom he has great fun, and all he wants is that nothing changes. However, one day, he overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that his life might change forever, his mother is pregnant! He panics and envisions the worst.

The well-known little village from the Asterix and Obelix-comic books is in trouble: It is the last place not controlled by Rome. When Tax collector Claudius Incorruptus does not get his money from the villagers, Julius Caesar himself comes to the place to see what's so special about their resistance. A special magic potion, prepared by the village's druid, gives incredible power to those who drink it. And Obelix, who fell into the pot as a child has been invincible ever since. With the help of Tullius Destructivus, an intrigeur, the Romans try to get Obelix and the druid into their hands in order to wipe the little village off the map, when the last potion of it's stock has been used up. But each individual also has some plans of his own...

Welcome to Timpelbach, a small, serene village. Well, not really that serene... Indeed, for several weeks, the children have been playing multiple practical jokes and nasty tricks. The victims are, of course, other children... but also, and most of all, the parents. Overwrought, they decide to leave the village for what they think will only be one day. But nothing happens as planned: on the way back, they are taken prisoner by a group of soldiers. In Timpelbach, the news of a village without parents makes Oscar and his gang of thugs happy! But that isn't the case of a few daredevils who decide to side with Manfred and Marianne to regain control of the village.

Michel Bernardin works at Planet Assistance, who helps Frenchmen who are in trouble in foreign countries.

A young boy's life in turn-of-the-century France. Marcel, witnesses the success of his teacher father, as well as the success of his arrogant Uncle Jules. Marcel and family spend their summer vacation in a cottage in Provence, and Marcel befriends a local boy who teaches him the secrets of the hills in Provence.

The year is 50 B.C. Caesar is hungry for new conquests. At the head of his glorious legions he decides to invade the island that lies at the very edge of the known world, that mysterious land known as Britain. Victory is swift and total. Or - almost. One single tiny village manages to resist, but its forces are growing weaker so Corddlia, Queen of the Britons, decides to send her most faithful officer Jolitorax to seek aid in Gaul, in another small village famed for its dogged resistance to the Romans. At the village in question, Astérix and Obélix already have their hands full. Their chief has entrusted them with the task of making a man of Goudurix, his young pain in the ass nephew recently arrived from Lutèce. And their task is far from accomplished. When Jolitorax arrives to ask for help, the Gauls decide to give him a barrel of their famous magic potion. Astérix and Obélix will accompany him back to Britain - as will Goudurix. After all, the voyage seems to offer an excellent opportunity for completing the young man's education. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes quite to plan.

In 1943, in the French Alps, the orphan Sébastien lives in a small village with his grandfather César, who is a shepherd, and his aunt Angélina, who is a baker. Sébastien misses his mother and believes she has traveled to America. He expects to get a watch with compass as a gift from her. The local Dr. Guillaume is a member of the Frech resistance that helps Jewish refugees to flee to Switzerland and the German Lieutenant Peter and troop are hunting down the resistance. When sheep are found slaughtered, César and the other residents believe that a stray dog that has been abused by his owner is the responsible and hunt it down. Sébastien finds the dog, gives the name of Belle to her and they become friends. But the animal is considered a beast by the inhabitants. Will Sébastien be capable to save Belle?

This is the story of a young girl named Elsa who was raised by a single mother (Isabelle) in the city. Isabelle and Elsa begin the film moving in next door to an elderly man who collects butterflies (Julien). Isabelle who "spends a lot of time with her friends" does not pay much attention to her daughter who walks home because her mother forgot to pick her up from school. After meeting her new neighbor, Elsa finds out about the butterflies and in short annoys Julien for a while. Julien receives a mystery package from a fellow entomologist. Julien sets out on his annual attempt to find a rare species of butterfly that he had once promised his son he would find (son dead) in the French country side, specifically a region known as Vercors. Elsa stows away in his car. After being discovered she convinces him to let her come to Vercors with him. They bond while hiking and camping until Julien, who is initially annoyed by Elsa, near the end of the film seems to have a grandfather-granddaughter relationship with her. Elsa falls in a well. The police arrest Julien. Elsa tells everyone it is cool. Isabelle starts paying attention to her child. Julien and Elsa are friends. The mystery package contained a caterpillar which turned out to become the rare species of butterfly Julien set out to find. The species is called Isabelle. So Elsa finds her mother (Isabelle) and Julien finds the butterfly (Isabelle). Surprisingly happy feel for a french film.

A shaman from the South American rain forest visits France for a public relations campaign. In a hotel's elevator in Paris he meets a French good-for-nothing named Perrin he's fascinated with. He follows Perrin to his flat and although Perrin is not very enthusiastic about so much interest in his person, he lets the shaman spend the night in his flat. After an official meeting on the next day being part of the PR campaign the shaman suffers from a heart attack. Hardly being able to speak and laying in a hospital bed he demands to see Perrin. The latter is not very interested in meeting the shaman again. However it looks like it is to late for animosities as the shaman and Perrin seem to be tied mentally somehow since they've met in the elevator.

T.S. Spivet lives on a ranch in Montana with his mother who is obsessed with the morphology of beetles, his father (a cowboy born a hundred years too late) and his 14 year-old sister who dreams of becoming Miss America. T.S. is a 10 year-old prodigy with a passion for cartography and scientific inventions. One day, he receives an unexpected call from the Smithsonian museum telling him that he is the winner of the very prestigious Baird prize for his discovery of the perpetual motion machine and that he is invited to a reception in his honor where he is expected to give a speech. Without telling anyone, he sets out on a freight train across the U.S.A. to reach Washington DC. There is also Layton, twin brother of T.S., who died in an accident involving a firearm in the family's barn, which no one ever speaks of. T.S. was with him, measuring the scale of the gunshots for an experiment, and he doesn't understand what happened.

On a cloudy day in a small-town carnival, an unattended three-year-old boy with a small note in his hand cries inconsolably. As the years pass by, the same boy will start a career as an intrepid trapeze acrobat--and before long--he will reach the peak by being the biggest in his trade. Accomplished, with kids, wealth, and recognition, the man will quit the firm and his current lifestyle to set off on a solitary voyage of self-awareness in the vast landscapes of Africa, never to return. There, the most improbable friendship will start--and after two years of being presumed dead--a spark will rekindle, making him realise, that even if one has done and seen it all, he can be surprised by what life still has to offer.

Hot on the heels of its recent January release in France, this is a vivacious and emotionally gripping story of a teacher caught between passion for her students and love for her child. Devoted primary school-teacher Florence (an inspired performance by Sara Forestier, Suzanne, AF FFF14) is a single mother who pours her heart and soul into her students each and every day. When she encounters the disruptive student Sacha and finds he has been abandoned by his mother, Florence devotes herself to helping him. But Sacha's plight combined with her impending work assessment put unthinkable strain on Florence, pushing her to a breaking point where she will put everything on the line, including her vocation and even her relationship with her own son. While director Hélène Angel superbly contrasts the entertaining energy and colour of the classroom with the lonely and confused world of Sacha, Forestier delivers a magnificent performance as a woman unwilling to compromise her morals, resulting in a remarkably honest, optimistic and engrossing portrayal of school life.