April and the Extraordinary World

Should appeal to precocious children... Adults may find it as derivative and simplistic as the steampunk aesthetic to which it's indebted, but for a gateway to more resonant cinema and literature, you could do worse.

April and the Extraordinary World will have your imagination doing somersaults and cartwheels.

"April and the Extraordinary World" is a visual delight, an animated French steampunk adventure that is smart, exciting and wonderfully weird.

In truth, the story is practically beside the point with all the spectacular visuals.

A delightfully deranged steampunk adventure.

Fun, fast-paced French film d'animation that manages to keep its ideas from getting lost amid the steampunk aesthetics, frequent chases, and occasional explosions.

As much as April and the Extraordinary World veers around a little too often and gets too self-indulgent with its exposition, the film effectively builds a whole other steampunk-inspired world in which viewers can get lost, gas masks and all.

This hand-drawn animated feature by first-time directors Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci is a steampunk marvel that will enchant both kids and adults with its high-concept premise.

Given how sumptuous the details are in every scene, the alternate universe here, even as far from reality as it is, is conceivably real.

... while sometimes bits of comedy are distractingly nonsensical, the film preserves scenes of illustrated beauty, smart contemplation and clever humor.

Even in today's world of banal CGI wonders, it would be a tall order to render the scope and detail of the Franklins' ominous steampunk world in a live-action tent-pole.

Soot and steam seep into every frame, so that you can almost sense the picture wheezing.