ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, The Good, the Bad and the Verdict and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.
Official synopsis: Follows 16-year-old introverted Blaise who always agrees to everything until he meets Josephine and decides to blow everything up, while his mother Carole tries to win over employees and his father Jacques seeks respect.
Codirectors Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon’s French animated feature Blaise trades in delivering humor in situations that range from uncomfortable to suspenseful. Socially awkward teen boy Blaise (voice of Timéo) has a father (voice of Jacques Gamblin) suffering from a major case of lack of self-esteem and a mother (voice of Léa Drucker) whose new management position at a company dealing in stones immediately gets off to a difficult start and only escalates from there. And then there is the daughter (voice of Nina Blanc-Francard) of the wealthy stones company owner, who takes a liking to Blaise, as the pair somewhat accidentally gets involved in political protests.
The screenplay from Clémence Lebatteux and Planchon is sharp and clever, and keeps its main characters likable despite their shortcomings, misunderstandings, and mistakes. The animation style featuring disproportionate head and body sizes perfectly fits the weirdness on display in the plot. The voice talent is wonderful throughout.
Blaise manages to have a genial air while putting its characters through the wringer. It’s a blast and comes strongly recommended.
Blaise screened as part of Fantasia 2026, which ran July 16–August 2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
