Speak Now Storyteller

Summary: Ordinary teenager Marinette’s life in Paris goes superhuman when she becomes Ladybug. Bestowed with magical powers of creation, Ladybug must unite with her opposite, Cat Noir, to save Paris as a new villain unleashes chaos unto the city.

There will be spoilers because the show has been on for 5 seasons and I can’t just be trying to hide everything lol. But I’ll keep some stuff underwraps.

Pros:

Cast and Characters. I just wanted to say that the voice acting, while great, sounded a little different and off but I think everyone was a little subdued in their performances, or just spoke in deeper tones. Except Bryce, he sounds the same all around to me.

• Cristina Valenzuela as Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Ladybug. Marinette is a socially awkward and shy teenager. It’s a new year at school and she’s nervous about not having any friends and what her life will be like as she moves forward, not knowing how to navigate it. While running from a bully, she finds herself wrapped up into something miraculous because she was chosen due to her selflessness and bravery. But she isn’t actually up for it and it takes her some time to choose it and adjust but when she does, she becomes Ladybug. In this movie, Marinette’s entire thing is believing in herself and letting go of her fear and believing in love. I like Marinette but it was nice to not have her being all “girl boss” the entire movie because Thomas Astruc doesn’t really know how to write teenage girls without having them regress in their growth every single time. If you watch the show, you know what I mean. I liked Marinette’s arc, I mean it’s not unique or anything but it’s well done I think. Cristina Valenzuela does a great job as I think she always does. I love her delivery because she’s so funny and how she leans Marinette’s awkwardness with her voice every single time, but she does a great job with the emotional bits too.
• Bryce Papenbrook as Adrien Agreste / Cat Noir. Adrien is a sad, teenage boy because his mother died and his dad is distant. When we first meet him, Marinette sees him in the library while he’s listening to music. I thought it was funny that he asks her if she’s okay but then she starts rambling as she does, and he slowly puts his headphones back in lol. I think he takes to being a superhero really quickly, he has fun and is willing to put himself out there as Cat Noir and while he’s not a pro, he throws himself into his role a 100%. Cat Noir is also hilarious, his energy as he interacts with others, especially Ladybug. He’s a little corny but it works for him. As the story goes on, he gets feelings for LB, as he does, and he’s so sweet with her until he finds out she has feelings for someone else. They’re teenagers so it tracks lol. I don’t want to give it all away exactly but I love this character and I want what’s best for him and I think the movie does a pretty good job wrapping up what he needs. I am a huge fan of Bryce so anything he does, I’m always there lol. He’s amazing as Adrien but I think he really shines as Cat Noir. He has a lightness to his voice that really works for light hearted characters but since Adrien is way more subdued than Cat, Bryce usually deepens his voice a little. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it.
• Keith Silverstein as Gabriel Agreste / Hawk Moth. Gabriel is a fashion designer, father to Adrien and he’s sad because he’s lost his wife and he wants to do whatever he can to bring her back. So he finds the Butterfly miraculous hoping to make a wish, but he’s told he needs the ladybug and cat ones to do that and they only return in times of chaos, so he takes it upon himself to reign chaos upon Paris. He seems to fall deeper and deeper into despair until his desperation comes to a head at the end and he almost hurts his son, which causes him to realize what he’s doing. Gabriel will always be an interesting character and I have some stuff to say about the Butterfly miraculous later on, but he’s not nearly as bad as he is in the show lol. But, he’s fine and I like the scene at the end with him and Adrien talking. Keith Silverstein is great in this role, as per usual. The slightly crazy inflections for Hawkmoth, especially later on are so different from how he approaches being Gabriel. Good stuff.
• Mela Lee as Tikki & Max Mittelman as Plagg. I normally would have them separate but since they’re not huge characters in this movie, I can’t do that. Tikki actually seems a little more… “mean” than how she is in the show which made me laugh, but mostly in her introduction scene. After that, she’s mostly giving Marinette advice to overcome her fear. But I’ve always liked Tikki, she’s cute so it’s fine. Plagg is always great and he’s fine here too, I just wish we got to see more of him and Adrien.

It’s a Musical. Literally about 5 minutes in, Marinette starts singing and I was shocked. I didn’t know it was a musical, there wasn’t an indication and I commented “why are we singing?” every time a song happened and I love musicals lol. I think there are like 7 songs in this and I actually liked all of them. Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman, came in to help produce the musical aspect, which no wonder the music was good in this movie because while I think The Greatest Showman is an okay/good movie, the music is my favorite thing about it. I think all of the songs are good and my friend made a good point in that they seem to all have a similar melody to the theme song, which is a major bop, and that probably helps. The villain song is top tier quality and Keith Silverstein does his own singing which I appreciated. Adrien/Cat Noir and Marinette/Ladybug have a duet later in the film and I really liked the song and the entire sequence was so cute, I was smiling the entire time. I also really liked the duet between Mari and Tikki, I like when characters are singing over each other in a song. Did it need to be a musical? Not at all and I don’t think these songs are gonna be iconic like the theme or anything, but they’re good.

The Animation Style/Production. I wasn’t sure about the animation style when I saw the trailer, I was taken aback and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but I’ve watched the movie twice and I’ve decided I like it mostly. I’ll talk about it more lately but I think some characters translate really well into this style. Marinette is beautiful, there are some scenes in the movie where she really looks gorgeous. Adrien also great, I think he’s one of the few who translates the best into the new style. The faces are little too round but I think it works for some people. I think Gabriel is a hit and miss because he doesn’t look nearly as severe as he does in the show but it’s fine lol. Nino looks almost exactly the same. Chloe looks completely different but she’s pretty lol. I also think the movie is beautiful, a lot of the sequences look amazing. When Marinette accepts she’s Ladybug, the scene is really wonderfully animated. Since it’s a fantasy show, they get to really showcase a lot of fantastical elements and since the movie is a musical, it really allows them to make it even more surreal because that’s what musical sequences do. The duet between Cat Noir and Ladybug, is one of the best animated sequences.

The Story. Because I’m already a fan of the show, I knew what to expect but was interested to see how they went about it and there are some lore changes or certain things about characters we know but the movie didn’t show. I think it helps that the story overall is interesting and the character dynamics work in this story because I’m sure many can relate to feeling like an outsider, socially outcast and shy like Marinette who’s just trying to figure out where she fits in the world. Then you have Adrien who is a sad boy because his mother died and his father is distant and he seems to find solace in his headphones. But they make friends but also meet each other. Then you have the whole “believe in yourself, be strong, love conquers fear, let go and move on” and I think the movie doesn’t beat you over the head with those, the way I’ve seen other critiques say. I think it’s fine. Then you have the villain who is sad and wants to make a wish that he thinks would make him happy but he gives into the chaos while trying to do that. I mean, it’s interesting lol. Plus, all of the lore about the Miraculous in general so there are always going to be some good story nuggets in this world. I appreciated how the movie tried to do their own thing in ways.

Huge Strides! This kind of goes with the previous point but I was so shocked at some of the choices made that the comments I’ve seen saying the movie did more for Miraculous than the show has done in 5 seasons is kind of true lol. So much happened that I was like whoa and I don’t know if Jeremy Zag wants to do more and what he would do, since this is basically it’s own thing, I consider it fanfiction, but good fanfiction, then we’d just have to separate the show from this. Like, Mari/LB catching feelings for Cat? He always catches feelings first but still. Or the reveals at the climax and then at the end?? I was impressed that the movie went for them. One of the reveals, while I thought was cute, wasn’t quite earned here but it’s fine, I’ll allow it.

Cons:

Why is it an Origin Story? Why is this an origin story and not like a continuation or a movie about a certain adventure in the 5 seasons (which apparently only equals ONE FRIGGING YEAR in the show!) that we’ve had. My friend and I wondered if Jeremy Zag (director, writer, composer) just hates Thomas Astruc (creator of Miraculous) and wanted to do his own thing. Which is technically fine but I feel like making it an origin story just doesn’t allow for these characters to really sit and make their mark on new people coming into this world. For those of us who have been agonizing over this show for 5 seasons, we already know these characters, who they are and can become, will become or are leading up to becoming so it’s not that much of an origin for us… so why do that at all? Just tell a story. It’s funny because the show actually doesn’t even start as an origin, we get the origin in a two part special at the end of the first season. So, this movie could have just been… a story and not an origin lol. But I guess an origin lends itself better to a musical and maybe Jeremy Zag wanted a musical.

It’s a Musical. I had no idea it was a musical, when Marinette started singing I was like whoa lol and what makes matters worse is that the singing voice, her name is Lou, has a beautiful voice but she doesn’t sound like Cristina Valenzuela at all so it’s very distracting. I think Cristina even tried to sound a little deeper to still be Marinette but also match Lou, since Lou does the singing voice for Mari in French. But I don’t understand why Cristina didn’t sing, she has a very nice voice, like she actually sings too. So I don’t get that lol. Drew Ryan Scott sings for Adrien and his voice sounds way closer to Bryce’s voice but it’s a little too “pop star”. Then there are way too many songs. It didn’t need to be a musical in any way and I feel like the music doesn’t particularly add to the film in the way a movie musical usually does. If you take out the songs and just let the movie be, I feel like it wouldn’t change anything. Plus, I think Marinette has too many songs lol and I wish Adrien and Gabriel had a duet.

Wasted Characters. We see all of the familiar characters from the show in the movie, particularly in the background but we never get to meet any of them. It’s almost like Marinette doesn’t know anyone from before this school year besides Chloe and Sabrina. She doesn’t react like she knows Nino, or anyone else. She meets Alya this year (similar to the show) but also Nino. We don’t see her in class ever, or see Adrien interacting with anyone else. We get closeup reactions of the others but none of them have lines. We even see Luka in the background and we never see him in the show, so that was weird in general. Nathalie was hardly involved and she’s the GOAT. And PLAGG, first of all, I really hated how he was regulated to a bunch of fart jokes. Plagg is a little gross but not like this. I also think Tikki was underutilized as well.

The Animation Style. The style had to grow on me because when I saw the trailer, I was so taken aback by it because they look more cartoonish and their faces are more round, almost… I hate saying this but “Disneyfied”even though they don’t look like Disney characters to me but you know what I mean. Some characters translate really well in this style but others don’t AND it washes them out. Like Alya, her original look is so different and beautiful and while movie Alya is cute, they not only washed her colors out but couldn’t get her hair right! LIKE HOW DARE YOU?

I also think some of the background characters look weird too, like Luka lol, if you catch him in the background, Chile lol. I already think Luka looks weird sometimes in the OG show, I think it’s his eyes and the fact that he’s usually always kind of smirking/smiling but he looks so bad in the movie to me. Also Emilie, Adrien’s mom, what a bad translation!

Story Issues. Since I basically consider this movie to be fanfiction because there are some changes in the story or some things that are said but aren’t followed up on or are implied but we don’t see. The opening scene tells us that the Butterfly Miraculous is feared because it creates akumas, dark butterflies that can turn anyone into a monster if they have a hint of anger. But the miraculous are meant for heroes and from what we know, the holder of the butterfly miraculous has the power of transmission, so the holder doesn’t get powers themselves but they can give akumas to others and grant that person temporary superpowers. So for them to set up that the butterfly miraculous creates already dark and corrupted butterflies instead of pure ones that are corrupted due to the holder’s evil intentions was weird to me. Nooroo later even warns Gabriel about causing chaos in order to summon the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous holders for his wish, like 3 different times. And of course Ladybug purifies the butterflies later but like… they’re already corrupt? I feel like they forgot what they said in the beginning or that they wanted it to be like Gabriel was corrupted by the miraculous instead of him corrupting it…and he had to fight it off like people fighting off his dark akumas. It’s just messy writing around that. Also, Chloe has always been a bully antagonist to Marinette and since this is an origin, that’s fine, but she continues to threaten Mari about Adrien but we never see her interact with him at all. He doesn’t even mention them being friends or makes it seem like he knows her. They could have talked at some point or she tries to force a conversation or something lol. Also also, there’s a sequence where Alya and Mari are talking about LB and CN possibly dating due to the photos while at the same time Adrien and Nino are talking about being in love. Then they do that “we’re having the same kind of conversation so we’re gonna switch back and forth every other word or so” but when they cut back to Alya and Mari, Alya says something similar to what Nino was saying but she wasn’t saying anything remotely similar to what he was saying to be included in his conversation lol. Lastly, what made Plagg choose Adrien to be his holder? The Guardian said they had to choose their new holders together but we only saw him chase down the LB one and Mari saved him, which allowed Tikki to choose her but what about Adrien? In the show, Adrien helped the Guardian when no one else would, which caused him to choose Adrien… so what did Adrien do here? Also, lol why did Adrien only put one of the library books back and then leave? That sent me lol.

Overall, I think Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie is good and well made. It’s really for fans of the show, I think, since, as I’ve said, I consider this fanfiction but well made fanfiction. The characters are pretty much intact, and if you’ve never seen the show but watch this movie, you get idea of who these characters are. Cristina Valenzuela and Bryce Pappenbrook are great as their respective characters as they always are, I never doubt them. The characters have amazing chemistry, particularly as LB and CN in this. The story is fun and gets wrapped up pretty well, it makes huge strides for this world, even if it’s not canon, but I was on the edge of my seat at the climax. The movie itself is really beautiful, the animation is really well done for a lot of the characters and sequences. Adrien/Cat and Marinette/LB really translate well in this new animation style. While it didn’t need to be a musical, I think the songs are good and the singing is good, even though I don’t like how Cristina doesn’t sing for Marinette and the singing voice is just so different from her speaking voice, it’s really distracting. I praised the animation but it’s not great for every character and they make some weird choices, like the giant ghost of Emilie… really strange lol. There are also some story inconsistencies but I think in the end, for fans and non-fans alike, this is a fun movie that anyone can enjoy if you allow yourself the chance to enjoy it. I recommend it, especially if you are a fan of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.

Rating: 3.80 out of 5 stars.

Did you watch Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below? Also who is your fave Miraculous character?

Thanks for reading!