‘April and the Extraordinary World’ a steampunk animated ride

The guess here is that the title of the new French animated film for American release is called “April and the Extraordinary World” is because it’s more marketable.

There’s no Hitler, no World War II; the world has been taken over by a mysterious group of giant overlords, forming one big totalitarian society.

April (voice of Marion Cotillard) is a young scientist hiding out in Paris, searching for the Ultimate Serum, which would grant immortality.

[...] April is in hiding, with her talking cat Darwin to keep her company, until she is discovered by Julius, a young man working for the police to get to April, but switches his allegiances when he falls in love.

Directors Franck Ekinci and Christian Desmares, working from Jacques Tardi’s graphic novel, have crafted a very watchable film that has a decent visual look — almost black and white with splotches of bright color.

For those who don’t know, steampunk, which crosses all artistic mediums, is a science fiction and fantasy genre featuring Victorian designs and technology.

Influences include the literature of Jules Verne and the 1950s and ’60s movies from his works (such as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”); the 1960s TV series “Wild, Wild West” and Terry Gilliam’s 1985 breakthrough “Brazil.”