Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be

Leaning over a large white sheet of paper, somewhere between Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempé and comic book author René Goscinny bring a mischievously laughing little boy to life: Petit Nicolas. Between camaraderie, arguments, fights, games, silly antics and punishments of all kinds, Nicolas experiences a childhood full of joy and learning experiences. In the course of the story, the boy sneaks into his creators' studio and challenges them in a funny way. Sempé and Goscinny tell him about their meeting, their friendship, but also about their careers, their secrets and their childhood. In August 2022, Jean-Jacques Sempé passed away, and all of France mourned one of its greatest artists. With unrivalled virtuosity, the brilliant illustrator used paper, ink and pen to create a gentle world full of lovable, ‘normal’ people who always retained their friendliness and smiles despite all the social changes. This is how the French liked to see themselves, even if they only existed in Sempé's imagination, just as ‘his’ Paris always remained as charming as he had experienced it himself in the 1950s, when he strolled through the streets and observed everyday life. And this is exactly how this magically beautiful, touching and inspiring animated film begins.