After finding tremendous success in bookstores and on screen, inseparable Toopy and Binoo make the leap to cinema in an animated feature directed by Raymond Lebrun and writer Dominique Jolin. Here are seven things you should know about the cinema move of kids’ two favorite characters.
• Also read: “Toupie et Binou, le film”: Marc Labrèche and Anne Dorval have a great day
Already 30 years old!
The mouse Toupie and her cat Binou were born in Dominique Jolin’s children’s books of the same name in the early 1990s. Little did the Quebec writer and illustrator know back then that 30 years later, her two adorable characters would find their way onto the big screen… “When I created Toopy and Binoo, I never thought they would find it one day in a TV series and even less in the cinema! laughed Dominique Jolin, who had met at the beginning of the summer. I already had imposter syndrome when we adapted the books for TV, so imagine a movie! »
Instant success
About ten years after the publication of the first book, Toopy and Binoo made the leap to the big screen in the series of the same name, directed by Raymond Lebrun. Composed of short stories told in capsules of just a few minutes, the Toupie et Binou series won over young children when it first aired on Télé-Québec in 2005. Work that went beyond what we had hoped for.” says Raymond Lebrun.
To date, the Toopy and Binoo series has been translated into 30 languages and aired in almost 180 countries. In addition, more than one million DVDs have been sold and more than one billion minutes watched on YouTube.
The voice of Marc Labrèche
Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
Where would Toopy and Binoo be without the sweet madness and contagious energy of Marc Labrèche, who lends his voice to the very talkative mouse Toopy in the French version of the series (and film)? “We had already tried other actors at the time, but I wanted Marc Labrèche,” says Dominique Jolin. I was in love with him! »
The challenges of a feature film
The project to adapt the adventures of Toopy and Binoo to the cinema goes back about seven years. Dominique Jolin and Raymond Lebrun were intrigued by the possibility of continuing their characters in their adventures. In the film, Toopy and Binoo go in search of Mr. Mou, Binoo’s beloved dog, who happened to be sent to the world of lost objects.
“The big challenge was not to distort the characters, because there are no villains in the world of Toupie,” says Dominique Jolin. We wondered who would thwart them. And finally, it’s Toopy. In the movie, Toopy does the damage and Binoo fixes it. »
Several well-known voices
Writing the feature film also enabled Dominique Jolin and Raymond Lebrun to direct new original characters with the voices of several well-known actors, including Stéphane Rousseau, Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Geneviève Schmidt, Benoît Brière, Michèle Deslauriers, Sonia Vachon and Ludivine Reding. “Even Marc Hervieux embodies the voice of a character, he’s excellent! », says Dominique Jolin.
seagull twins
The twin seagulls Jean-Jacques and Jacques-Henri, whose voices will be interpreted by Xavier Dolan and Stéphane Rousseau. Photo courtesy of Sphere Films
Among the funniest characters are the brothers Jean-Jacques and Jacques-Henri, twin gulls, whose voices are played by Xavier Dolan and Stéphane Rousseau. Dolan, a voice expert for 25 years, met at a press day organized for the film’s release in late June and said he was proud to be part of an animated film designed entirely in Quebec.
“Toupie et Binou is a production that is so rich and structured,” he said. The designs are wonderful. It’s beautiful and it’s funny. There’s a humor that’s accessible without necessarily being easy. »
A “characteristic” princess
The actress Geneviève Schmidt lends her voice to a princess who is looking for her “prince of dance”.
“It’s my first time playing a princess,” she laughs. She is a selfish and spirited princess. But as the meetings progress, she warms up. »
♦ Toopy and Binoo, the moviein cinemas on August 11th.