Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
GKIDS | Release Date: October 31, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireJordan KingFeb 17, 2026
A beautifully hand-crafted love letter to childhood, self-discovery, and the life-changing power of really good chocolate, Little Amélie is 78 minutes of pure animated joy that welcomes one and all.  Read full review
90
The Irish TimesTara BradyFeb 12, 2026
Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han’s debut feature is a formally playful, gorgeously rendered, emotionally impactful adaptation of Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical novella from 2000. Bring tissues. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarNov 7, 2025
The gently transcendent, tear-inducing conclusion that “Little Amélie” reaches suggests that memory serves as our only remedy for loss. As long as we don’t forget, what we cherish won’t become ephemeral. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithOct 31, 2025
Just as early youth means the endless fascination of new encounters, it also brings sudden, bewildering losses. “Little Amélie” brims with feeling for every precious moment of it. Read full review
88
The Travers TakePeter TraversDec 12, 2025
The lovely animation is next level in this touching tale of a Belgian girl living in Japan who finds understanding in a clash of cultures. Read full review
83
The Film StageMichael FrankNov 8, 2025
It’s a gorgeous piece of animation to consume. It envelopes the viewer, providing a casing similar to the bubble Amélie lives in for her first two years. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubJacob OllerOct 31, 2025
Little Amélie submerges itself in fantastical ecstasy and melancholy with a magic all its own. Read full review
80
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsFeb 13, 2026
With its vibrant use of colour, expressive character design and flights of expressionist fancy, Little Amélie offers a lyrical vision of early-years development and so much more. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 11, 2026
This tender and sweet animation from film-makers Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han is an involving, poignant study of early childhood; how fragile it is, and how strong you feel yourself to be to have outlived or surpassed it. Read full review
80
Time OutOlly RichardsFeb 10, 2026
The animation initially looks like something produced on an early Nintendo console, but what it lacks in finesse it more than makes up for in feeling. It makes sense of how a small child sees the world, saturated and magical but not yet subtly detailed. Read full review
80
Screen RantGregory NussenNov 6, 2025
To put it in a kinder way, Little Amélie is a delicate testament to the power of solidarity and the ability of children to heal wounds across space and time. Read full review
80
The New York TimesBrandon YuOct 30, 2025
The movie is an imperfect gem — some of its ambitions toward grand emotional sweep are not without seams and it can at times feel like an overextended animated short. But it’s hard not to be charmed by its warm existentialism (in a children’s film, no less) and its belief that the greatest wisdoms can be found in the way a child sees and learns. Read full review
80
Screen DailyJonathan HollandOct 28, 2025
Little Amelie is, despite occasional inevitable lapses into sentimentality, visually engrossing and thought-provoking fare that ranges daringly across emotions ranging from pure delight to fear and horror. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 28, 2025
The look and feel owes an obvious debt to the beloved films of Studio Ghibli, which have offered some of the most iconic representations of wartime Japan and its long, fraught recovery period. “Little Amélie” starts from a place of (mostly endearing) solipsism and builds empathy and emotional depth as it goes. Read full review
80
Next Best PictureAlex PapaioannouOct 28, 2025
This is a film that’s as concerned with lofty ideas of existentialism as it is with the simply mundane observations of daily beauty. That both co-exist through the lens of Amélie makes this a timeless and essential tale about growing up and learning what it means to live to the fullest. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerOct 28, 2025
The film feels at times like Terrence Malick meets Hayao Miyazaki for tykes, combining playful subjectivity with surreal flights of fancy. But it also maintains a narrative throughline that’s simple enough for any kid to follow, showing how its titular heroine literally emerges from her bubble to discover the pleasures and dangers of real life. Read full review
80
ColliderRoss BonaimeOct 28, 2025
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is, without a doubt, one of the best and most touching animated films to come out this year, a remarkable example of what this style of storytelling can do. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comPeyton RobinsonOct 31, 2025
A tender romp through time we’ve all seen long departed, and may only relive through children of our own, “Little Amélie and the Character of Rain” begs for the warmth of innocence, even when it pleads too hard. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichOct 28, 2025
Its brevity allows it to maintain that delicate balance between joy and grief — discovery and heartache — from start to finish, and to use the sweet cocoon of childhood as a way of crystallizing how that dynamic grows with us as we get older. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJake ColeOct 27, 2025
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain changes up its breezy account of a toddler’s growth with the occasional moment of slowed-down rumination. Read full review
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