Chicken for Linda! (2023)
★★★ — Chicken for Linda! (2023)
Chicken for Linda! (known in French as Linda veut du poulet!) is a Franco-Italian animated feature from 2023, co-directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach. Running at a brisk 73 minutes, it tells the story of Paulette, a single mother who, after a difficult morning with her young daughter Linda, sets out to cook the one meal the girl has been asking for: chicken with peppers. The catch is that Paulette cannot cook, and the local shopkeepers have chosen that particular day to go on strike. What follows is a warm, chaotic, and often funny chase through their neighbourhood, rooted firmly in the rhythms of ordinary working-class Parisian life. The film was produced by Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, and France 3 Cinéma, and it arrives as part of a genuinely strong recent run of French animated cinema that takes family storytelling seriously without condescending to its audience.
Laudenbach had previously made Josep, another animated film reviewed here on the blog, which similarly favoured an expressive, hand-crafted visual style over polished digital gloss. That consistency of artistic intent is evident in Chicken for Linda! too. The film's hand-drawn aesthetic, loose linework, and watercolour-inflected backgrounds are a conscious choice rather than a budgetary workaround, prioritising feeling and movement over visual precision. It sits comfortably alongside other French productions, like those covered in the reviews of Mustang and Sugar Cane Alley, in its willingness to centre everyday human experience rather than reach for something grand or mythological. The film also incorporates music in a way that feels organic to its storytelling, with characters occasionally breaking into song in a manner more reminiscent of street-level folk tradition than Broadway spectacle. For those who enjoy comparing approaches to animation, it is also worth looking at how a very different visual register operates in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, reviewed elsewhere on the site.
The voice cast is led by Mélinée Leclerc as young Linda, with Clotilde Hesme voicing the harried but well-meaning Paulette. Laetitia Dosch, Estéban, and Patrick Pineau fill out a supporting ensemble that brings colour and warmth to the various neighbourhood characters the pair encounter on their mission. French voice casts in animated films of this kind tend to lean on theatrical experience, and the performances here feel grounded and naturalistic rather than broadly comedic, which suits the film's overall register well. The combination of co-directors brings both a sensibility for intimate storytelling and a confident visual language, resulting in something that feels genuinely collaborative rather than divided by committee.
Chicken for Linda! (2023) is a delightful, understated gem that stands out in today’s animation landscape with its warm, hand-drawn aesthetic and gentle storytelling. Eschewing the slick CGI that dominates modern kids’ films, it embraces a loose, sketch-like style (watercolour backgrounds, expressive linework, and a soft, nostalgic palette) that feels both fresh and timeless. The visual approach isn’t just charming; it’s emotionally resonant, mirroring the film’s focus on small moments, childhood wonder, and the quiet chaos of family life.. At just 72 minutes, the film never overstays its welcome. It’s light but not shallow, simple but not simplistic. While it may lack the high stakes or musical numbers of mainstream animated fare, it makes up for it with authenticity and heart. That said, its subtlety might fly over younger viewers’ heads, and adults may wish for slightly deeper emotional payoff. Chicken for Linda! is a quietly beautiful film, modest in scale but rich in feeling. It won’t blow you away with spectacle, but it might just linger in your thoughts like the memory of a perfect family dinner. A welcome reminder that sometimes, the smallest stories are the most nourishing.
For me, that comparison to a perfect family dinner is exactly right, and it has stayed with me more than I expected it to. There is something quietly radical about a film that trusts its audience, young and old, to sit with small emotions rather than reaching for something louder. I think what Malta and Laudenbach have pulled off is the animated equivalent of a short story that you finish and immediately want to press into someone's hands. It is modest, yes, but modest in the way that a well-made thing often is. Sometimes that is more than enough.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2023 | Watched: 2026-04-21
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Chicken for Linda! (2023) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the US
Stream: Criterion Channel
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