My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
★★★½ — My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
Claude Barras was a Swiss animator best known for short films before this feature debut brought him to international attention, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and a César win in the same category. Adapted from Gilles Paris's 2002 novel "Autobiographie d'une Courgette" by screenwriter Céline Sciamma (herself an increasingly prominent French auteur at the time), the film is a Franco-Swiss co-production that took several years to complete given the painstaking nature of its stop-motion puppetry. At a modest eight million dollar budget, it sits in that quietly ambitious territory occupied by European animated features that never chase the scale of a studio blockbuster, aiming instead for something more personal. The English-language release used the title "My Life as a Zucchini" rather than the British "Courgette" version, a small but telling detail about how distributors read their respective markets.
My Life as a Courgette (2016) (known in French as *Ma vie de courgette) is a small miracle of stop-motion animation and emotional storytelling. At just 66 minutes, it packs a quiet but profound punch, using its deceptively simple claymation style to explore themes of grief, abandonment, foster care, and the fragile beginnings of trust. The story follows a young boy nicknamed Courgette (or Zucchini in the English dub), who, after a tragic loss, is sent to a group home where he meets other children each carrying their own invisible wounds. What’s immediately striking is the film’s artistic tenderness. The characters’ oversized eyes and delicate features convey volumes without dialogue, and the muted color palette (soft blues, warm browns, gentle greys) mirrors the film’s balance between melancholy and hope. Despite its heavy subject matter, it never feels exploitative or overwhelming. Instead, it treats childhood trauma with honesty, compassion, and even moments of genuine humor, like the kids’ blunt yet innocent conversations about sex, alcohol, or why their parents left them. It’s also remarkably effective as an entry point for young viewers (and adults alike) to discuss difficult realities (loss, neglect, resilience) in a way that’s accessible without being sugarcoated. The relationships that form among the children feel authentic, and the glimmers of joy they find together are all the more moving because of what they’ve endured. A beautifully crafted, emotionally intelligent gem. Short, sweet, and surprisingly deep, My Life as a Courgette proves that animation can be both gentle and unflinching. It doesn’t shout; it whispers and in doing so, says more than most films twice its length.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 2016 | Watched: 2026-02-25
Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Sky Store · BFI Player
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK
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