Today (December 9), the award-winning French animated feature Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (original title: Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes) arrives on digital platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Movies, YouTube Movies and Fandango At Home, from Academy Award-winning producer and distributor GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Studios, a Radial Entertainment company.
On the heels of its November theatrical run and Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature, the digital release will be available in its original French and English-language dub. A Blu-ray release will follow in 2026.
Synopsis: For the first years of her life, Amélie never makes a sound. But when her grandmother visits and offers a miraculous bite of chocolate, Amélie suddenly awakens to all the world’s wonders. As she explores her home in post-war Japan, Amélie forms a close bond with her family’s housekeeper, Nishio-san, and discovers new delights in every flower petal, koi pond, and raindrop.
Adapted from the autobiographical novel by Amélie Nothomb, the feature directorial debut of Maïlys Vallade (The Lighthouse Keeper; layout and storyboard artist on I Lost My Body and Calamity) and Liane-Cho Han (animation director on Calamity and Long Way North) made its World Premiere as an Official Selection at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to host its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, followed by its debut as an Official Selection at BFI London Film Festival.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain has taken home the audience award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival and Los Angeles’ Animation Is Film Festival, among many others. The film is currently nominated for Best European Film and Best European Animated Feature at the European Film Awards.
The French-language voice cast is led by Loïse Charpentier as Amélie; Victoria Grobois as Nishio-san; Laetitia Coryn as Danièle, Amélie’s mother; Yumi Fujimori as Kashima-san; Marc Arnaud as Patrick, Amélie’s father; and Emmylou Homs.
