Les grandes Grandes Vacances

An excellent animated TV series about an occupied village's life during World War II, in Normandy, as told by children who witness and endure terrible events. Two of the main characters are Ernest and Colette, who came from Paris during holidays and had to stay in the countryside all the war long. They make a gang of friends called "les Robinsons", who meet in the forest and try to help the Resistance. The kids adventures are based on a collection of true stories. This show has all what lacks to the french children TV nowadays : great adventure, danger, sad stories,... The character design is done by comic books author Emile Bravo. Each episode is followed by a short animated story where a young director illustrates the actual testimony of someone who lived those times.

I just watched an episode of Les grandes grandes vacances and was captivated! It is a long time since I have seen any TV series - animated or live action, for children or for adults, English or French-language - with the emotional resonance and beauty of this production.

The theme - a village in occupied France - has been done before many times and is so often approached in a forced or unconvincing way. Here, the drama, shown from the children's point of view, is understated, sincere and full of small and authentic human moments, without a trace of sentimentality. Moreover, the historical authenticity of the production is absolutely top-notch.

Watching an episode, I was transported back to my childhood and all the secrets, games, joys and heartaches which children experience, surrounded both by love and by all the complications of the adult world. The end of the episode brought me to tears. This is not just a children's show like any other but a true masterpiece. Un vrai chef d'oeuvre! Bravo, les réalisateurs, et merci!

I watched this with my two kids 5 and 8 and they had a multitude of questions. They really enjoyed it and it sent the 8 year old on a WWII reading binge that he's not out of yet. Done really well and alludes to a lot of the darker aspects of the war without dealing with it head on. Very well done and hope the studio makes more like these.