"A film about kids, made for kids, and sadly I can't see enough in this picture to recommend it to the parents..."

The general premise to most children's movies is often as simple as being good versus evil. Evil, in many cases, being that of gigantic robots, vampires, wizards, monsters and so on. Well not in this instance, as within Laurent Tirard's Petit Nicolas the antagonist is that of a potential younger brother.

Nicolas (Maxime Godart) has it all. He enjoys school and spending time with his group of friends, whilst at home he shares a special bond with his mother (Valérie Lemercier) - and as far as this young boy is concerned, life would be great is absolutely nothing ever changed. However Nicolas overhears a conversation between his parents which leads him to believe he is to expect a younger brother, and suddenly this tranquil life which he leads is unsettled as he fears the worst.

Convinced his parents will no longer love him as much as they once did, Nicolas is so scared of being abandoned that he forms a collective amongst his mischievous friends as they discuss plans to have the unborn baby kidnapped upon its arrival. Meanwhile Nicolas' father (Kad Merad) is vying for a promotion as this once placid household soon becomes a madhouse.

There is an issue with Petit Nicolas that can't really be helped, which is that it's really only a film for children and doesn't have too much in there to keep parents entertained. Although this is a relatively frequent problem children's films have, it isn't usually as much of a deterrent as it is with Petit Nicolas, since this picture is presented in the French language and therefore subtitled for British audiences. Not many of the target audience - that of young boys -  will particularly enjoy the foreign language experience on the big screen, leaving the film in limbo somewhat.

Of course this is merely from a British perspective and it's unfair to judge the film too much on this as I'm sure that French kids, on the other hand, are bound to have loved this movie as there is something very charming and touching about it, with themes that many young boys can really resonate with. That's not to say there isn't any appeal for an older audience, as Tirard brings in some big French stars which certainly help in that regard, with the likes of Sandrine Kiberlain playing Nicolas' teacher, and Francois Damiens playing the next door neighbour.

There are some wonderfully charming moments within this film - some of which make you laugh out loud - as the kids’ naivety and innocent sense of adventure is well depicted. Petit Nicolas also has that definable French whimsicality about it, quirky and unconventional. However on a more negative note, the morals and lead narrative aren't particularly strong enough to carry the film. Although there are a handful of sentimental moments, the film is lacking in substance and magnitude as the sole plot about Nicolas' brother would work better as a co-narrative to a parallel storyline. As a result not enough happens and the picture doesn't truly go anywhere.

As for the performances, many of the schoolboys are impressive in their roles, but sadly the same can't be said for Godart as our protagonist. Not that it's the young actor’s fault as such, but the character is just lacking that sense of trouble making, as Godart doesn’t have the requisite mischievous glint in his eyes. He just seems too nice and pleasant really, which although endearing, isn't the role model little boys want to emulate. Little boys want to be rascals, to be adventurous and daring. Or maybe that was just me.

Petit Nicolas is a film about kids, made for kids, and sadly I can't see enough in this picture to recommend it to the parents who are contemplating taking their little ones. Tirard does a good job of catering to his target audience’s needs, yet by doing so he does manage to disregard the adults in the process, who, believe it or not, are also hoping to be entertained.