'' Ernest & Celestine '' received acclaim from critics . The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97 % of critics have given the film a " fresh " rating , based on 77 reviews with an average score of 8.2 / 10 ; the general consensus states : " Sweet and visually charming , '' Ernest & Celestine '' offers old-fashioned delights for animation lovers of all ages . " Metacritic assigns a score of 86 based on 22 critics , indicating " universal acclaim . " Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia writes , " The result is a human story of two unlikely allies , a mouse living in harmony and befriending a bear . It is essentially that simple and it works just fine . " Writing on Roger Ebert 's website , Glenn Kenny of MSN awarded the film 3 ½ stars out of 4 , praising it for its positive messages of friendship . Kenny wrote : " '' Ernest and Celestine '' is the coziest movie you 'll likely see all year . Every frame is suffused with a fireplace kind of warmth that , for me at least , cast an immediate spell that did n't let up . " The film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2012 and was theatrically released on 12 December 2012 by StudioCanal . It was also released on DVD on 16 April 2013 by StudioCanal
2012 Cannes Film Festival
2012 Cannes Film Festival
Ernest & Celestine