The riddle is plastered on one of the walls of the Chais Magelis, in Angoulême, where the exhibition is held: what does a cow do when it thinks? At the age of 12, little Inès says: “Condensed milk? » Bingo! Bernadette Després can be proud. The day before the opening, the illustrator, inventor of the famous “Tom-Tom and Nana” had urged her audience to “keep the taste of childhood”. “When I see parents who are too serious, I tell them to read “TomTom and Nana”, it will do them good… So yes, they are not heroes who save the world, just children who do stupid things. But I believe that humor saves everything! »
The lively septuagenarian discovered a preview of the exhibition dedicated to her this year, more than forty years after the first publication of the series in “J'aime Lire”.
Small theater
It all starts in a room that reproduces the atmosphere of La Bonne quatrefoil, the famous restaurant of the Dubouchon family. A “little theater” where the reader can observe a noisy and timeless mode, a perfect mirror of social, human and family relationships. Visitors are then invited to participate in various games.
FIBD 2019. The Bernadette Després exhibition, in the youth district at the comic strip museum.
South West Archives / Loïc Dequier
“It’s an intergenerational exhibition,” says Romain Gallissot, the curator. The originals are not what will interest children the most. It's good to confront them with that, allow them to see what the authors' techniques are, but that's not what they will necessarily remember: there had to be an interactive play space, where they can find themselves in the minds of Tom-Tom and Nana. We tried to balance the two, so that on arrival everyone would find what they were looking for: the nostalgic parents, who knew the series as children, and the children, who are right in it and who are going to have a blast with their favorite characters. »
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Children's stories
“Tom-Tom and Nana” remains in the top 3 for youth loans.
Bernadette Després paused for a long time in front of her first boards: “Oh, Tom-Tom's head is still very naive… yet he is already annoying his sister! » The youngest, for their part, head more readily towards the play areas.
Lucas, Armand and Thibaud came from Argelès-Gazost (65) with their sixth grade class. Their favorite character? “Tom-Tom,” they exclaim in unison. “Nana! », echo Océane, Novalie and Romane, the next room, where they are busy redrawing the characters with markers. “It’s full of stories from children, like us,” smiles Océane. I know it well, I have all the books at home! » The others also know, thanks to the local library. And for good reason: “Tom-Tom and Nana” remains in the top 3 for youth loans. Even though there hasn't been an original story since 2007!
And the notoriety of the Dubouchon children should grow further, with the arrival of a new cartoon (1): “Télétoon +”, a channel from the Canal + group, has ordered 19 episodes for 2019. One of them is also broadcast in the last room of the exhibition. “Rémi Lepoivre is a little too big compared to the original,” Bernadette Després immediately notices. They are children, not teenagers! » But the annoyance is quickly swept away by a sibylline laughter. Bernadette Després has indeed retained her childish soul.
(1) The first adaptation, broadcast on France 3, dates from 1998.
