‘Phantom Boy’: Young hero goes out-of-body in dreamlike animated film

In “Phantom Boy,” an ill boy discovers he has special powers, which he uses to help a bumbling cop. (Jean-Loup Feliciosi/TNS)

Movie review of “Phantom Boy”: Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli’s second effort, a French-animation film about an ill boy with special powers, isn’t as good as their first, “A Cat in Paris.”

The 2010 animated film “A Cat in Paris” was a nifty enough confection to have been nominated for an Academy Award. “Phantom Boy” is the second effort from its directors, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, but it’s not nearly as nifty, alas.

Set in a French-animation dream of New York City, it tells the story of Leo, a plucky, kind little boy, very attached to his lovely family, and very ill. But his illness has given him a gift: He can leave his body for certain periods and spy unseen on others. Conveniently, he can still speak through his physical body as he does so.
And so Leo finds himself assisting a bumbling cop who’s laid up on another floor in the hospital. Together the two, with the help of the cop’s journalist friend (and, of course, possible love interest), team up to take down a villain who’s blackmailing the city with a deadly … wait for it … computer virus.