History Film / Madeline

The 1998 film adaption of the ''{{Literature/Madeline}}'' book series by Ludwig Bemelmans.

The film is about a young, orphaned girl named Madeline (Hatty Jones), who attends boarding school that is run by nun Miss Clavel (Creator/FrancesMcDormand) with eleven other girls in Paris, France, in 1956. Following her appendectomy, a Spanish boy named Pepito (Kristian De La Osa) moves in next door and begins to cause havoc towards the girls, while his tutor Leopold (Creator/BenDaniels) intends to use the boy for a more sinister plot. Soon, the owner of the school Lord Covington (Creator/NigelHawthorne) reveals his intentions to sell the house, since his wife has just passed away.

It's up to Madeline and her friends to save their school from closing, tame the boy next door and prevent a villain from promoting his plan.

* GenderMisdirection: [[spoiler:When trying to convince the Uzbekistan ambassador couple to let them keep the school, Ms. Clavel appeals to "Mr. Ambassador" only for the man to reveal that his wife is the Ambassador. Lord Covington and Madeline are just as surprised]].

* SecretPetPlot: Madeline is [[HeroicDog rescued from drowning by a Golden Retriever]], who follows the girls home. They try to keep the dog, who they name Genevieve, in secret since pets aren't allowed at their boarding school, however [[PlotAllergy the teacher is allergic to dogs and finds out when she starts sneezing]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* [[SavingTheOrphanage Saving the Boarding School]]: An original subplot in the film where Lord Covington [[spoiler:wants to sell the boarding school after his wife's death.]] Though it bears a loose reference to an episode of the TV series where the old house is condemned for poor conditions and the girls are forced to move out.

The film is about a young, orphaned girl named Madeline (Hatty Jones), who attends boarding school that is run by nun Miss Clavel (Creator/FrancesMcDormand) with eleven other girls in Paris, France, in the 1950s. Following her appendectomy, a Spanish boy named Pepito (Kristian De La Osa) moves in next door and begins to cause havoc towards the girls, while his tutor Leopold (Creator/BenDaniels) intends to use the boy for a more sinister plot. Soon, the owner of the school Lord Covington (Creator/NigelHawthorne) reveals his intentions to sell the house, since his wife has just passed away.

* {{Meganekko}}: Chantel, of the [[CloudCuckoolander quirky]] variety.

* AdultFear: For Pepito's parents, your child could be taken by someone you've hired to tutor your child. In Ms. Clavel's situation, one of your students, one you may view as your own child, has run away and you have no idea where they could be. Even worse, they have been abducted just because they happened to see another child being abducted.

* GroinAttack: While tied up with Pepito, Madeline kicks one of the Idiots in the junk. He collapses in pain.

The film is about a young, orphaned girl named Madeline (Hatty Jones), who attends boarding school ran by nun Miss Clavel (Creator/FrancesMcDormand) with eleven other girls in Paris, France, in the 1950s. Following her appendectomy, a Spanish boy named Pepito (Kristian De La Osa) moves in next door and begins to cause havoc towards the girls, while his tutor Leopold (Creator/BenDaniels) intends to use the boy for a more sinister plot. Soon, the owner of the school Lord Covington (Creator/NigelHawthorne) reveals his intentions to sell the house, since his wife has just passed away.

* GenderMisdirection: [[spoiler:When trying to convince the Uzbekistan ambassador couple to let them keep the school, Ms. Clavel appeals to "Mr. Ambassador" only for the man to reveal that his wife is the Ambassador. Lord Covington and Madeline are just as suprised]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: The [=DiC=] animated series (with the exception of ''Lost in Paris'') is tame compare to the film when it comes to adaptions. It helps that the film contains frightening scenes, a character dying of illness early on, child kidnapping and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the use of the word "damn"]].

* HeyWait: One of the Idiots gets left behind and calls out to the group about him, but nothing happens.

* GoodLuckGesture

* MamaBear: Miss Clavel goes through so much to save Madeline in the climax.

* EveryoneHasStandards: AlphaBitch Vicki doesn't think as highly of Madeline nor gets along with her as well as the others, but she's just as shocked and then relieved as everyone else when Madeline falls into the river and gets rescued by Genevieve. And when Madeline still hasn't returned that night after running away (not knowing she had been kidnapped), Vicki is sobbing about how much she misses her.

* MeaningfulEcho: "I can do anything." Madeline first says this just before undergoing surgery at the begining of the film (having been taught those four words by Miss Clavel). [[spoiler:She later recalls those words when captured with Pepito near the end of the film, which ultimately leads to them escaping]].

** Also, there is Hélène's foul-smelling cheese, the solid oak door, and [[ChekhovsGunman Pepito]], which were later used as part of Madeline's ploy to turn off potential ambassadors.
* ChekhovsSkill: Pepito's ability to drive motercycles [[spoiler:is what saved him and Madeline from Leopold]].

%%* CoolBike: Pepito's Vespa

* TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo: The solid oak door in the Old House, which Lord Covington seems to be quite proud of. The door was later unhinged during the Indian Ambassador's tour of the house.

The film is about a young, orphaned girl named Madeline (Hatty Jones), who attends boarding school ran by nun Miss Clavel (Creator/FrancesMcDormand) with eleven other girls in Paris, France, in the 1950s. Following her Appendectomy, a Spanish boy named Pepito (Kristian De La Osa) moves in next door and begins to cause havoc towards the girls, while his tutor Leopold (Creator/BenDaniels) intends to use the boy for a more sinister plot. Soon, the owner of the school Lord Covington (Creator/NigelHawthorne) reveals his intentions to sell the house, since his wife has just passed away.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar
-->'''Hélène:''' I once fell in love with a carnival man. He broke my heart, you know. And he had a beautiful tattoo down...
-->'''Miss Clavel:''' Hélène, please!

* AgeLift: The little girls and Pepito are all about seven, while here they must be ten at least.

* AdaptationalNationality: Lord Covington seems to be of British origin, as "Covington" is most certainly not a French surname, yet it is more ambiguous with the girls as one the one hand, they are students at a boarding school, while on the other it may just be a case of NotBotheringWithAccent.

* AdaptationalNationality: Lord Covington seems to be of British origin, as "Covington" is most certainly not a French surname, yet it is more ambiguous with the girls as one the one hand, they are students at a boarding school, while on the other it may just be a case of NotEvenBotheringWithAccent.

* AdaptationalNationality: Lord Covington seems to be of British origin, as "Covington" is most certainly not a French surname, yet it is more ambiguous with the girls as one the one hand, they are students are a boarding school, while on the other it may just be a case of NotEvenBotheringWithAccent.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In ''Madeline and the Gypsies'' the traveling performance troupe rescue Madeline and Pepito left behind on a ride and arrange to send them home; when they sneak onto the troupe’s traveling caravan instead, the troupe members nonetheless take care of them until they eventually do go back home. In the film, the circus’s clown are part of a kidnapping plot [[spoiler:(lead by Pepito’s tutor) of Pepito (with Madeline as collateral) for ransom]].

* NamedByTheAdaptation: As with other adaptations, the other girls are given names for this movie. Some of them are named Aggie, Vicki, Chantal, Lolo, Serena, Beatrice, Lucinda, and Marie Odile