While searching through Netflix the other night I found a treat I thought I'd share with all of you. If you're a fan of animated stories and fairy tales I suggest Tales of the Night. A french film done by animator Michel Ocelot, this movie is a wonderful mix of storytelling and color. The entire film is done in a shadow puppet style and consists of six different stories. The main plot of the story follows a boy, a girl and an old theater technician who having been rejected by the bigger theaters decide to get together and create and perform their own plays. Over the course of the evening they plot out six stories ranging from Jamaca, South America, Tibet, Africa and Europe. They begin each story by discussing what kind of tale they want to and then decide where it will be. After deciding the location they take a few minutes to discuss the type of costumes, backgrounds, or various cultural influences they may show up in their play. The boy and the girl then pick their rolls and begin under the direction of the technician.
One of the best traits of this film is their us of colors in the backgrounds. They use every color imaginable to transport you between different times and places. The original theatrical release had been in 3D and as beautiful as this film is in 2D I would have loved to see it in 3D.
The animators also do a great job with the costumes and hairstyles Even though the characters are just black silhouettes you can still see the details that they put into each costume for every part of the world they end up in.
My favorite of the six stories was the first one The Werewolf. I loved the story about two sisters in love with a man who is a werewolf. (What can I say, I am a hopless romantic with a weakness for werewolves.) It is a different take on the whole werewolf story but still has the traditional fairy tale feel to it.
I think that Tales of the Night would be a good sit down for families to watch together. (I'm not sure about small children but give it a try they may like it.) If you are a fan of older stories, exotic legends and fairy tales I would recommend this movie to you. I know I enjoyed it. The movie is currently on Netflix and I recommend giving it a look.
http://www.gkids.tv/tales/
http://cfile235.uf.daum.net/image/111E9A3550C86BE714B819
https://www.berlinale.de/media/filmstills/2011_3/wettbewerb_5/20115955_3_IMG_FIX_700x700.jpg
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