Set to a delightful French-Canadian nonsense song, LE MERLE (The Blackbird), is the animated story of a peculiar little blackbird who loses various body parts (beak, eye, head, neck, crop, back, wings, tail & breast), only to have them return three-fold! Utilizing simple shapes (lines & circles) cut out of white paper as an abstract representation of the blackbird, and set against a beautiful pastel-drawn landscape, both the bird and its surroundings move in perfect synchronization with the music and the lyrics to play out this silly tale. McLaren's innate sense of timing and superb animation skills truly bring this jaunty, and often dizzying, little two-dimensional creature to life right before your eyes. A great film for any aged viewer. And you don't even have to understand French to follow it!
10/10. It's impossible not to SMILE while watching it!
