Los cuentos de la noche

Ocelot's toons have always had the unfamiliar (African) imagery working for them. Their naive plot lines have been both an attraction and a limitation.

This episode film, framed with sessions in the re-voicing studio - where an owl is perched on the desk - are not a step towards more traditional work.

The recognisable Ocelot style is here mixed with a bit of Lotte Reiniger and boosted by a fascinating use of Three D, which spaces the arms and eyes of the outline crowd at different distances from the viewer, among other effects. Was it ever shown anywhere else but the Paris Champs Elysses that way? Whether the makers can take this style further and how it will go down with the tot audiences, I've seen cheer the Kirikou films, has yet to be seen.

If someone were to ask if I recommended Tales of the Night, the answer would be yes. It is a very simple film and doesn't break new ground from a thematic perspective. That doesn't matter because so much of the movie is beautifully done. The animation makes for a visual treat, not just the shadowy silhouettes for the character designs and the drama being conveyed but also the backgrounds with the gloriously vivid colours. The music doesn't overbear what's happening in the six featured stories, as well as being sensitive, lushly orchestrated and lyrical it allows the stories to speak for themselves. And speak for themselves they do, the moralising, positive messaging and lessons do not preach and are ones that anybody young and old can relate fully to as well as being important values. There is an Aesop's Fables feel at times especially in The Werewolf, not that that it is an issue, far from it. And the stories do have great atmosphere while never trying to be too complicated, The Boy Who Never Lied and Boy Tam-Tam are somewhat graphic yet magical. Personal favourite has to go to The Doe Girl and the Architect's Son, which contains the best animation of the film and is quite poignant. The characters don't break new ground either but they have a real charm to them and carry their stories very well. In fact, if there was anything that wasn't quite right it was the old-theatre-and-re-enacting links, not a bad idea but at times clumsily handled. Other than that, Tales of the Night is a very good film indeed. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Tales of the Night is a 2011 French computer silhouette animation feature film directed by Michel Ocelot. I didn't see it in its 3D theatrical release... so no comment on that. A girl, a boy and an old cinema technician create stories using a machine. They then perform each story. The six stories are all clunky dialog clunky world culture tales.

I likes some of the stories more than others. But for better or worst, they have the feeling of unsophisticated old fairy tales. The gimmick of the old cinema machine to lead into each story just isn't worth the time. And I have to say it diminishes the stories if they just make it up. It'd be better if they made it as some kind of cultural discovery like the Grimm brothers. The style of animation also don't give the facial expressions needed for emotional depths. But it gets some cool points and fits the simplistic stories.

I did love the animation that the movie was doing. You don't see this style done a lot in this age. I feel it's good to have these choices as animation is an art form and there should be a variety of it other than just the mainstream 3D stuff every animated movie is doing now.

thought the animation lends to the fairy tales that make up the movie (it was almost like opening up a book than watching a movie) the fairy tales themselves were just OK. It may have been the English translation as the movie is originally in french, but I felt the movie was lacking what you would expect in the art of telling fairy tales. like a voice over narration that explains what the characters are going was absent. That may have given the stories just a little more dramatic poise

I did like the concept that connected the stories together about an old man who was told he's too old to make movies and two kids who were told they are too young, team up to make movies in an old run down cinema. Interesting enough, their story was told with a voice over narration.

Overall, I like the movie a lot it was beautiful to see.

This is perfect for whoever wants to learn French. It's enunciated clearly and slowly, just like DuoLingo stories. The animation is silhouette style, like shadow play, but carefully done. The stories remind me of 1001 tales of Arabian nights, which were the entertainment of my childhood nights, so maybe I was seduced by the nostalgia, but I liked the show.

There is something that I disliked. The stories start from a point where three characters create worlds and stories using a computer and robot tailors and then they act out their fantasies. But I had no idea who these people were. It feels like you are dropped in the middle of something that you should have been aware of, but you're not. A fun premise to be sure, especially since it can entice a child to build their own stories or at least participate in something like that.

Also, I watched this on Netflix and for the life of me I don't understand why they would show it as a movie and not as a series. It is clearly composed of six independent stories, which would have been helpful to know before I started watching it.

Therefore my conclusion is that it is good to watch with your child, especially if you want to teach them the language, and I hope this review helps you to know that it's a collection of six separate stories and one doesn't have to spend an hour and a half to get to the end.