Movie of the Week: “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales”
Confusion in the chicken coop
Whenever we think of a children’s film, certainly the thing that comes to mind is the sophisticated Disney / Pixar productions, with its technical preciosity and investment of millions of dollars for each movie. It may also be the artistic delicacy of the Ghibli Studios, which carries beautiful stories of Japanese folklore to the screen.
In fact, the primordial one is not in the technological or artistic sophistication, but in the story to be told that makes a special film, as is the case of the Franco-Belgian production “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales” (“Le Grand Mechant Renard et Autres Contes” , FRA / BEL, 2017).
As the original title suggests, the film contains three stories, in the same environment and with the same characters. The action takes place in a little farm, where several animals live, each one with its peculiarities, defects and qualities.
In the first episode, the always responsible Pig (Damien Witeka) is forced to take delivery of a baby, after the lazy Stork (Christophe Lemoine) decided to take a break, and the crazy Duck (Antoine Schoumsky) and Rabbit (Kamel Abdessadok) take over the service.
In the second episode (that gives the title to the movie), the Fox (Guillaume Darnaut), tired of no one being afraid of her, decides to kidnap the three chicks of Ms. Chicken (Céline Ronté). The problem is that the chicks think they are foxes, which creates a lot of confusion in the chicken coop.
In the third episode, Duck decides to take on the role of Santa Claus, dragging his friends Pig and Rabbit into huge confusions in the city, including having to deal with the real little man in red.
Despite the simple storyline, the stories are presented in a very entertaining way, both for children and adults, with some very interesting jokes and interventions, very different from the children’s stories of standardized consumption. There are no stereotypes, all of them have flaws and qualities, but what prevails is friendship and love between the characters.
The technique used, quite different from the computerized sophistication, is not less interesting. The drawings resemble the watercolor, with incomplete but suggestive features that work very well with children’s perception.
The directors of the film are Patrick Imbert and Benjamin Renner. Imbert has no less than “Ernest & Célestine” and “April and the Extraordinary World” in his resume, while Renner as well as directing was the author of the comic books on which the current film was based: “Le grand méchant renard” and ” A bébé à livrer “.
Presented in the 2018 edition of the Varilux French Film Festival, “The Big Bad Fox And Other Tales” is an opportunity for the appreciation of the excellent Franco-Belgian children’s cinema, which combines a beautiful technique with an intelligent plot full of good values.
Original Title: “Le Grand Méchant Renard et Autres Contes”