I had no idea what I was in for when a friend of mine introduced to me this French animation movie. It is one of the most enchanting pieces of film I have seen in a long while.
Explaining the plot in too much detail would probably ruin it, particularly because it has quite a few subplots, but it's basically a sort of dark interpretation of a fairystory about a nefarious and self-absorbed king, and what happens when he starts to lose control over the running of his castle.
Le Roi et l'oiseau also has an interesting backstory: the film's production originally began in 1948, but the animation team ran out of money; it was eventually finished over thirty years later in 1980. Consequently the film has a curious combination of Disney-esque cartoon characters set against the grand, ornately painted backdrop of a lofty castle and citadel in the middle of a vast desert.
You kind of have to watch it at least twice though, because the first time I saw it I was so hypnotised by the beauty of the drawings and the use of the French language that I failed to see how deeply political and allegorical the film actually is (well, it started being made in 1948 - what do you expect!) It is a charming and captivating movie, which I thoroughly recommend.
Here's the film's IMDB page, and you can watch the whole thing for free on YouTube with English subtitles here.
Other spellbinding animations you should really check out:
and of course, The Emperor's New Groove (for a bit of fun).
Are you by any chance interested in BioShock Infinite, a story set in a sky city that features a gigantic guardian bird and a self-absorbed tyrant?
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