The King and the Mockingbird (1980)
The kingdom of Takicardie quakes under the rule of the tyrannical King Charles V-et-III-font-VIII-et-VIII-font-XVI, whose favourite pastime is shooting birds. His archenemy is a cheeky mockingbird, whose favourite pastime is thwarting the king’s attempts to shoot birds. One night, a portrait of the king comes to life and disposes of the real king, taking his place. The portrait king falls in love with a young shepherdess in another painting and intends to marry her. But, alas, the shepherdess has fallen in love with a chimneysweep and together they elope from the king’s palace. Enraged, the king sends his police to capture them and once they are within his power he forces the shepherdess to marry him. The mockingbird must use all his guile and courage to once more thwart the king and bring his evil reign to an end.
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Waste of time
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
An absolute waste of money
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Aside from having a fascinating production history and being a major influence on Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, this French animated masterwork is a great film on its own merits. Adjectives such as imaginative and beautiful do not even begin to do its creative visuals and humane story justice. It's meditative and uplifting, and I only wish contemporary American animation could take note, but that would not sell toys I suppose.The King and the Mockingbird (1980) is underrated and rarely seen; this should not be. The Criterion Collection has released about two animated films in its entire existence: Akira on Laserdisc and The Fantastic Mr. Fox on Blu-ray and DVD (but that has more to do with their obsession with Wes Anderson than concern over the lack of animation in their library). The King and the Mockingbird has never had a US release as far as I know, and Criterion would be perfect for putting this influential film out there.
I am actually kind of furious with myself for taking so long to see The King and the Mockingbird. Seeing how good the film is makes me wonder why it was that I did take as long as I did to view it. As an animated film, it is a real bon bon and rivals anything Disney, Studio Ghibli or Pixar has done, and in some respects better than some to be honest.The visuals are one of the many great strengths. The animation on the kingdom of Tikicardia itself looks amazing with a unique stylistic look to it, and the rest of the landscapes are a thing of true beauty. The colours are also gorgeous with the shadings very pleasing to the eye, and the architecture is enough to make your jaw drop. And the characters are very well modelled.The music is both haunting and poignant and really enhances to the atmosphere of the film. The script is poetic and ironic, the story is just magical with some fine themes such as a touching love story and tyranny and class difference which are explored in a tender way. The final message of the film affected me in a way very few other animated films have done, while the characters are engaging and the direction and voice work are top notch.All in all, The King and the Mockingbird is a gem. If you love animated films, I think you should see this beautiful yet criminally under-seen film. 10/10 Bethany Cox
"The King and the Mockingbird" is simply one of the most beautiful animated films ever made. I can clearly see how the works of Hayao Miyazaki (One of my favorite Japanese animators) were influenced by this, specially in the music, characters and mechanic designs. The animation is flawless, despite being made in 1980, it had the quality of the Golden Age of animation, reminding me a lot the shorts of Max Fleischer and the classic animated films from Walt Disney. I loved everything about this film. The whimsical story, the superb animation, the beautiful music, the charming characters...All was perfect. Too bad that there aren't very much animations like this anymore. If you love the Disney classics and the works done by Max Fleischer and Hayao Miyazaki, you shouldn't miss this one.I would give this eleven stars if I could.
I saw this film when I was a child and it mesmerized me. I saw it recently and my fascination for this film hasn't declined. This film is a marvel. Among its particularities that are quite numerous, let's quote: the beauty of the landscapes , the harmony of the colors, the perfection of music and especially the irony of the dialogues which is not surprising as they were written by Jacques Prévert. Moreover, in this film (which was awarded by the "Louis Delluc" price in 1979 and it deserved it), Paul Grimault's goal is to show us his hatred of the tyranny and his defence in favour of the poor and the weak. The film shows a great contrast concerning this thema: the king and his court lives in modernity, in the light and in gigantic palace whereas the population lives in darkness, in obscurity and in poverty. As a conclusion sentence: a wonderful animation film which is much better than any Disney films