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Friday, March 9 The singing group, The Beatles, at the height of their popularity, made this cartoon of a land that is taken over by the Blue Meanies. They are recruited by an escapee to come and bring joy (and music) back to the land. The techniques are quite psychedelic in the cartoons and much care was taken to have the walks and mannerisms of the individual Beatles cartoons match the originals. Although the Beatles weren't actually involved in the making of this animated classic (they do make a live cameo appearance at the end, singing "All You Need Is Love"), their zany spirit and inventiveness are evident throughout, thanks to a wonderfully implausible story line (by Lee Minoff, Jack Mendolsohn, Erich Segal and Al Brodax, who also produced), some beautiful and often extraordinary animation (by director George Durning) and, of course, 14 great Beatles songs, three written expressly for the film. Those songs, which include "Eleanor Rigby," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Nowhere Man" and the title song, were drawn from four different albums but achieve an even greater coherence than "Sgt. Pepper" (the album, not the 1978 movie, which was as bad as this one is good). Almost 20 years after its release, this charming fable chronicling the Beatles' battles to save Pepperland from the Blue Meanies is one of the best testaments ever to the redeeming value of good music. - Richard Harrington, washingtonpost.com
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Friday, March 9 A boy finds a balloon - or is it the other way around? Together the pair wanders the beautiful streets of Paris, coping with grownups and the local bands of childrens. When one of the pair disappears, the loss is but temporary...
I wonder, is there any other 30 minute short produced in the history of film that is more enchanting and moving than "Le Ballon rouge"? The vivid colors and the wonderful use of Paris scenery is only part of the experience, another large part is the touching performance by the director's six year old son Pascal in the lead (how lucky he didn't fall and break his neck in that opening scene where he finds the balloon!). The look on his face in the final scene is every bit as heartbreaking as that of Jackie Coogan in Chaplin's legendary "The Kid". The whole movie is reminiscent of the best Chaplin had to offer, mixed with a little Jacques Tati and a touch of storybook fantasy. On the basis of only *one* *short* film Albert Lamorisse will forever see his name in gold print in the annals of movie history, which is quite an achievement! - Renaldo Matlin, imdb.com |
