The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales…
(Le grand méchant renard et autres contes…)
With Céline Ronté, Boris Rehlinger, Guillaume Bouchede.
France/Belgium, 2017, DCP, color, 83 min.
French and Mandarin with English subtitles.
DCP source: Gkids
An all-animal theater troupe presents three tales of barnyard adventure in this animated anthology based on director Benjamin Renner’s own comics. Featuring lively voice work and especially snappy dialogue, the troupe feverishly sketches the exploits of a less-than-clever fox left responsible for three chicks to whom he grows too attached to devour; a stork too lazy to deliver his infant package and the beleaguered trio of animals who take up the job; and finally, a surly pig who must find a way to save Christmas after his incompetent friends believe they have killed Santa Claus. Running through each segment is a tender core of sincere emotion fastened around the bonds between parent and child, which keeps the slapstick jokes grounded and the charming 2D animation soaring. Though the phrase “fun for the whole family” is tossed around quite generously, this is one film certain to keep adult ears as perked up for the witty Gallic humor as children’s eyes on the delightful on-screen mischief.
An old woodblock train meets its shiny new electric replacement one Christmas Eve in this glowingly nostalgic stop-motion toy story, directed by Bretislav Pojar and featuring gorgeous design by Jiří Trnka. – Andy Lauer, Film Society of Lincoln Center