Be sure to watch a French cartoon with your child

This is the 391st share of children's book moms

Children's Book Mom Publishing Mikawa Ling is the signed author of today's headlines

My preference for French cartoons was something I didn't realize at first. Until last year, the children's book mother opened a children's film column, and introduced several French cartoons that I loved so much; until one day, Zhao Lingling, the former librarian of the French Alliance, first met me and commented on me: You love French movies too much!

It was only then that I began to think about how French cartoons differed from other cartoons. After combing and summarizing, I feel that it is different from the following:

First, the French disdain making pure popcorn movies. What is a popcorn movie, is the whole mission of this movie is to make you entertained, relaxed, eat popcorn, walk out of the movie theater, the moment you have basically left this movie behind. Almost every French cartoon will provoke you to think, even heavy thoughts. Even cartoons for kids.

French cartoons must have an appeal, and they will definitely discuss one or more profound themes - life, philosophy, death, history, faith, the future, environmental protection, love of life... If there is no cultural insight, they will feel ashamed to do it. If they don't integrate their thoughts about life and the world into the movie, they choose not to do it.

Second, the artistry of French animation is absolutely first-class. No matter what kind of artistic technique is used, it is the best in that field. This feature is reflected in many of the cartoons described below.

Third, French cartoons are slow, production is slow (some are decades long), audiences are slow to enter the play, but at the same time, the audience forgets very slowly, most of them even for a lifetime.

Fourth, French cartoons actually tell stories very well. As long as you and your child are willing to put down their phones, calm down, and find that they are just telling the fascinating story itself, you will also be very enjoyable.

From the perspective of commercial success, of course, we can easily see the victory of Hollywood, the victory of Disney, if we are involved in the animation industry, it is difficult not to join the industrialized, genre team; but from the perspective of what cartoons our children should watch, perhaps our requirements will be idealized and more emphasis will be on the artistry of the work. Because, children are worth giving ideals. How sad our world would be if even children could not be idealistic.

The first French cartoon I watched was in my childhood, on a nine-inch black-and-white television set. It is very interesting, and now we seem to be quite unflattering", in our family home, whether children or old people, are very engaged. Black and white TV also played the very popular Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and from that time on, I vaguely felt that "The King and the Birds", unlike Disney's, was a little different.

My family lives very close to the French Cultural Center in Beijing, and we often go to the library to borrow books and go to a movie that does not fall to see French Animation Week. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my five-year-old daughter at the time did not think that these movies were too profound, and she could get the laughter and tears.

I took 35 years of seeing French cartoons for myself and my children and picked 16 of my favorites to share with you. Chronologically, each one has written out my reasons for recommending it.

I encourage you with my own experience: French cartoons are very good to watch and very easy to understand! It's true! Be sure to watch a French cartoon with your child.

Part I

The King and the Bird by Le roi et l'oiseau (1980)

This was the first French animated film I watched, based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name. This cartoon subtly tells children in a way that children can accept: ordinary people can also pursue freedom and equality. Everyone has the right to pursue freedom.

This is probably the way in which the values of the French people who are free in their bones are exported, and I have to admit that I am greatly influenced by such films and books.

This cartoon, when I first watched it, I thought it was not as good as "tom and mouse", and the story was not as good as "Black Cat Sheriff". Miraculously, however, memories become clearer and deeper with the passage of time. For so many years, so many textbooks I have learned, so many formulas I have memorized, so many names and historical years that I have memorized, I have forgotten all of them.

However, the statue of the king in this movie, the flight of the little bird, makes me think of it from time to time.

Part II

The Twitter Trilogy

Kirikou et la sorcière (1998)

Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages (2005)

Kirikou et leshommes et les femmes (2012)

It's a bizarre story, and it's a story of another world. This cartoon breaks our stereotypical and boring impression of Africa, which may be poor, maybe the climate is dry and hot, but in the cartoon, Africa is a concrete, beautiful, culturally attractive Africa.

The film also became a classic of French animation, when it was released, 1.3 million people came to see it, and the box office revenue reached 6.5 million US dollars, which became a social phenomenon, and "Twitter" became a well-known star in France.

Interestingly, when the film was released in the United States, there were even film critics who reminded parents that this film is very un Disney, there are not only many, but also frankly expose the truth of life and death.

Part V

Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)

This is the French animated version of Modern Times, which is as critical as Modern Times, but also as fun and fun as Modern Times.

Generally speaking, cartoons represent childishness. Filled with slapstick, boring jokes, vulgar images... It's nothing more than a trick to trick children.

But who says cartoons can't be profound, they can't be beautiful, they can't be philosophical, they can't be critical?

At the beginning of the set of shots, I believe that no matter who watches it, it will cause deep thinking: machinery, industry, cities, commerce, economy, their development, is it to make our lives better, or worse?

I often say that good movies play a much bigger role than a bunch of papers, writings, and even laws.

I've seen this movie more than once, and I've counted the dialogue in the film, which I've forgotten now, about fifty or sixty sentences—almost nothing. However, I always feel that there are very deep words, accompanied by every moment of watching the movie.

Part VI

The Prophecy of the Frog, La prophétie des grenouilles (2003)

This is a cartoon made by two hundred professional animators in France, which took six years to make. It is hand-drawn with crayons. When telling stories to children, we tend to choose some interesting, playful, optimistic, and reunion stories. However, it is also inevitable that children will ask many questions related to reality, such as death and disaster.

Someone once asked me what was the most surprising problem for me backstage, and now I tell you: there are especially many children who are related to death and disaster. I think that children don't have to care about oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, and naturally they will be related to these philosophical propositions.

Part VII

Azul and Asmal Azur et Asmar (2006)

It's an amazing movie – because it's full of stunning images!

A few years ago, when The children's book mother criticized the Happy Goat Gray Wolf and the bald head, she was still slightly lonely. Many people will ask, you say that Pleasant Goat is not good, so why do children like to watch it so much? What kind of cartoon is good? What are your criteria for judging?

At this time, I recommend Azul and Asmar to all parties, which is a good cartoon that I can see at a glance and cannot be doubted, whether it is the picture, the story, or the profound meaning contained in it.

Part VIII

I Grew Up in Iran, Persepolis (2007)

"I Grew Up in Iran" is a film that tells the story of the country, faith, life, and growth. It took me a long time to look at it myself—after all, it was an overly heavy topic.

In fact, when I watched it, I didn't realize that it was a black-and-white cartoon, or even that it was a movie, I felt like I was watching a documentary — and this story, indeed, is true.

Of course, after I watched it, I liked it, and it also caused me to think a lot. I told this story to Maruko, maybe when she was older and showed her the movie—but it would definitely be shown to her.

Inside, there is a passage that touched me very much, that is, the night before the little girl fled from Tehran, her grandmother said to her:

I'm going to give you always the right piece of advice: You'll meet a lot of villains in your life. It would be foolish to force them to jump off the wall. It will make it impossible for you to repay the grievances with virtue, and there is nothing worse than resentment and revenge. Always maintain self-esteem and be true to yourself.

Part IX

The Secret of Kells (2009)

The best part of the film is the dynamic story of Irish music and watercolor paintings. Tell the coming-of-age story of a boy who paints a scripture.

My daughter was more sensitive than I was, and she watched the film when she was five years old, and the Song of the Sea when she was seven years old two years later, and she told me: I think the director of these two films is the same person, and the music and the picture are very similar. I checked the information, and sure enough, it was.

Part X

The Magician( L'illusionniste (2010)

This is a somewhat sad, story of growth and love, and I was not sure if it was suitable for children.

Later, I felt like I thought about it too much. For a while, we watched a lot of movies about magicians, from Pixar's animated shorts, to "The Big Magician" and "Deadly Magic." I watched this movie by the way.

In fact, this is a story about growing up hidden behind a magician. There is no overly peculiar plot and picture, but it will make people gain from a little sigh and a lifetime of sighs.

Part XI

Le tableau (2011)

The first time I saw it, I saw it at the French Cultural Center with Xiao Maruzi.

A very peculiar story, I think, just from the point of inspiring the imagination of children, is a very worthwhile movie to watch.

Moreover, there are many details about art and painting, which children who like to draw should like it. For some reason, I always felt that I hadn't seen enough in the movie theater, and I specifically found it to watch it at home several times before I had fun.

Part XII

Tales of the Night by Les contes de lanuit (2011)

As I said earlier, the art of French animation must be first-rate in this field, and this one is.

At first, I was a little reluctant to watch this kind of animation that was too "special". What's special about it? It is to use the paper-cut method to present the whole story.

Although, I am not a technologist and will pursue high-tech techniques such as 3D. However, perhaps after watching the dull shadow animation in China, I am a little afraid to see what quality the French can make with paper cuts.

As a result, during the whole process of watching, I didn't realize that this was a paper cut, and the characters were all black and white! My passive human story, the exquisite picture, obsessively fascinated- even if it is a bland gray wall, it is as delicate as a work of art. It's truly amazing skill and effort.

Part XIII

Ernest et Célestine (2012)

I always thought that the children's book mother had introduced this movie specifically. As a result, I checked it out and there was none, which surprised me so much! Because, how much I love this movie!

We saw this movie in the cinema, and we've seen the picture book, so we're already familiar with the characters in it. Adapting from a picture book story to a movie is not so simple, this movie is exemplary.

We watched this movie many times since then, and the magic is that we can't get tired of watching it every time, and we get paid off every time. It can only be said that every part of this movie, the story, the picture, the music, is too good.

Part XIV

Zarafa the Giraffe (2012)

One of the reasons I love this movie is that the story is real.

The first time we took the small pills to Europe, we went to Paris. That was because my first trip abroad was to Paris, and my first trip with Mikawa was also Paris. It can be said that Paris still has a lot of roots for our family.

The place where this story takes place, we have all been there, and the characters and conversations presented in it are also very emotional. So, watching this story, it's relaxing, it's kind, it's fun.

Part XV

Song of the Sea (2014)

As mentioned earlier, Xiao Maruzi likes to read the "Kells" very much. When we watched "Song of the Ocean" together as a whole, she suddenly said that the picture and music in it were very much like the "Book of Kells". We looked it up and found that it was the same director, Tom Moore, and his most important works were The Secret of the Book of Kells and Song of the Sea.

"Song of the Ocean" is extremely artistic, and After watching it, Maruko seriously painted a day with the style of the cartoon. The music inside has a special movie soundtrack download, which can be downloaded and listened to before going to bed or while driving.

Especially recommended

Part XVI

Baba Papa by Les BarbapapaSeason (1973)

This cartoon that grew up with the post-70s and post-80s generations does not need to be said more.

When we became parents, my kids and I watched Baba Papa again. Unexpectedly, Xiao Maruzi also liked it so much, and we also bought a full set of picture books.

What amazes me most is that this cartoon, which was born decades ago, has a lot of stories and ideas, which are very suitable for today's China. For example, the theme of family affection, environmental protection and so on.

I am very happy that two generations of our family can have the same image that grew up with us.

Children's book publishing mom Rei Mikawa

The new generation of family education resources are sincerely shared

The most precious thing for children is time

So a sincere choice is important

Please contact [email protected] for cooperation