Insect Story is a 3D animated film produced by the French company Cinéart that abandons dialogue without affecting the perception, directed by Helene Girault and written by Thomas Schobo.
The film takes place in a national park in Provence, France, and was produced using animated characters implanted into real scenes. A real scene is shot on film, and then the insect characters are animated by computer animation, so that the realistic image is rendered directly in the film.
Screenwriter Thomas Sauber said: "Our goal was to strike a delicate balance between the two works, both based on the true features of the documentary and the relative simplification of the design. ”
Released in 2013, the film was not marketed and was able to achieve a high score of 8.9, relying on the reputation of the audience, and was nominated for the European Film Award and the French César Award.
In 2015, the film also won the 11th Chinese Animation "Golden Monkey Award" Comprehensive Animation Film Award in China.
Similar to some of the shots in Tiny World, Insect Story is the precursor to Tiny World, where the little ladybugs we see are already full of wisdom and even constantly provocative of the red-eyed flies, punishing those who wander around corners to mock others.
The film uses a montage of two-line narrative techniques, telling the story of the growth situation of the little ladybug in adversity and the battle caused by the food of the black and red ants, and how the ladybug counterattacks life in adversity.
The whole film is filmed in a montage dialogue method, the insects in the play communicate in the way of whistling and trumpeting, the film that seems to have no dialogue actually uses the language of the whole world, no matter how old you look at this movie, you can understand the story of the plot through your own language, so it is called the world language by the audience, and the whole movie is full of growth exploration.
From the following aspects, we can see the representation of the whole play and the meaning conveyed in the metaphor.
The plot of the film: In the face of mocking immature youthful behavior, in the lonely counterattack, he learns how to fight back more powerfully
The film begins with a human car driving into a forest on the outskirts, followed by a couple resting on a picnic cloth with some of the rest of the food and drink on it, and the sudden emergency makes it too late for them to clean up the remaining scraps, and then everything in the film begins...
The camera goes back to the newborn little ladybug, which is ridiculed for flying badly, and is full of anger in the face of ridicule, so it impulsively catches up with the other party and wants to teach a lesson, but does not know that it is to lead itself into a dangerous trap.
After the disaster, it shouted to its family, but it did not get a response, so it trembled and walked like a thin ice in the thunderstorm night, it only wanted to have a temporary shelter, but every time it stopped at any place, it would be driven away by other insects that were stationed here.
Finally it spent the night in a sugar cube, woke up by the buzzing outside after dawn, and looked outside, where many other insects were carrying the food left on the napkin.
When nature's porter, the black ant, found the box of sugar cubes, it still did not leave, but chose to stay quietly in the box.
At the moment when the box fell from a high place to the ground and overturned, it also scattered on the ground with sugar cubes, and had its first encounter with black ants. But then a lizard that came running broke the continuation of the black ant, and happened to be in contact with a black ant, which meant that when the danger was about to come, the small ladybug with broken wings quietly crawled into the box, and with the help of the amazing sound of the box power, scared the lizard away and defused the black ant crisis.
Its help makes the black ants actively extend an olive branch to it, and then they help each other along the way and become the attachment of each other's hearts.
The little ladybug who was killed did not choose to settle down with the encounter, but still did not lose his strength to save himself and his friends in the face of adversity.
How many times have you felt humbled because you can't fly, when you passed the flowers and meadows, you saw your family members flying happily, it tried to take off and run forward to reunite with its family, but it did not take off successfully, or stopped the pace of progress, and chose to move forward with the crawling black ants.
According to their own situation, find a partner who is on the same frequency as themselves, so that the heart will be relatively calm.
They finally come to the cave of the black ant after many difficulties, and the little ladybug who has just settled down fights the war launched by the red ants with the black ants, in which the little ladybug exerts its own value and reflects its authenticity to its companions.
By participating in the Black Ant War, the little ladybug becomes more tenacious and more capable, as well as the wisdom of protecting others and themselves.
In the face of difficulties, it no longer chooses to face upwards, but learns to choose to overcome difficulties that cannot be faced directly.
Although it is in adversity, it has found like-minded friends with its wisdom and bravery, gradually becomes mature in experience and participation, and learns how to overcome and outwit them.
The ridicule of the red-eyed fly and the anger of the little ladybug are allude to the problems that children encounter in real life when they grow up, as well as the obscure environment around adults.
Character setting analysis: Each character responds to different roles, and the whole film makes the plot present a continuous pattern because of the different roles
Ladybug: A newborn seven-star ladybug, its biggest feature is that it is immature in mind, but it is helpful, and it can still help others in the face of adversity.
Red-eyed flies: Bullies in the forest, who like to bully small with big, often do nothing in groups, and laugh at others everywhere in the forest.
Black ants: Hard-working laborers, doing things in an orderly manner, mainly collecting fruits and seeds from the forest for food, and dividing into groups of 10-20 when going out.
Red Ants: Crazy predators, living in the Gobi Desert outside the forest, prey on food from other insects, usually snatching food in groups of 10-20 to scout, thousands of them acting together when they find huge targets.
Black Spider: It lives in a model of a toy discarded by humans in a cave and feeds on plant fruits. Warm and friendly, kind hearted, with a toad neighbor.
According to the living environment of insects, the screenwriter and director show us the spatial significance of the entire human existence, and each character in the play shows the presentation of various characters and events we encounter in life, so that we can be inspired by the film and know how to sort out our own upward growth.
Symbolic representation of film and television: The pictures and shots in the film are the hidden dark lines of a film and television, through which the meaning of the plot and the symbolic meaning are conveyed to the audience
Ladybug's dream: In order to return to its companions, it never gave up trying to fly again, in which it flew over the flowers and grass with its family again and again, laughing and playing happily, and trying many times every time it woke up. This picture uses a montage of dialogue to convey to the audience that every child who leaves home will be eager to return to the side of his loved ones again, enjoying the steadfastness and joy brought by the same environment.
Flies: The flies hide in the shadows of ridicule and provocation in person, and the buzzing sound of chasing is irritating, suggesting that we will encounter the same people and things in our lives. At the end, Ladybug sees several flies that have bullied itself and is bullying its own kind in the same way, and it puts down the task it is about to complete so that the unreasonable flies get the punishment they deserve. This conveys that people learn to strengthen themselves when they encounter difficulties, and then they can truly protect themselves.
Little Ladybird Takeoff: The Ladybug flies over the red ant army, eager and arrogant, because this flight is the hope of friends and the successful rebirth of themselves. It is implied that each of us can rely on tenacious will to succeed after being knocked down by difficulties.
Sugar cube box and can: Sugar cube box and can become the escape props for crossing the mountains in the play, the black and red ants chased these two props to the extreme in the process of chasing, on the hillside is to reduce the casualties of their own team of life props, falling into the water will become their lone boat driving in the ocean, riding the wind and waves to the other shore, picking up food and abandoning the boat. This picture conveys that no one's life is smooth sailing, and in the vast sea of people, they will dispute something, but they must learn how to take its essence and remove its dross to reduce the burden.
Ant communication: Two tentacles dock, like a wartime transmitter, and this dripping sound hints at the urgency and urgency of the event. Communicators should not forget to communicate in a timely manner even in the event of an emergency, so as to avoid unnecessary passive matters at critical moments.
Fish: Falling into the water and encountering a small ladybug that the fish thought would lose its life suddenly learned how to borrow power, when the fish violently pursued it, it finally dodged the crazy pursuit at a stone, and when the fish crashed headlong into the stone and fainted, it gave it time to buy life, so that he learned how to be small and broad. It implies that we can use the resources around us to effectively improve the whole thing.
Combat weapons: Toothpicks become weapons, durians become siege hammers, and fireworks used by humans for entertainment become explosives to defeat the enemy. This is a metaphor for the forward-looking nature of life, always ready to face unpredictable crises, and storage is the law of our survival since ancient times.
Shooting method: shooting angle different pictures convey changes in meaning, short shots, overhead shots
Ant Nest: At the end of the film, the director uses a top-down camera to capture the devastating remains of the Ant's Nest during the war, and finally collapses on the ground to become a mound. The metaphor of this picture conveys that it is inevitable that there will be no fights for some personal interests in life, and that war will also make both sides lose what they originally own, and try to solve the problem in a peaceful way.
Little Ladybug's Dream: Both dream shots use short shots to illustrate The Little Ladybug's expectations for the reunion of his family and companions, using a monologue technique of montage.
This film belongs to the story summary and change after understanding the living habits of natural insects, and the film implies that we must learn to grow in adversity and summarize experience in each difficult situation.
Close-up: From youthful to mature, the director gives the result and creates a sharp contrast change through the close-up
Circular pipe: the first time in the little ladybug just learned to take off and pass by with the family, it and the family walked to the big water pipe, looked at the bottomless inside, quickly turned their heads to catch up with their parents; the second time appeared in the little ladybug in order to get the box of matches for the hope of victory, all the way to the spider into the pipeline, after experiencing all kinds of dangers it completely lost the sense of fear it once had. This also conveys that a counterattack life will make people strong, because we all know that the phrase "the undead will eventually make you strong."
Little Ladybug: From the youth of the first birth, to the wisdom after the counterattack, it longs to return to its former life, it never gives up its inner pursuit in adversity, in the days when it can't fly, he finds friends who are in line with himself to survive, and also learns the bravery and wit when things happen around the black ants; finally the director gave the little ladybug a close-up shot of completing his dream to return to the environment he longed for, and harvested the love that has his own family that needs protection.
Matchbox: The battle of life in front of him, the goal makes the little ladybug have enough courage, and finally breaks through the inner defense line under forced circumstances, leaping over the army of red ants to the matchbox. It is a metaphor for the power to be activated by the crisis that is blocked ahead, and the potential of the critical moment is infinitely possible.
When the little ladybug has wisdom in adversity, the director gives a special close-up of the growth, encountering red-eyed flies on the way back to the battlefield to get matches and bullying its own kind in the same way, it uses its own wit to let them learn a lesson, and at the end of the film, it also has its own family when it grows up.
Practical significance: Very tall and powerful trees, there are also very short and ridiculous times, everyone has an unknown growth process, shaping their dreams and hopes in hardships
Although this film is about the ups and downs of the growth process of the little ladybug, it also implies that each of us grows up to learn to grow up in retrograde and become brave and witty.
Let us be more convinced that a solid life comes from the laws of wisdom that grow against growth.
Along the way, they have learned to help each other and achieve each other's real needs with their own unique skills at the most critical moments.
The audience of this movie is different in age and get different angles, children see insect wars, adults see the story of growth, and the forward-looking of black ants, daily carrying, storage, not worried about the lack of materials, and will not be afraid of the sudden crisis, once again let the viewer realize the truth of "people have no far-reaching worries, there must be near-term worries".
For example, some families in the epidemic have struggled to find itself in the face of suddenly cut off economic income, leaving themselves in a passive state.
In this film, black ants teach us to be forward-looking and witty, and little ladybugs teach us flexibility and never give up on our dreams in the face of adversity.
The whole film allows us to see whether our own growth is of sufficient quality, but also let us know how to let children explore growth, and understand how to respect nature's gifts to human beings, living in a beautiful environment, we must not only protect ourselves, but also love the environment on which everyone lives.
The wisdom that grows in adversity makes people's hearts full of love for the environment and cherishes the infinite power given by nature.
Brecht said: "Being smart is not about not making mistakes, but about knowing quickly how to correct them. ”
Written at the end: Every different experience will be filled with special surprises
It is through all these tribulations that the little ladybug finally overcomes the negative effects of loss, self-pity, fear, etc., and wins the good qualities of self-confidence, courage, and responsibility.
Growth and responsibility are undoubtedly more important than simple survival.
It is precisely because of being left behind that I have experienced a different kind of life.
It is precisely because I left my family that I met new friends.
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what the next one will taste like.
When the black ants took out sugar cubes to give the red ants in front of them, the little ladybugs standing above the box silently observed, and they then chose to go around.
This also tells us that each of us will encounter various problems in life, and we must learn to deal with them properly when we encounter problems.
Along the way with the black ants to taste the bittersweet and bittersweet, and finally help the black ants to win the war, this alternative life let it learn how to survive, how to attack more powerfully in case of trouble, and also learned from the black ants to be brave and witty.
Newman said: "Growing up is the only testimony of life. ”
This film not only tells us the laws of survival, but also tells us how to treat the environment with love.