The First Animated Surrealist Film | The King and the Mockingbird 

Dude, My Animation History teacher showed this video today in class. Your videos are amazing, you deserve more subscribers!

« On dit que j'ai mis trente-cinq ans pour faire Le Roi et l'Oiseau... En réalité, j'ai mis cinq ans (en deux fois) pour le réaliser et trente pour trouver le fric ! »- Grimault In English it translates to "People say it took me 35 years to make The King and the Mockingbird...when in reality it took me five years (in two times) to direct it and 30 to find the money!"

I never expected to come accross a video on this film, let alone by someone who isn't a natural french speaker. I grew up with this movie, thanks to the same DVD you show at the end of the video. Even back then, it stood out from other similar cartoons, mainly disney movies, in ways that were always fascinating to me. Its slower pace or its unusual setting and characters, to name a few. The fact that even as a child, I had the feeling that there was a lot I wasn't getting about this movie while still being able to enjoy it is a testiment to its quality. Going back to it as an adult was just as much a delightful nostalgia trip as it was a rediscovery of the movie and of all its themes and meaning. Thank you for the video, the surrealist analysis of the film seems like an obvious pick now that I think about it. Also, don't pay too much attention to the people criticizing your french. A lot of french people have a very strict (if not elitist) relationship to our language, even those who barely know how to speak english or any other foreign language. Your french isn't great, but to anyone who doesn't obsess over it it's not really a distraction from the video.

I remember seeing that film when I was a child, I couldn't make sense of it but still it captivated me because of the art, the characters and their mysterious behaviour. I watched it so many times. Great explanation, thanks !

I wish Criterion would release a collection of Grimault's work. His animation style actually strongly reminds me of Mr Williams'. Both extraordinary and exceptional animators.

I remember, the first time that I watched this incredible masterpiece. I was 6 or 7 years old, and I was captivated by the story, the characters, the scenery. I was crying at the end. It's probably one of my favourite movie.

I watched the film when I was very young. We even had a picture book of it which I looked at dozens of times. The images are etched into my mind to this very day. So I was happy seeing this video in my recommendations. Thank you for these insights.

I remember watching this movie with my little sister and my parents back in 1980. I hadn't realised it was such a long time ago. I could listen to the music every day of my life, a bit like Joe Hisaichi's work on Miyazaki's- Kiki

I watched this as a child and throughout my life vague scenes have replayed in dreams. One day I set out to track down the film but failed. Several years later I tried again but this time succeeded. The film still kinda creeps me out but I appreciate it. Feels like the director wouldve been happy to know it followed me around for so long..

0:44 This 1944 movie is on Netflix, the english title being "Chimney Thief". That's how I found out about it, and after searching the name, only this video showed up. The short movie lasts 10 minutes.

I watched The Boy and The Heron a week ago and I noticed the parallel between this movie and that one - from its surrealist imagery and the young protagonists exploring the dreamy landscape. And considering Miyazaki was influenced by this movie, he was trying to make his own The King and the Mockingbird.

يالله ما احلى الموسيقا التصويرية الفيلم شفناه عشرات المرات انا و اخواتي في اواخر الثماتينات و الحمدلله عثرت عليه أخيرا و بعد جهد جهيد 💖💖💖💖💖

Am I wrong or is the King noticeably similar to Salvador Dali also? After the twenties a lot of the original surrealists broke with Dali over politics and considered him kind of a sellout so its not totally unbelievable that the king could be at least partially a dig at him.

Très bon travail, tu résumes très bien cette œuvre et surtout le grand Paul Grimault, quel Homme... Pour la paix, l'humanité et la poésie et le parfait duo entre lui et Jacques Prévert a donné l'un des plus grands classiques de l'animation française. Aujourd'hui, la poésie se meurt et les sourires s'envolent on ne sait où, la vie c'est l'amour, la poésie et la tolérance et avoir été éduqué par ça dès l'âge de 4 ans c'est une fierté car l'amour fait peur aujourd'hui mais j'y croirai jusqu'à la fin quitte à passer pour un faible ou quelqu'un de trop candide ! LOVE POWER

For me the simplest definition of surrealism is to arrange that which is natural in a way that creates the unnatural. An apple and a bowler hat are natural objects but if you arrange them together.. A dream can often do the same: jumble the context and connections but keep the pieces intact.

One of my favorite animated film of all time. I first saw it in theater as a kid with my class, i was 6 or 7. I really wish they were more films like this one, a fine piece of art, written with care and intent, with a distinct art direction, that can be enjoy by adults and children at the same time. Great video, thanks to you i learned things about the creation of the film that i didn't know. Your channel tackles interesting subjects, keep up the good work! :)

Sorry to be pedantic, but would Metropolis be considered surrealist? It seems closer to German Expressionism than anything else.

I watched that cartoon when i was 5-6 years old child and on TV. Then never see it again, when i grow up something remind me this and i barely find this movie part of old nostalgic memory. I need to re-watch it.

I found this incredible film in a junk DVD bin at some discount store in my hometown in Oregon. Its called ‘The Curious Adventures of Mr.Wonderbird’ with Peter Ustinov as the Wonderbird(Mockingbird). My kids, born post 911, love it! As do I. The surrealist angle makes beautiful sense and Im happy to have found it. Great to see others aware of and interested in this film. .The Djinn Fairy’, The Sorceress(Kiriko) all the Studio Ghibli films have been influenced! Makes full sense!

Wow. At first I didn't know what to think of this film. Especially with the ending. But after watching this, I think I'm going to give it another shot. It goes without saying, but excellent video.

Very helpful in my study of this classic film! Lucid. Informative. Fascinating.

Thank you for this!! great movie and great video

Your youtube channel is like a free college course on animation history.

I haven't thought about Paul Grimault for a long time, but am now eager to check out this film. Some of my favorite movies you mentioned in here.

Big thanks from France for what you did !

Thanks to this video I stumbled upon recently, I went ahead and viewed it thru Amazon Rental. My reaction = Awe struck! Truly a hidden treasure in all animation history!

I just want to say two tings. 1.) Tis was a fascinating story. THank you for taking the time to tell it. 2.) I demand everybody who sees this comment go to 2:18 and TRY to tell me that choice of picture isn't 100% intentional hilarious burn.

A unique feeling to have seen this as a child, fascinating and depressive.

Have you considered reviewing BELLADONNA, 1001 NIGHTS, SON OF THE WHITE MARE and/or the 1974 Japanese JACK AND THE BEANSTALK?

These are all great! You should be more popular!

Great video, except maybe for the French pronunciations, but that's okay, the inclusion of the titles helped

This was so interesting. Well done!

I recently watchedca castle of cagliostro retrospective that references this film i believe, so cool to see a video on it.

I had to laugh at "Renaye", I'm sorry :D But great video! Thanks!

But Metropolis is from 1927, not the 1930's.

THis is an amazing video that taught me a lot about that film I have seen many times, and I am French. Just for information (it's really not a problem), the pronunciation of French names is really off and at times, the spelling (Cocteau, sounds like "cocto"). Prévert is akin to "pray vair", Grimault "gree mo". But this is just for your enjoyment, I didn't mind it at all. Thanks a lot.

I had this movie on a DVD. The creepiest shit I've seen to date. Sure, as I child I've watched a lot of horror movies. Some of them were scary, others were not. Later, as I grew up, would discover a lot of dark, creepy corners of internet. But nothing made me fell so unease like watching this weird, alien movie.

Dude I remember this movie like a fever dream, I was so young when I watched it

FINALLY! someone finally talks about the king and the mockingbird holy fucking finally.

My music teacher showed this movie when I was 7, I always kept a shot of a falling ceiling in a cavern (which ended up being the underground city) and I found out today the name by pure chance.

The s in les is silent, it's french not spanish!!

I think this the most deep catoon I ever see.

Thanks for making this video. I have to tell you one thing very important, maybe you didn't get enough; the english title breaks the initial balance and maybe that's why you didn't get the thing the most important in this poetic movie. The whole concept is based on the balance of "le roi" (the law/the rules) and "l'oiseau" (the freedom),. Freedom is the only who can moke the Law but also the true Love is possible thanks to Freedom. Mariage/law, rules can't understand love. If you really want to understand the movie you have to watch movies that Prevert wrote before. "Le Roi et l'Oiseau" is like the final allegory of what Grimault and Prevert worked on all there life: freedom. Sorry my english is not good enough so I could really explain you in details. I hope you will see the movie again to understand and feel what I try to explain. This movie has the best happy ending Prevert and Grimault ever dreamed of: the city of Law(rules) is down, freedom has the last word. Si vous voulez aimer ce film essayer d'apprendre le français, car dans la langue passe une culture qu'aucune traduction ne saurait rendre. Si vous voulez aimez, soyez libre et sachez rêver. C'est le conseil d'une french girl

I think it is a little short-sighted to outrightly call revolutionary art more thoughtful than archetypical stories. Archetypical stories have a lot of hidden depth that goes to the heart of the human condition. The focus on the romance is more a representation of the archetypical concept of the union and balance of the masculine and the feminine. Indeed, revolutionary stores are often more eager to tell you their message and so require less puzzling to figure out, though this is not always the case.

Great video m8 these subjects are not enough talked about these days glad I found you ^^ P.s. as a french your pronounciation also really gave me a good laugh lmao

Quite an enjoyable watch! I will probably watch the movie now

please continue making videos, this was a fantastic introduction.

Lol,at the Thumbnail I thought it's a upgrade boss,great video btw

fantastic work

Thank you so much for sharing!

I remember watching the film without the aggregated scenes, it changed the dynamic now that I notice it. Gotta rewatch this now 😁

I remember watching this on HRT 2 and sometimes I would think it was in my dreams.

Metropolis isn't surreal. It's a Science fiction German expressionist film. That scene from Metropolis you just showed is utilizing ART DECO. ART DECO can be seen through out the film but it isn't surrealism nor does that make it an art deco film....it's still a science fiction/ German expressionist film.

@ 6:18 The king's concern was his actual role in history as a ruler. A caring and open-minded leader is always preferable to a king that "can't see beyond the end of his nose". And he tried to change the history by simply changing a painting. A great video for a great movie!

This is my first exposure to both your work and the King and the Mockingbird, and I am extremely grateful for my introduction to both. Very well done, very informative and well scripted. Thank you very much. Have you considered doing something with Alice In Wonderland?

Just found your channel through this video. Maybe you could do a video about Les Maîtres du Temps (masters of time) too, great SF french animated film from the 80s.

1:51 - 1:55 Where did you found this clip with the king's animation cels?

Will you ever consider the Russian animated movie “The hunchback Horse” and it’s 1977 remake movie “the Magic Pony”? The backstory of the making of those movies is quite interesting and the animation is pretty dang good for its time. 😊

Its my favorite film so far

Saw this movie a few months ago, really amazing!

This looks really fun to watch baked.

Lovely ❤

Thank you. I finally know this movie's name. There is a Courage the Cowardly Dog episode that has more than a few nods to this movie and it drove me nuts for years trying to find the original film it was referencing. Courage the Cowardly Dog is itself heavily influenced by surrealist ideas and themes.

The idea of including a bird reminds me of Thumbelina, (1994) where a swallow (bird) narrates and becomes somewhat a pivotal character in the movie.

Really informative, thanks for talking about this!

Would have loved to see Dali in the Jodorowsky Dune movie if it had been made!

Did any one notice that the real king has a musical box, and the music it’s the same music than the blind character that lives down the city is playing. Which make me think, where did the kind end up? It’s maybe the blind beggar? It’s so weird that they have the same music box

I often assumed the reason the two main characters were flat was because they just came to life and gained flesh and blood of their own. It takes time for a person and multiple drafts a work of art to gain it's own identity.

Would you do a behind the scenes video like this for The Secret of NIHM? I feel it’s a woefully underrated movie and certainly the best of the don bluth movies.

Can you please link the music that plays in the beginning? I'm enchanted by it!

@Steven Where did you get the images to use, and finally extract them from 1m34s in your video?

2:42 this film in no way inspired Miyazaki when creating CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO

I can imagine a modern adaptation of The Sheppardess and the Chimeny Sweep where two deeply troubled celebrities/pop culture icons meet and fall in love between the blurred lines of time, e.g. Judy Garland and Michael Jackson (I would use Elizabeth Taylor, but they were already good and close friends), or Marilyn Monroe and Kurt Cobain, etc. Perhaps Mr. Lonely is close enough.

Did that tower @5:05 inspire the tower where Clarisse is imprisoned in Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut feature film "Castle of Cagliostro"? They look soo similar!

保毛太郎侍みたいだけど、こういう手描き風？なのはいいね。

Great review. I have been looking for an English version of what I knew as ‘Mr Bird to the Rescue’ for years. This was an English dubbed version of the 1980’s film. Do you know how where I can get one and what it would be called?

Where can I watch this film?! Been trying to find the movie for days now

What's that music you're using in the background? I love it.

"...started his career in the early FFIRTEES..." Really? the "early ffirtees" Gotta love that classy English accent.

The newer scenes added to the film did take me out a bit given the sudden shift in quality between cuts. It's not as bad as say, the Looney Tunes movie Warner Bros. was putting out at the time, where trying to gel classic Golden Age footage with new material done by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and others that has a greater disparity of quality due to the age of said staff. Paul Grimault certainly had his hands full getting the look just right such as with the backgrounds in his revised edition. Animation isn't quite on 1's all the time but that's a minor quibble.

I am very sorry but the audio is so goddamn interrupted, that i couldn't concentrate on the subject. for a while i thought either the video was buffering too hard, or i was actually having a stroke. You don't need to edit out every peak and breath, it makes it sound unnatural. It also sounds like you had a noise reduction, or high pass filter, applied. This was way too strong, because some parts are really muted, or too low. and please get a better mic, you deserve it.

Got to stop putting off watching this one... Great video btw.

Good job foreal

Could anyone tell me the name of the movie/animation of 1:35 to 1:37? EDIT: for anyone wondering, found it as part of the movie Arabian Knight "Thief and the cobbler chase scene"

How do you turn "paratonnerres" into "paramour"?

I really like the artwork at 1:10. Could anyone tell me what it is?

Whats music that you use in this video?

I wish you hadn't spoiled the whole plot of the movie but I appreciate the video though. I totally forgot about this movie.

Is the original king not seen again after the duplicate king disposes of him

the king seems to look rather like Dali

Where can I find an english dub of the finished movie?

what's the name of this soundtrack?

Where can i find 1952 ending?

Great video

WHY hasn't this ever been released in the US?

Les is pronounced “lay”

Giorgo de Chirico is not surrealism, its metaphysical painting. Before surrealism.

Please does someone know where to find his previous works? I wanna see those animated shorts!

I'm sorry, what is this beautiful song that was used?

It's probably the most powerful among all the "moving paintings".