The King and the Mockingbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The King and the Mockingbird |
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2003 DVD cover
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| Directed by | Paul Grimault |
| Produced by | Robert Dorfmann |
| Screenplay by |
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| Music by | Wojciech Kilar |
| Cinematography | Gérard Soirant |
| Editing by | Paul Grimault |
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| Distributed by | Gaumont |
| Release date(s) | September 1952 (Venice) 19 March 1980 |
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| Country | France |
| Language | French |
The King and the Mockingbird (in French, Le Roi et l'Oiseau, meaning "The king and the bird") is a famous hand-drawn animated fantasy film from France. It was directed by Paul Grimault. Before 2013, it was also known in English as The King and Mister Bird.
This movie started being made in 1948. It was first called La Bergère et le Ramoneur ("The shepherdess and the chimney sweep"). The story was loosely based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen with the same name. The film was a team effort between director Paul Grimault and the well-known French poet and writer, Jacques Prévert.
However, the movie's production stopped suddenly. An unfinished version was released in 1952 without Grimault or Prévert's permission. Over many years, Grimault worked to get the rights to his film back. He finally managed to finish the movie the way he and Prévert had originally planned. The complete film was released in 1980, more than 30 years after it first began!
Today, The King and the Mockingbird is seen as a true masterpiece of French animation. Famous Japanese directors like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata have said it influenced their own work. The film was shown in cinemas in the United Kingdom in 1984 with an English voice-over. For a long time, it was hard to find in English. But after being re-released in France in 2013, it came back to UK cinemas and was released on DVD in English in 2014. In North America, the full version can be streamed on The Criterion Channel. An older, low-cost English version from 1952, called The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird, is available for free online. In that version, the famous actor Peter Ustinov tells the story and voices the bird.
Contents
The Story of the King and the Mockingbird
The movie takes place in the huge kingdom of Takicardia. It is ruled by a king with a very long and silly name: Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI. He is a mean ruler who doesn't care about his people, and they don't like him either.
The King loves to hunt, but he is cross-eyed, meaning his eyes don't look in the same direction. No one dares to tell him this! All the statues and paintings of him in the palace show him with normal eyes. Sometimes, the King does hit his target. One time, he hit the wife of a bird, known only as l'Oiseau (The Bird). This bird is the story's narrator and loves to tease the King whenever he can.
In his secret room, the King dreams of a beautiful shepherdess from a painting on his wall. But the shepherdess is in love with a chimney sweep whose painting is on the wall opposite hers. At night, these paintings come to life and try to escape the palace. But a painting of the King, who is not cross-eyed, also comes to life and chases them. This painted King takes the place of the real King. He orders that the shepherdess and the chimney sweep be captured. Luckily, the bird is there to help them when they need it.
Later, the shepherdess and the chimney sweep find themselves in the lower city, where the people have never seen sunlight. Meanwhile, the King calls for a giant robot he had built. This robot attacks the village. The King captures the shepherdess, the chimney sweep, the bird, and a blind organ grinder from the village. He puts the organ grinder in a cage with lions and tigers.
The King forces the shepherdess to agree to marry him. He threatens to kill the chimney sweep if she refuses. When she agrees, the King sends the chimney sweep and the bird to paint sculptures of his head on a moving conveyor belt. They start to ruin the sculptures, so they are sent to jail. In jail, the lions and tigers have been listening to the organ grinder play music. The bird convinces the animals to help the shepherdess. He tells them that if she marries the King, she won't be able to take care of the sheep, which the animals eat.
The animals break out of jail and attack the King and his guards in the chapel. The bird and his sons take control of the giant robot and start to destroy the castle. Once the castle is in ruins, the King attacks the shepherdess and chimney sweep. But the robot grabs him and throws him far away. The next morning, sitting on the castle ruins, the robot sees one of the bird's sons trapped in a cage. After freeing the little bird, the robot smashes the cage.
Differences from the Original Story
Only the first part of the movie, set in the secret apartment, is based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep." The rest of the movie focuses much more on the King and the Bird, which is why the film's final title changed.
In Andersen's fairy tale, the shepherdess and chimney sweep are china figurines, not paintings. Also, a wooden satyr wants to marry the shepherdess, with a Chinaman's support, instead of a king and a statue. In both the tale and the movie, a figure breaks, and the two main characters escape up a chimney. They enjoy looking at the stars. But in Andersen's story, the shepherdess gets scared of the big world and they return. This idea is shown in the movie when the statue predicts they will come back.
The 1952 unfinished film version ends with the bird taking a photo of the newly married shepherdess and chimney sweep. The King's dog, all the bird's sons, and others are also in the picture after the King is defeated.
Characters in the Film
- The Bird: (voiced by Pierre Brasseur in 1952, Jean Martin in 1980) He is the King's biggest enemy and constantly teases him. It is suggested that the King might have killed the bird's wife. He is the father of four baby birds.
- King Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI: (voiced by Fernand Ledoux in 1952, Pascal Mazzotti in 1980) He is a lonely but power-hungry ruler who loves the shepherdess painting. He also voices the Painting King, who takes over from the real King and chases the shepherdess and chimney sweep.
- The Shepherdess: (voiced by Anouk Aimée in 1952, Agnes Viala in 1980) She is a beautiful painting who is in love with the chimney sweep.
- The Chimney Sweep: (voiced by Serge Reggiani in 1952, Renaud Marx in 1980) He is a painting who is in love with the shepherdess.
- The Chief of Police: (voiced by Raymond Bussieres) He is very loyal to the King.
- The Robot (Automan): (voiced by Hubert Deschamps) This is a giant robot built by the King to show his power. It seems to have a mind of its own.
- The Blind Organ Grinder: (voiced by Roger Blin) He plays music and hopes for a better world.
English Voices from the 1952 Version
- Peter Ustinov as Mr. Wonderbird (the bird)
- Claire Bloom as the Shepherdess
- Denholm Elliott as the Chimney Sweep
- Max Adrian as the King
- Alec Clunes as the Blind Man
Different Versions of the Film
The King and the Mockingbird has been released in many different versions and languages. The main difference is between the incomplete 1952 version and the complete 1980 version. The film has also been dubbed into many languages, including Japanese and Dutch.
In 1957, the 1952 version was released in the United States with English voices. It was called The Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird. Peter Ustinov was the narrator and voiced the bird in this version. This Mr. Wonderbird version is now in the public domain, meaning it's free for anyone to use. You can find it online for free on the Internet Archive.
The 1980 complete version was also dubbed into English. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1984 in cinemas as The King and Mister Bird. It was also released on VHS as Mr Bird to the Rescue.
In 2013, a newly restored version of the film was re-released in French cinemas. It was then released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in France and Germany. This new release included other short films by Grimault and a documentary about his work.
The film was re-released in UK cinemas in April 2014, with both the original French version (with English subtitles) and the King and Mister Bird English dub. A DVD with English subtitles and the English dub was also released. Before this, it was hard to find the film in English-speaking countries. In the United States, you can watch it on The Criterion Channel.
See also
In Spanish: Le Roi et l'Oiseau para niños
