PREVIEW: Tales of the Night (PG)

From Bafta award winning French writer-director Michel Ocelot comes his new film Tales of the Night.


Highly regarded as an animator, his films such as Kirikou and Azur and Asmar display some of Ocelot's trademarks of silhouettes and storytelling. Tales of the Night is no different. Ocelot built his reputation on the conventional animated techniques and this film pushed the boundaries thither again with his use of 3D bringing the characters and their actions to life.

Every evening, a girl, a boy, and an old technician get together in an old cinema that, by night, becomes full of wonders as they tell stories to each other. There are witches and fairies, powerful kings and stable boys, werewolves and beautiful princesses, cathedrals and sequins, cities of gold and dark forests, harmonies of vast choirs and the spells of a single drum, devastating malice and triumphant innocence. Bathed in sublime, shimmering colours, this series of six tales featuring characters animated in the style of shadow puppetry is an instant classic and a constant visual delight for both children and adults.

Tales of the Night opens each of its six tales with Ocelot's trademark storytelling technique, the tales underpinned by a love story of two destined people forced apart by those around them and the animated characters brought to life with dominant eyes and abstract movement six fantasy fairy tales. As abstract as it may appear, Ocelot has done it again as he reignites his animation flame once more to bring us one of his most exciting, experimental and tender animated tales we have seen. It's a fairy tale of a film that will leave your eyes misted and your heart warmed.

Tales of the Night was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival for the Golden Berlin Bear Award and is sure to achieve more success along the way.  

*French animation luminary Michel Ocelot returns with a silhouette fable that will leave you eyes misted and heart warmed*

Adam Woodward

*Michel Ocelot's ravishing animation and magical storytelling is a delight from start to finish*

David Parkinson

Check out the trailer below to see what you think of this beautiful animation:

Michel Ocelot's Tales of the Night is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 5th October at 10.45am and Saturday 6th October at 3pm.