''Tadpole and the Whale'' (french: La Grenouille et la baleine) is a Canadian children's fantasy film, directed by

Jean-Claude Lord Jean-Claude Lord (6 June 1943 – 15 January 2022) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was one of the most commercial of the Québécois directors in the 1970s, aiming his feature films at a mass audience and dealing with political ...

and released in 1988 as part of the

Tales for All ''Tales for All'' (french: Contes pour tous) is a series of children and family films produced by the company ''Les Productions la Fête''. These films were also published as books. List of titles The films are also referred as ''Tales for All #1 ...

series."Demers film Tadpole wins a Golden Reel as box-office champ". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', March 14, 1989. The film stars Fanny Lauzier as Daphné, a young girl living in

Mingan Mingan, also known as Ekuanitshit in Innu-aimun, is an Innu First Nations in Canada, First Nations Indian reserve, reserve in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, at the mouth of the Mingan River on Mingan Bay of t ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

who has developed the ability to breathe underwater, and who has befriended the

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s and the

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

s living near the town in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The film's cast also includes

Denis Forest Denis Forest (September 5, 1960 – March 18, 2002) was a Canadian character actor. He was known for portraying henchmen in Academy Award-nominated blockbusters '' The Mask'' and ''Cliffhanger''. He was the lead villain in the second season of ...

, Marina Orsini, Félix-Antoine Leroux, Jean Lajeunesse,

Lise Thouin Lise Thouin (10 July 1950) is a French Canadian actress and writer.Bulletin critique du livre français - Issues 583-584 1997- Page 1062 "De retour d'un voyage en Europe, la comédienne Lise Thouin est atteinte, durant l'été 85, par un virus foud ...

, Louise Richer, Thomas Donohue, Roland Laroche, Pierre-Olivier Gagnon, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Jean Lafontaine, Jean Lemire, André Doyle, Claude Grisé and Alie Lavoie Gray. The film garnered three Genie Award nominations at the 10th Genie Awards in 1989, including

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, Best Cinematography ( Thomas Burstyn) and

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for "We Are One (Sous la mer)" (Normand Dubé, Guy Trépanier and Nathalie Carson).

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "Cronenberg film earns a dozen nominations Dead Ringers tops Genie list". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 14, 1989. It also won the Golden Reel Award as the year's top-grossing Canadian film with a gross of C$1.79 million just from

, before it had even opened in

English Canada Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' can also be used for one of the following: #Describing all the provinces of Canada tha ...

References

External links

* * 1988 films 1988 independent films Canadian children's fantasy films Films directed by Jean-Claude Lord Films produced by Jacques Bobet Films about dolphins Films about whales Canadian independent films 1980s children's films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub