''Tales of the Night'' () is a 2011 French computer

silhouette animation Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a numb ...

feature film directed by

Michel Ocelot Michel Ocelot (born 27 October 1943) is a French Screenwriter, writer, Production designer, designer, storyboard artist and Film director, director of animation, animated films and television programs (formerly also animator, background artist, n ...

. It is a

compilation movie A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common example would be a docum ...

for

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

s of five episodes of '' Dragons et Princesses'' in

stereoscopic 3D Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

and one additional, until then unseen story, "The Girl-Doe and the Architect's Son" ("La Fille-biche et le fils de l'architecte"), for a total of six. It premièred in competition for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

at the

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

on February 13, 2011 before its general release in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

on July 20. It has been licensed for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

GKIDS GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...

and for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Soda Pictures Thunderbird Entertainment Group (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Canadian film and television entertainment company with offices in both Canada and the United States of America. Thunderbird's multiple divisions develop movies and television pr ...

, both for a general release in 2012, with its UK release date having now been announced as Friday, 6 April 2012. In Japan, it is the fourth feature directed by Ocelot in the

Ghibli Museum Library The is the collection of classic and non-Japanese animated films which have been dubbed or subtitled and released in Japan by Studio Ghibli under the ''Ghibli ga Ippai'' label, in collaboration with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (with ...

, and was shown at the 2012

Tokyo International Anime Fair The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as was one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Tokyo, Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event was held at Tokyo Big Sigh ...

, and released in June 2012.

Plot

A girl, a boy and an old cinema technician tell stories every night in a small theater. Before each story, the boy and the girl decide, in accordance with the old technician, they will play the characters in the story they will interpret, they also choose a time and a country as well as costumes through documentation the technician brings them, and make clothing and accessories with a computer-controlled machine. They then perform the story on stage.

The Werewolf

The first story takes place in

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The story of two sisters who are in love with the same prince. The prince is betrothed to the older one, much to the sadness of the younger one who has loved him all her life. However, the prince reveals to his betrothed that he transforms into a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

during the

Full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...

. She is not pleased, and tricks him into transforming in front of her, then steals the gold necklace that will make him turn back into a human. She throws the necklace in the well and tells the people that the prince was eaten by the wolf of the woods. The younger sister figures out what her sister has done, and exposes her cruel actions.

Tijean and Beauty-Not-Knowing

The second story takes place in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. While exploring a cave down so far beneath the ground, Tijean finds himself in the land of the dead. The shadow of an old man tells him how to defeat three monsters; a giant bee, a giant mongoose, and a giant iguana. He finds his way into the king's court, whose eldest daughter, Beauty-Not-Knowing, is to be married. Since Tijean overcame the three monsters without killing them, he is deemed unworthy to marry the princess and is sentenced to death via the "big chopper". The king gives him three impossible tasks while he is in the dungeon. Fortunately, Tijean is saved by the three animals whose lives he spared.

The Chosen One and The City Of Gold

The third story is set in

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

times. The inhabitants of a city made of gold worship a being called the Benefactor who gives them gold in exchange for a human sacrifice of the prettiest women in the land. One day a stranger arrives at the city and after discovering this sinister act he resolves to break this cycle of killing. The man is convinced there is a way to stop the Benefactor, however a prophecy says the city will collapse when the Benefactor falls.

The Boy Tam-Tam

The fourth story is set in a village in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. A young boy who enjoys playing the tam-tam

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s every day is chased away by the villagers who believe he is noisy and useless. The boy dreams of finding a magic drum, which will allow him to play well, and force anyone who listens to dance. One day he saves the life of an old man who turns out to be the keeper of the magic drum. The old man agrees to let the boy play on the precious instrument, but he can not activate its powers until after a long and difficult training. However the boy is found useful when he is able to play the drum to save his village from invaders.

The Boy Who Never Lied

The fifth story takes place in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. The boy who never lies is a servant of the king and good friends with the king's talking horse, Mélongi. One day the king receives a visit from the king of the neighbouring kingdom who claims to have a singing mare named Sumaki. They both make a bet that the boy who rides the nation's talking horse cannot be made to lie. The rival king hatches a plan and enlists his daughter to seduce the boy who never lies and make him lie. For this she fakes a deadly disease and claims that it can heal by eating the heart of Mélongi.

The Doe-Girl and the Architect's Son

The sixth and final story is set once again in Medieval Europe. Maud and Thibaut are very much in love with each other. Thibaut is the son of a famous architect and apprentice to his father's best friend. Maud is servant to a powerful but tyrannical wizard. The wizard sets off to marry Maud but when she refuses, he shuts her up in a tower. However Thibaut is determined to save her which causes the wizard to turn Maud into a beast. Thibaut and his master must then find a way to restore her human form.

Cast

* Julien Béramis : Boy * Marine Griset : Girl *

Yves Barsacq Yves Barsacq (17 June 1931 – 4 October 2015) was a French film actor, who appeared in more than 150 films. He is the son of the French-Russian production designer Léon Barsacq and the nephew of the French theatre director André Barsacq. ...

: Théo *

Sabine Pakora Sabine Pakora is a French-Ivorian actress. Debut Sabine Pakora studied acting at the ''Ecole supérieur d’art dramatique de Paris'' and ''Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique de Montpellier''. Filmography Theatre References External links ...

: The cook *

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara ( bm, ߝߊ߫ߕߎߡߕߊ ߖߊ߯ߥߙߊ߫, Fatumta Jawara, born 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, T ...

Firmine Richard Firmine Richard (born 25 September 1947 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France) is a French actress. Her film credits include '' 8 Women'' and ''Hunting and Gathering''. Personal life In February 2009, Richard took part in demonstrations in Pari ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tales of the Night (film) 2011 films 2011 3D films 2011 fantasy films 2011 computer-animated films 2010s French animated films 2010s children's fantasy films 2010s children's animated films 2010s French-language films French 3D films French computer-animated films French children's films French animated fantasy films French anthology films Compilation films 3D animated films Animated films based on animated television series Films based on folklore Films about Tibet Werewolves in animated film Films set in Africa Films set in Europe Films set in South America Films directed by Michel Ocelot