THE RED BALLOON Movie Review

Little Pascal (Pascal Lamorisse) is a lonely French boy who befriends a wondrous red balloon that follows him everywhere. When catastrophe in the form of bullying, jealous children causes the balloon's demise, every other balloon in Paris comes flying to the aid and comfort of the devastated Pascal. Directed by the resourceful and inventive Albert Lamorisse (Pascal's father), The Red Balloon is a charmingly imaginative, elegantly conceived, marvelously done 34-minute fable about friendship, loyalty, and love. The Red Balloon was one of the few short films to achieve a significant following on its initial release, partly due to its immense appeal to children, as well as the fact that the story is told with music and images, but without any need for dialogue (it is the least foreign of foreign films, regardless of what country you live in). The Red Balloon’s simple photographic effects work even on today's allegedly sophisticated, special-effects-savvy kids, because the story it tells is primal and universal; by the big finish, everybody's too moved to care “how it was done.” And like all great children's films, it's even more affecting for adults. Academy Award Nominee, Best Original Screenplay.

NEXT STOP … Stowaway in the Sky, The Black Stallion, ?.?: The Extra-Terrestrial

1956 34m/C FR Pascal Lamorisse; D: Albert Lamorisse. Academy Awards ‘56: Best Original Screenplay. VHS, LV, 8mm HMV, HHT, DVT