Tales of the Night

Michel Ocelot has done it again. Following the pattern of 2000's Princes And Princesses , he delivers a stunning half-dozen short animations. Each one capture some myth or folk tale (or maybe a new story in the classic style), and plays it out against a background set in Tibet, African Aztec Mexico, or some other corner of the world. Although meant for children, there's enough adventure and depth to hold an adult viewer easily. On top of wonderful stories, Ocelot presents animation in a wonderful and distinctive style. In an open tribute to the first feature-length animation , Ocelot updates Lotte Reiniger's shadow-puppet style of animation - black silhouettes against gloriously colored but generally static backgrounds. But, rather than pure shadow figures, he adorns them with spot colors for eyes, jewels, or other significant features. It adds beautifully to the tradition that was already millenia old when Reiniger adapted it to a new medium in the 1920s. Good story-telling and brilliant artwork, with a real sense of culture and history. This collection truly stands out. -- wiredwerid

Certainly eye-catching! It is a French film, yet cosmopolitan in the selection of stories told. The format was used by Michel Ocelot previously in his French TV series "Cine Si" (Cinema If), that was broadcast in 1989. Most of those stories have been released on DVD under the title of "Princes and Princesses." The difference between the two sets is how the animation was done. "Princes and Princesses" looks like it was done using traditional 2D cell animation. "Tales of the Night" looks like it was done using computer generated animation. All the stories have some plot twists, that will keep you guessing what happens next. The silhouetted characters do remind me of certain other animated characters (reportedly from Mars).

A gorgeous piece remenicent of old-way fairytale telling. I despise the dub (who the hell voiced the young guy!! horribly annoying!) but the original French is a delight. Visually stunning, and the stories were beautiful. Loved it.

This is a cute and pleasant movie with fairly positive messages for children. It tells a number of short stories with a loose framework to hold them together. This is good because each story is short enough to hold a child's interest, but from the perspective of an adult, it makes it feel a bit disjointed, and the movie basically seems to just end fairly abruptly.

Plays fine, happy to have it now. Its a small but cherished part of my siblings childhood as well as mine.

I watched with my 10 years old daughter and we both enjoyed very much. Great animation with enjoyable stories. We will watch again and again.

Lovely. We are already fans of "Princes and Princesses" not to mention the Kirikou movies, and this one did not disappoint. Only problem : although the episodes are short (maybe 10 or 15 minutes apiece), there are quite a lot of them. The enitre DVD is really too much for one sitting.

Good story for this anime. Wish it was bite longer. I would like to see more about the main people and the old movie theater. The story was well thought out. The artwork was good as well. It like the shadow puppet.

Amazing animation. An interesting selection of stories.

La película me llegó en tiempo y en buen estado. Bonitas historias contadas en un formato novedoso de animación. Viene solo en idioma original o inglés y solo trae subtítulos en inglés.

This movie has an incredible look. The stories are told in a shadow puppet style with vividly coloured backgrounds. It's a striking and beautiful choice.

Lo compré para regalar a mi hermana, es su película favorita. Llegó bien y el dvd funciona bien, sólo se trabó un poco el menú la primera vez pero después funcionó bien

Quite nice.Light entertainment.