The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird (1980)

The King and the Mockingbird (French: Le Roi et l'oiseau, literally The King and the Bird) is a 1980 traditionally animated feature film directed by Paul Grimault. Begun in 1948 as The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (loosely based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen), the film was a collaboration between Grimault and popular French poet and screenwriter, Jacques Prévert. However the film suddenly stopped production and was released unfinished by its producer, without the approval of either Grimault or Prévert. Through the course of the 1960s and 1970s, Grimault obtained the rights to the film and was able to complete a new version they originally intended and was finished over 30 years after it was started.

The film is by some today regarded as a masterpiece of French animation and has been cited by the Japanese directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as an influence. The film has had poor availability in English (although an English dub exists). While the completed version of the film has not been released on home video North America, it is available for streaming on Amazon Instant and Vudu. The first English-friendly release was made in October 2013 in the United Kingdom; it is scheduled for wider theatrical release in the UK in 2014, with DVD sales from April 2014. Previously, the film had been often shared by animation fans online. A low-budget English-language release of the 1952 version, dubbed The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird, is in the public domain and available for free online. In that version, Peter Ustinov narrates and voices the main role of the bird.

Synopsis

The huge kingdom of Takicardia is ruled by a king under the unwieldy title of Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI. He’s a heartless ruler, hated by his people as much as he hates them. The king is fond of hunting, but is unfortunately cross-eyed – not that anyone would dare acknowledge this in front of him, as the numerous statues and paintings that adorn the palace and the land show. Occasionally the king does hit his target though, notably the wife of the bird, known only as "l'Oiseau", the narrator of the story who takes pleasure in taunting the terrible king at every opportunity.

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