Tales of the Night (2012)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 2,079
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Movie Info
Tales of the Night is renowned animation auteur Michel Ocelot's first foray into 3D animation. A hit at the Berlin Film Festival, the film extends the earlier shadow puppet style of Ocelot's Princes and Princesses, with black silhouetted characters set off against exquisitely detailed Day-Glo backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns - the subtle use of 3D creating a diorama-like effect. The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (5)
The movie never comes close to replicating the spell that Reiniger was able to cast using much more primitive techniques, which underlines a chronic problem of computer animation: its very precision squeezes all the magic from the magic lantern.
Top CriticIt is so gentle and whimsical that one wonders if American children, accustomed to the whiz-bang action of most animation, will accept it.
Six mostly engaging fairy tales are digitally rendered with silhouetted characters performing in front of vivid, colorful backgrounds.
Has ... eye-bending backgrounds but a creatively monochromatic foreground that comes to feel like a limitation.
More likely to play well with older children, due to its split-up story line, Ocelot's creation is like nothing else they are likely to see animating the multiplex.
The narratives - involving princesses, sorcerers, dragons, talking animals - are familiar. But Mr. Ocelot invigorates them with lyricism ...
Six stunningly animated fairy tales with a few mild scares
The kaleidoscopic backgrounds offer a colorful counterpoint to the simple silhouettes that form the people, animals, and mythical beasts populating the six fables, each of which end with a ironic twist.
The recent cartoons of Michel Ocelot cleverly advance Lotte Reiniger's prototypical stop-motion technique into the digital age.
It should please sensitive, well-brought-up children and nostalgists.
It's sweet but earthbound.
Tales Of The Night may be computer-animated, but its style is antique.
It's charming enough and the soundtrack has obviously been put together with care.
The pick-and-mix approach is limiting, but there's no denying these are gorgeous amuse-bouches, likely to be devoured by older, more discerning children and dyed-in-the-wool stoners alike.
The six folk-like tales featuring dragons, witch doctors and a talking horse have a whimsical charm and are beautifully designed but - watched all at once - may leave younger children fidgeting.
A uniquely joyful experience from a true original.
While the youngsters to whom the stories are aimed won't take long to get the fidgets, older viewers will undoubtedly appreciate the scenery a tad longer before joining them.
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Foreign Titles
- Tales of the Night (Les contes de la nuit) (DE)
- Tales of the Night (Les contes de la nuit) (UK)
