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The King and the Mockingbird

Play trailer Poster for The King and the Mockingbird Released Mar 19, 1980 1h 25m Kids & Family Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
This animated fantasy tale follows the romance between a lovely shepherdess (Agnès Viala) and a handsome chimney sweep (Renaud Marx). The land's imperious king (Pascal Mazzotti) falls for the beautiful woman and tries to thwart her relationship, but a kind mockingbird (Jean Martin) assists the lovers in evading the ruler. On the king's command, the chimney sweep and his bird friend are imprisoned, and they must escape in order to rescue the young man's true love.

Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times "The King and the Mockingbird" just might be the best animated film of the year. Dec 18, 2014 Full Review Bilge Ebiri New York Magazine/Vulture On a basic level, The King and the Mockingbird is a fun fantasy. But to the two poets who first imagined it, it must have felt like a repository for all the madness of a still-smoldering world. Dec 4, 2014 Full Review Joe McGovern Entertainment Weekly The film is suffused with a subversive attitude toward the rich and clueless, epitomized by a king at war with a talking bird. Rated: A- Nov 26, 2014 Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending An exhausting, exciting use of animation's unique power of moving caricature. Rated: 4.5/5 Sep 15, 2019 Full Review Joe Bendel Epoch Times Decades after it was completed for the final time, it still feels oddly contemporary, while evoking the joys of old-school animation. Rated: 4.5/5 Jun 13, 2016 Full Review Louis Proyect rec.arts.movies.reviews A great satire against monarchic pretensions by artists reared in the 1930s agitprop tradition. Nov 23, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (81) audience reviews
Hayden P Best freaking movie in the world period. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/02/20 Full Review Audience Member Animated movies have changed drastically and have come a long way. Movies like this are a good explanation of how far we have gone. That is not to say I don't think this is an interesting film. I adore the magic, the tone, and spirit of this movie and most of it comes from the animation itself. The movie still suffers from having an overly simple story and not to many memorable characters apart from the King and the Mockingbird themselves. However, this was still very influential on directors like Hayao Miyazaki for a reason and I still recommend checking it out for the artistry, atmosphere, magic, and animation. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member One Of The Best Animated Films Ever Made! A Magnificent Piece of Art! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member France's first animated feature film that was held up for years due to legal wrangling, now finally released here decades later. Imaginative, creative, beautifully hand drawn cel style with a lush musical score, this is one for film history and animation fans more than the average film audience who would find it slow by today's fast paced Pixar standards. The influence of the Fleischer Brothers ("Gulliver's Travels") and early Disney ("Pinocchio") is clear. Also how it motivated Brad Bird's "The Iron Giant," which is a great modern classic inspired by this lyrical film. Even without knowing all the politics the film is satirizing, it is very enjoyable for people who love animation. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member I went to see this movie since I love foreign movies. I had really high expectations and that may have been the problem. I was really entertained and liked it, and the story was sweet. However, the animation was so old fashioned and being used to what we see these days it bored me a little. It was like watching somebody showing you a movie by flipping pages fast from a book of illustrations. I still recommend it however. Just don't have too high expectations walking in and you may be pleasantly surprised. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Probably was a masterpiece in its day but felt very dated and dull for adult viewers. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The King and the Mockingbird

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis This animated fantasy tale follows the romance between a lovely shepherdess (Agnès Viala) and a handsome chimney sweep (Renaud Marx). The land's imperious king (Pascal Mazzotti) falls for the beautiful woman and tries to thwart her relationship, but a kind mockingbird (Jean Martin) assists the lovers in evading the ruler. On the king's command, the chimney sweep and his bird friend are imprisoned, and they must escape in order to rescue the young man's true love.
Director
Paul Grimault
Screenwriter
Paul Grimault, Jacques Prévert
Distributor
Gébéka Films
Production Co
Antenne-2, Gibe Films
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 19, 1980, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Nov 21, 2014
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 4, 2017
Runtime
1h 25m