Princes et princesses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ciné si | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Michel Ocelot |
| Directed by | Michel Ocelot |
| Composer(s) | Christian Maire |
| Country of origin | France |
| Language(s) | French |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 12 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | 1989 – 1989 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| Princes et princesses | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michel Ocelot |
| Produced by | Didier Brunner Jean-François Laguionie |
| Written by | Michel Ocelot |
| Starring | Arlette Mirapeu Philippe Cheytion Yves Barsacq |
| Music by | Christian Maire |
| Editing by | Dominique Lefever Michèle Peju Anita Vilfrid |
| Distributed by | Gébéka Films |
| Release date(s) | 26 January 2000 |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Princes et princesses, literally "Princes and Princesses," is a French silhouette animation feature film by Michel Ocelot. Produced in 1999 by La Fabrique and Les Armateurs and released to French cinemas on 26 January 2000, it is his second feature film but an older creation than Kirikou and the Sorceress, being a compilation movie of the television series Ciné si, which was produced from 1987 onwards by La Fabrique and broadcast in 1989. The film comprises slightly edited versions of 6 of the 8 12-minute episodes,[1] with the addition of a 1-minute intermission at the half-way point. In Japan, it was distributed on DVD-Video with the co-operation of Studio Ghibli, initially in the Ghibli Cinema Library and re-released under the Ghibli Museum Library label.
Ciné si takes the format of an anthology series of fairy tales in which the male and female leads are always portrayed by the same animated "actors," the supporting cast being supposedly played by humanoid robots programmed by them. Each story is preceded by a prologue set in a disused movie theater, in which these actor-animators and and an old man who is both the projectionist and theater organist think up the story, costumes and music for the play which they then perform. These short plays stretch the definition of fairy tales, some being set in specified countries, most having post-modern, trick endings and one set not at an unspecified point in past but, instead, in the future, with a retro-futurist aesthetic in the style of Yakov Protazanov's Aelita. All have an obvious – though never explicitly stated – moral, in the style of traditional stories.
Contents |
[edit] Segments
[edit] La Princesse des diamants
It is said that somewhere, an enchanted princess lies captive in a secret palace – a palace you can be sure that you're getting close to if you find diamonds lying in the grass. But in order to free the princess from the curse placed upon her, one would have to find all one-hundred and eleven of the diamonds which make up her broken necklace. Many princes have attempted to break the spell, but all have disappeared without a trace. An original story by Michel Ocelot.
[edit] Le Garçon des figues
In the age of the Pharaohs, an honest young man is gifted a magical fig-tree which sprouts fruit in the middle of winter. In honour of this miracle, he endeavours to present the figs to the queen of Egypt. However, a malicious royal steward would rather have it otherwise. Based on an ancient Egyptian tale.
[edit] La Sorcière
In northern Europe during the middle ages, a medieval king promises his daughter's hand in marriage to any man that can infiltrate the fortress of an evil sorceress, guarded by all manner of mechanical monsters. Is it possible that simple unarmed boy can succeed where knights and princes have failed? An original story by Michel Ocelot.
[edit] Le Manteau de la vieille dame
In Japan during the time of Hokusai (the early 19th century to be exact) an adorable old poet-woman is travelling home when a devious bandit catches sight of her beautiful, expensive coat, and devises a plan to take it from her before the night is up. But unknown to him, she has a few of her own tricks up the sleeves of that beautiful coat.
[edit] La Reine cruelle et le montreur de fabulo
In the year 3000 lives a pitiless queen who seeks out and kills all her would-be suitors with the powers of her mega-radar and disintegrator ray. That is, until the trainer of a strange whistling creature takes up the challenge of evading the radar. Could it be that queen is not really cruel, and that her anger only stems from her loneliness? An original story by Michel Ocelot.
[edit] Prince et princesse
Within the sumptuous elegance of a French rococo garden, a young prince and princess, after some cajoling from the prince, swear their love for each other with a kiss – a kiss which turns out to have some side-effects which are more than just a little unexpected. An original story by Michel Ocelot.
[edit] Lost episodes
Two episodes of Ciné si remain which were not compiled into Princes et princesses.
[edit] Icare
A retelling of the familiar mythological story of Icarus and Daedalus.
[edit] On ne saurait penser à tout
The title translates as "One Could Not Think of All".
[edit] DVD releases
As of March 2008, there are no known plans to release Princes et princesses in the United States, United Kingdom or Australia. It has been released in Canada, however, where it is only available as the second disc of a Kirikou and the Sorceress two-DVD set. Both discs have English subtitles, though only for the main feature on each. Also, there is no DVD which uses the full, original, 1.5:1 aspect ratio – they are optimised for either 4:3 or 16:9 screens, and using the wrong version with the wrong television will result in windowboxing.
| Country | Title | Format | Region code | Publisher | Date | Catalogue # | Aspect ratio | Subtitles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 프린스 앤 프린세스 | NTSC | All | Daum Media | 2003.05.30 | DAD-158 | 1.37:1 fullscreen | English, Korean |
| Canada | Kirikou et la sorcière | NTSC | 1 | Alliance Atlantis | 2004.12.21 | 1.56:1 anamorphic widescreen | English, French | |
| France | Princes et princesses | PAL | 2 | France Télévisions | 2004.07.28 | EDV 174 | 1.56:1 anamorphic widescreen | English, French |
| Japan | プリンス＆プリンセス | NTSC | 2 | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | 2007.07.18 | VWDZ8716 | 1.56:1 anamorphic widescreen | English, French, Japanese |
| Taiwan | 王子與公主 | NTSC | 3 | Power International Multimedia | 2005.09.30 | 1.37:1 fullscreen | English, French, Traditional Chinese |
[edit] Notes
Pilling, Jayne (2001). Animation: 2D and Beyond. Hove: RotoVision SA. ISBN 2880464455. (2001). Ocelot, Michel (Director) [DVD]. France: France Télévisions.
