The film tells a simple story experienced by all children: how to invent an imaginary world to escape from a daily life hemmed in by the rules imposed by parents (and the whole of society behind them). The medieval setting adds a historical touch which sets out, in the first part of the film, to chip away at the idyllic image of the princess.
The film plays on the (rather facile) opposition between nature and culture. The world dreamed of by the little princess is in fact that of the threatening forest, populated by creatures that are frightening at first glance, whose plant life takes over everything, from the walls of the castle to the objects of the culture they want to make her conform to. The graphics support this opposition between the geometric rigidity of the castle and the invasive fluidity of the animals and plants of the forest.
The story is therefore that of the discovery by the princess of the value of transgression. But the experience is at best a small prick, with the character returning to the family circle to share her discovery for a moment. In the process, we will have mischievously navigated through a world of clichéd images and glimpsed the possibility of their flip side.
Understand the story and themes, express your feelings and develop critical thinking.
1Why does the little girl agree to do all the activities that are imposed on her?
A child is supposed to do what adults ask of him... A princess has duties regarding her rank, she must behave in a certain way, which she must learn...
2Why is she afraid of forest creatures?
They are monsters: unknown creatures that live outside of humans. They come from the forest, which itself is a dangerous place.
3Why can we say that the world of the forest is the opposite of that of the castle?
The forest is organic, wild, disordered, free, while the castle is mineral, partitioned, regulated, constrained...
4What are all the elements that show that we are in a “princess story”?
The castle, the medieval costumes, the paintings, the servants, the conventional activities (deportment, embroidery, music, literature)...
5What new does the film show about princesses?
Their life was difficult, there were lots of rules to learn. They were not necessarily happy with their constrained situation. They were like prisoners...
6In the castle, what are the portraits used for? Do they have an influence on the princess's life?
They are the princess's ancestors. They are the image of what she must become, models she must reproduce.
7Why does the princess have so much fun with the forest creatures?
They let her experience what she cannot usually do. They are not subject to the rules of castle life, they break these rules. They take her out of the castle. They allow her to use her body freely.
8What did the princess learn?
That life was not limited to the rules of the life of a princess, that her parents could also want to have fun, that the way we must behave in society is like a garment that hides what we really are... References On the history of women: History of women in the West - volume 2 The Middle Ages, Georges Duby and Michelle Perrot, Christiane Klapisch-Zuber (dir.) (Plon, 1990). On the history of man's relationship with the forest: A history of the forest, by Martine Chalvet (Seuil, 2011).
Created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC.
Watching the film with the family, educational activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.
