A beautiful short film about friendship imbued with poetry. Moving characters to spark children's imagination.
The short film “The Short Story of ...” was selected for the Takorama 2022 festival organized by the Films pour enfants association.
1-What do the small holes in the snow at the beginning of the film (from second 10) represent?
These are the fox's footsteps, which we discover later.
2-Who are the two main characters in the film?
The two main characters are a fox and a mouse.
3-Why does the fox chase the mouse?
The beginning of the film suggests that the fox wants to eat the mouse.
4-What does the mouse do to escape the fox?
The mouse climbs a tree, takes refuge next to the two sleeping owls and pretends to sleep.
5-What does the fox decide to do?
The fox grabs the branch with its fangs to bend it and make the mouse slide.
6-What happens then?
The two owls wake up and fly away.
The fox lets go of the branch to catch the mouse, which is then propelled into the air. The mouse lands on a frozen lake.
The fox catches up with the mouse but its weight causes the surface of the lake to crack and both fall into the water.
Teachers can pause the short film at this point (at 3 min) and ask the children to imagine a sequel: what happens when the fox and the mouse fall into the water?
7-What happens when the fox and the mouse fall into the water?
At first, the fox rises to the surface, but he realizes that the mouse does not rise and, on the contrary, continues to sink. The fox then decides to save the mouse and takes it out of the water.
8-Does the fox manage to get out of the water on its own?
The mouse wants to help the fox but it seems difficult.
At the same time, the two owls try to catch the mouse but fail and knock over a patch of ice with their weight, creating a wide enough exit door for the fox.
9-How does the film end?
The fox and the mouse will become the best friends in the world.
The film ends with a play scene between them.
After viewing, children will be able to listen to the soundtrack without the images and have fun identifying the main scenes of the film using the sound. The children will perhaps hear the speed of the music that accompanies the race, its slowness and the notes played when the fox is alone, the sounds of the wind, the crunching of the snow, the muffled sounds in the winter landscapes...
Extensions and references
1- Incredible and improbable friendships between animals
- Draw a friendship between two animals.
Unlikely friendships sometimes form between certain animals: a dog and a cat, a giraffe and an ostrich, a tiger and a bear. It's your turn to imagine and draw two animals whose friendship would normally be uncertain.
2- Empathy in animals
- Debate/open responses.
Animals can also help each other and feel the suffering of others.
This is an opportunity to talk to children about compassion and the feeling of empathy in animals.
3- Expression of emotions
- Identify emotions.
Identify emotions and feelings in the film that humanize the animals, their looks, their postures, etc.
4- Owls and owls
1-What is the difference between the owl and the owl?
No, the owl is not the female owl. Both belong to the raptor family, but they are two different animals. The only difference is that the owl has two small tufts of feathers, called tufts, on the top of its head, which the owl does not have.
2-Describe the owls.
Owls have large round heads, powerful claws and large, round eyes. They have the ability to turn their heads 270° and have a hooked beak, perfect for cutting up their prey.
3-Why, at the beginning of the film, are the two owls sleeping in broad daylight?
Owls are nocturnal animals: they live at night and sleep during the day.
4-What do owls eat?
Owls are carnivorous predators and eat large insects and small rodents (voles, mice, squirrels, etc.). Great horned owls catch and eat skunks, snakes, frogs, birds, bats and even fish.
Educational activities offered by Christophe and Olivier Defaye, with the advice of Anne-Marie Filho.
