A cartoon for the little ones, to make you laugh and think.
The short film “Zebra” was selected for the Takorama 2022 festival organized by the Films pour enfants association.
1-What happens at the start of the film?
A zebra hits a tree and loses its stripes. He only has two stripes left.
2-What is the zebra's reaction?
The zebra is horrified.
3-Why is the zebra trying to hit the tree again?
Maybe he thinks this will help him get his stripes back.
But on the contrary, every time the zebra hits the tree, the pattern of its coat changes.
4-What happens next?
The zebra runs and its coat keeps changing. Too busy looking at his fur, he doesn't see the tree trunk in his path and stumbles. He then tries to regain his original coat, in vain, by jumping on himself.
Teachers can pause the short film at this point (at 2 min) and ask the children to imagine a sequel: what is the reaction of the other zebras when they discover the zebra's coat?
5-What is the reaction of the other zebras when they discover the originality of the zebra’s coat?
They cheer the zebra and applaud him. They ask him to change his coat again.
6-What is the zebra's reaction?
He is proud of his originality and jumps for joy to change the color of his coat.
The soundtrack can be listened to independently because it contributes a lot to the comedy of the film.
In the three short films Ant, The Short Story of a Fox and a Mouse and Zebra, it is interesting to compare the initial state, the situation of the protagonist(s) at the beginning of the film, to the final state. How did the change take place? What happened that transformed their lives?
Extensions and references
1- Wealth is in difference
- Debate/open responses.
“Wealth is in difference”, Albert Jacquard.
Some of the continuations of the story imagined by the children at minute 2 of the film will certainly have suggested that the other zebras were going to make fun of the zebra.
Why not organize a little debate based on the consequences imagined by the children?
2- Zebra stripes
1-Why do zebras have stripes?
We don't yet know why exactly. Many theories, not validated, are proposed to understand what the usefulness of stripes could be.
Camouflage: stripes can allow zebras to hide better in the forest, between the trees.
Escape from predators: when a herd flees, the stripes of the zebras merge, thus blurring the silhouette of the zebras in the eyes of a predator, a lion for example.
Protection against tsetse flies: the tsetse fly, responsible for sleeping sickness, to which zebras are more susceptible than other animals, is attracted by the sight of large monochrome areas; the scratches would therefore constitute protection.
Social cohesion: the stripes are unique and would make it easier to identify each individual in a group.
Educational activities offered by Christophe and Olivier Defaye, with the advice of Anne-Marie Filho.
