In each story the imagery dazzles at first, then becomes somewhat dreary; Ocelot's storytelling never quite matches his visual abilities.
Tales of the Night(Les Contes de la nuit)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France · 2011
1h 24m
Director Michel Ocelot
Starring Julien Beramis, Marine Griset, Jonathan Kite
Genre Fantasy, Animation
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, an Aztec kingdom, the African plains, and even the Land of the Dead. In Ocelot’s storytelling, history blends with fairytale as viewers are whisked off to enchanted lands full of dragons, werewolves, captive princesses, sorcerers, and enormous talking bees - and each fable ends with its own ironic twist.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
A delight from start to finish.
New York Post by Farran Smith Nehme
More likely to play well with older children, due to its split-up story line, Ocelot's creation is like nothing else they are likely to see animating the multiplex.
Slant Magazine by Joseph Jon Lanthier
Michel Ocelot's recent cartoons cleverly advance Lotte Reiniger's prototypical stop-motion technique into the digital age.
The film feels naive for an audience that's ready for some harder truths.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The film is intended for family audiences. It is so gentle and whimsical that one wonders if American children, accustomed to the whiz-bang action of most animation, will accept it. Maybe there would be hope for the younger ones - but what will they make of the subtitles?
Tales, which (as the title suggests) is an "Arabian Nights"-style omnibus, has similarly eye-bending backgrounds but a creatively monochromatic foreground that comes to feel like a limitation.
Users who liked this film also liked
Contempt
(Le Mépris)
A vivid display of conflict between passion and art.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1963
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, Giorgia Moll, Fritz Lang, Raoul Coutard
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Young Girls of Rochefort
(Les demoiselles de Rochefort)
They're singing and dancing in the streets.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1967
- Director Jacques Demy
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, George Chakiris, Grover Dale, Michel Piccoli
- Genre Music, Romance, Drama, Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
The Chorus
(Les Choristes)
A new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration in postwar France.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland, Germany • 2004
- Director Christophe Barratier
- Cast Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Kad Merad, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Marie Bunel, Jean-Baptiste Maunier
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts
(Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2005
- Director Michel Ocelot, Bénédicte Galup
- Cast Pierre-Ndoffé Sarr, Awa Sène Sarr, Robert Liensol, Marie-Philomène Nga, Emile Abossolo M'bo, Pascal N'Zonzi
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest
(Azur et Asmar)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Spain • 2006
- Director Michel Ocelot
- Cast Cyril Mourali, Karim M'Ribah, Hiam Abbass, Sofia Boutella, Fatma ben Khell, Patrick Timsit
- Genre Animation, Family
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Tales from Earthsea
(ゲド戦記)
A powerful wizard and his prince companion must find the cause of the troubles facing their world.
- ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2006
- Director Goro Miyazaki
- Cast Junichi Okada, Aoi Teshima, Bunta Sugawara, Yūko Tanaka, Teruyuki Kagawa, Jun Fubuki
- Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Source
(La Source des femmes)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Italy • 2011
- Director Radu Mihăileanu
- Cast Leïla Bekhti, Hafsia Herzi, Biyouna, Sabrina Ouazani, Saleh Bakri, Hiam Abbass
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Princes and Princesses
(Princes et Princesses)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2000
- Director Michel Ocelot
- Cast Yves Barsacq, Philippe Cheytion, Arlette Mirapeu, François Voisin
- Genre Drama, Animation, Fantasy, Comedy, Family, Romance, Mystery, Adventure
- Available on No streaming locations found.
A Serbian Film
(Srpski film)
Not all films have a happy ending.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Serbia • 2010
- Director Srđan Spasojević
- Cast Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović, Jelena Gavrilović, Slobodan Beštić, Katarina Žutić, Anđela Nenadović
- Genre Crime, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Fandango At Home, VUDU Free, Xumo Play
Song of the Sea
Ben helps his mute sister find her voice in a world of Celtic mythology.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland, Denmark, Belgium • 2014
- Director Tomm Moore
- Cast Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Lisa Hannigan
- Genre Family, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Kirikou and the Men and Women
(Kirikou et les hommes et les femmes)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2012
- Director Michel Ocelot
- Cast Sabine Pakora, Romann Berrux, Awa Sène Sarr, Eythan Solomon
- Genre Fantasy, Animation, Family, Adventure
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Zero Theorem
A computer hacker is tasked with solving an impossible mathematical problem whose solution is supposed to reveal the meaning of life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Romania, France • 2013
- Director Terry Gilliam
- Cast Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Mélanie Thierry, Lucas Hedges, Matt Damon, Ben Whishaw
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, AMC+, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
Mune: Guardian of the Moon
(Mune, le gardien de la lune)
- France • 2015
- Director Alexandre de La Patellière, Benoît Philippon, Alexandre Heboyan
- Cast Michaël Grégorio, Omar Sy, Izïa Higelin, Patrick Préjean, Féodor Atkine, Michel Mella
- Genre Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Three Inventors
(Les trois inventeurs)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1980
- Director Michel Ocelot
- Cast Michel Ocelot, Michel Elias
- Genre Animation
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess
(Ivan Tsarévitch et la Princesse Changeante)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2016
- Director Michel Ocelot
- Cast Olivia Brunaux, Isabelle Guiard, Marine Griset, Julien Béramis, Yves Barsacq, Asil Raïs
- Genre Romance, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Polar
If the job doesn't kill you, retirement will
- ✭
- Germany, United States • 2019
- Director Jonas Åkerlund
- Cast Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Fei Ren, Ruby O. Fee, Matt Lucas
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Ride Your Wave
(きみと、波にのれたら)
Hinako falls in love with Minato, a handsome firefighter. But their love is short-lived when he is lost at sea.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Masaaki Yuasa
- Cast Ryota Katayose, Rina Kawaei, Honoka Matsumoto, Kentaro Ito, Mami Horikoshi, You Taichi
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Hoopla