Though Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is often times called the first animated feature, that statement is actually false. I am not saying this to deny the historical importance of Snow White as that film is still extremely important and an incredible movie, but rather to give attention to what has come before. The Tale of the Fox was the sixth animated feature film released and was released just eight months before Snow White. The animated features before Tale of the Fox include El Apostle (1937), Without a Trace (1918), The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), Peludo City (1931), The New Gulliver (1935), and The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (1936). Tale of the Fox was the first animated feature to come from France.
This film was directed by Ladislas Starevich and Irene Starevich. Ladislas Starevich was one of the greatest pioneers in animation history. He was one of the earliest directors to define animation as an art instead of just a novelty. He worked mostly in stop motion animation, creating such brilliant shorts as The Cameraman's Revenge (1912), The Mascot (1933), The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922) and The Insects' Christmas (1913). The Tale of the Fox is his only animated feature though he did direct a live action feature called The Night Before Christmas (1912). Irene Starevich was his wife. It is hard to say how much or what she contributed to this film because she worked on very few films and in all those films she worked with her husband. Other than this movie the other films she co-directed with her husband were The Mascot's Wedding (1935) and Fétiche en voyage de noces (1936).
This was completed in 1930, but due to audio problems it would not be released until 1937.
The story of this film centers around a fox named Reynard that tricks other animals and then eats them. This causes the king (a lion obviously) to pass a law saying that animals cannot eat other animals (making an exception for himself of course). Reynard does not listen to these orders and the king decides to have the fox arrested (something easier said than done).
This film is quite easily a masterpiece it has a brilliant and very funny sense of dark humor. The animation is downright incredible. It is amazing to think that this is the first feature film to be completely done in stop motion (The New Gulliver featured a mixture of live action and stop motion), because it is so incredibly well done here. The story is great. The pacing is fantastic. Most of all though these characters really come to life on the screen. This film is a great work of art and a fantastic beginning to French animated features.
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/reynard-the-fox-in-animation/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021309/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation by Giannalberto Bendazzi
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