Le merle

This is based on an old French-Canadian song where a blackbird gradually loses a part of it's body - but whichever part it loses then returns, in triplicate! Manna from heaven for Norman McLaren, who has created a charming and musical short animation depicting a cheery manipulation of shapes that resemble a bird at times, but as ever with this artist, can be jumbled up and re-aligned to make just about anything. Even when it is the recognisable merle, the body has the ability to annoy even the most agile of double-jointed creations by discombobulating itself at will. This has a cracking score (from Le Trio Lyrique) to accompany the on-screen antics and I think this might actually be my favourite from this imaginative Canadian.

Le merle (1958)

*** (out of 4)

At the start of this Norman McLaren short we're given a brief introduction to the song Le merle, which basically means The Blackbird. We learn that in each verse of the song the big loses a different part of its body only to have it later reform.

That's basically what this experimental short does. We're shown the blackbird and then as the song moves along the animation shows him falling apart and forming various images. Being McLaren you shouldn't expect a visual blackbird but it's more just various shapes that forms the character. I really enjoyed this short because the song itself was rather catchy and the animation too was quite good. This certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone but if you're a fan of experimental filmmaking then it's worth watching.

This is a cute little animated film that is set to a traditional "nonsense song"--one that is a popular folk tune whose words make little sense. Using cut out shapes, the animators are able to make the shapes come to life and dance to the music about a bird that keeps losing pieces--only to have them come back in even greater numbers. This is reasonably interesting but I really think it would be appreciated even more by an audience that actually speaks and understands French. I had trouble following it since my French is only passable at best.

Overall, it's an experimental film that many will find not particularly exciting. I've seen several of Norman McLaren's films (some of which are quite similar) and I am definitely not a fan--mostly because it just isn't to my taste. However, lovers of experimental animation will no doubt enjoy it more as would French speaking people who can follow the song.

Set to a delightful French-Canadian nonsense song, LE MERLE (The Blackbird), is the animated story of a peculiar little blackbird who loses various body parts (beak, eye, head, neck, crop, back, wings, tail & breast), only to have them return three-fold! Utilizing simple shapes (lines & circles) cut out of white paper as an abstract representation of the blackbird, and set against a beautiful pastel-drawn landscape, both the bird and its surroundings move in perfect synchronization with the music and the lyrics to play out this silly tale. McLaren's innate sense of timing and superb animation skills truly bring this jaunty, and often dizzying, little two-dimensional creature to life right before your eyes. A great film for any aged viewer. And you don't even have to understand French to follow it!

10/10. It's impossible not to SMILE while watching it!

Maclaren's insight in animation is rare , and his version of the french canadian folk song "Le Merle" is no exception. The song is about a blackbird that loses a part of its body only to get it back two fold , eyes . beak , wings , legs , feet , all join in this dizzy romp that cannot fail to raise a smile. Watch it and you will be singing it in your head for days , its speedy lunacy will stay with you for a very long time. A cinematic rush.