Every Child

This animated short follows an unwanted baby who is passed from house to house until he is taken in and cared for by two homeless men; it illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration of Children's Rights: every child is entitled to a name and a nationality.

A segment from an UNICEF sponsored film created by the National Film Board of Canada in order to promote the Declaration of Children's Rights.

Also known as: The most innovative alternative to the Foley Artist.

Which was the most interesting aspect of this zero coherent dialogue film.

Spoilers (not really): The aforementioned "two homeless men" turn out to be none other than two ingenious mime artists that use only their bodies to convey a plentitude of endless sound expressions once may need to hear to believe.

They are Bernard Carez and Patrice Arbour, also known as Les Mîmes Électriques (The Electric Mimes), the pair of virtuosos that makes these six minutes worth watching. Had these two made up the entirety of the six minutes, the star rating would have been at least doubled.

In 1979, the United Nations and its program UNICEF started a fund-raising campaign that designated the year as, "The Year of the Child". That campaign is referenced by this short at the very beginning. The short went on to win the Academy Award and is an incredibly moving look at one child's journey. The title refers to the concept that every child is entitled to a name and a personal identity as an individual as well as humane treatment. I'm very glad to see that this is in-print and it is most highly recommended. Possibly the best thing the National Film Board of Canada has ever produced, at least to date.

Produced to contribute to an UN initiative, this short feature sees a young child sitting on the lap of one of two sound effects artists in a radio studio and then takes us on an animated journey as this mischievous and curious baby manages to get itself passed from pillar to post, anonymously, unable to find anyone who wished to keep it. It can be a little poignant at times. People would rather focus on their work, or keep their pet or a romanic liaison - indeed just about any excuse to, well, be excused. Funny how it's usually those who have the least that give most... Quite a sad indictment, really - but nicely animated.

That this short won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short should be conclusive proof that the Academy can prefer political or sociological content over quality. The animation itself is OK, except for ugly character designs and a style that varies inconsistently between sophisticated and childish. The sound is interesting, as Les Mimes Électriques provide all the sound effects in the cartoon using just their voices, and masking anything that might be dialogue as incoherent mumbling. Unfortunately, what passes for the story, however well-intentioned it may be, is both preachy and banal, as a baby is abandoned on a succession on doorsteps, with no one able to find room in their lives to take her in, until she ends up at a dump where a couple of homeless people decide to care for her. Apparently the makers of this cartoon think that simply being in favor of children having good homes is a strong enough social statement to build a cartoon around.

(And while it didn't affect my rating, the obvious subtext that the poor are more humane (or, indeed, more human) than the wealthy or the middle class is annoying, as both a stereotype and a cliché.)

Made for the UN International Year of the Child, I saw this short almost twenty years ago at a theatre in Frankfurt Germany. It was played before the main feature. I have longed to see it again because it was so funny. Fans of animation should catch this classic! Funny for all ages.