Madeline

Now this is a cartoon from UPA (known for the Mr. Magoo cartoons). I had never seen it before. Until I watched it on YouTube, that is, and it was really good.

This cartoon is based on one of my favorite children's books, Madeline. Now, in my personal opinion, I really think UPA did very well with adapting the book. It is like Bemelman's original illustrations from the book came to life. Now here's a tidbit I noticed: this cartoon marks the first time the story has been adapted on screen.

So overall, I really love this cartoon, and it's a top favorite from UPA.

The tiniest of the twelve young girls under the tutelage of their devoted Mmme. Clavell is also the most mischievous. She likes playing with mice, teasing the tiger at the zoo and winding up their minder. Then one night, the lady awakens to the sounds of the young "Madeline" complaining of a pain. The doctor is called, she is whisked off to hospital and when they visit her next day she is proudly displaying an appendix scar! That night, the poor old teacher is once again awoken in the middle of the night by eleven girls all declaring in tandem that they, too, want... It's a lovely hand-drawn animation that marries a charming synchronicity as their legs and bodies all move in tandem whilst the are still some little idiosyncrasies for us to spot with their eyes and their smiles. Set against a backdrop of the changing seasons and a Parisian skyline and with a jolly, rhyming, storytelling it's really quite good fun.

In the story, Madeline and her friends live with their teacher, Miss Clavel in an old house in Paris. Paris is a city in a faraway country called France. The people in France don't speak English like we do. They speak French. When they want to say hello, they say "Bonjour." When they want to say goodbye, they say, "Au revoir." Do you know any French words? I'll bet you do. If you have ever sung this song, then you can speak French. Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong. I told you you could speak French. Now let's sing it in English. Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Brother John, Brother, John, All the bells are ringing! All the bells are ringing! Ding, dong ding. Ding, dong, ding. I wonder if those bells woke him up. The children in France sing many songs. Some of them sound like the songs we sing. Here's one about a little girl who is really upset. Her daddy wants her to act like a grown up but she says she's just a kid and she would rather sit around and eat candy. The French word for candy is "bonbons." See if you can hear the word, "bonbons." Ah! Vous derai-je, Maman Ce qui cause mon tourment? Papa veut que je raisonne, Comme une grande personne; Moi, je dis que les bonbons Valent mieux que la raison. Did you notice something strange about that song? Right! The words were in French but the tune was the same one we use when we sing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star." Pretend you're walking in the woods at night and you look up and you see a star twinkling in the sky. Now lets sing Twinkle, twinkle little star in English. Ready? Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are If Madeline and her friends were walking through the woods in France, they might hear an owl. The French word for owl is "hibou." You can't hear the owl in this song but you can hear another bird. Can you guess what it is? Listen carefully. Dans la forêt lointaine On entend le coucou Du haut de son grand chêne Il répond au hibou: "Coucou, coucou" Did you recognize the call of the cuckoo? The cuckoo sounds the same in both French and English but some animals sound different. In our country, a duck says "Quack! Quack!" Can you say that? Right! But in France, the ducks say "Couin! Couin!" Can you say that? Good! Listen to this song about some French ducks. The French word for duck is "Canard." Trois canards déployant ses ailes, Couin! couin! couin! Disait à sa cane fidèle, Couin! couin! couin! Quand donc finiront nos tourments, Couin! couin! couin! Quand donc finiront nos tourments, Couin! couin! couin! couin! Now sing along when we say "Couin! Couin! Couin!" Trois canards déployant ses ailes, Couin! couin! couin! Disait à sa cane fidèle, Couin! couin! couin! Quand donc finiront nos tourments, Couin! couin! couin! Quand donc finiront nos tourments, Couin! couin! couin! couin! Good! There's another animal that sounds a little different in French. Listen to this song and see if you can guess what animal it's about. I'll give you a hint. It's soft and furry and catches rats. Y'a un rat dans l' grenier J'entends le chat qui miaule, Y'a un rat dans l' grenier J'entends le chat miauler. J'entends, j'entends, J'entends le chat qui miaule, J'entends, j'entends, J'entends le chat miauler. What animal was that song about? It was about a cat. That's right. The words said there's a rat in the barn. I hear the cat who sang "Miaule." That rat must have been really afraid of the cat. Are you afraid of animals? Madeline's not. In the story, it said that Madeline was not afraid of mice. She wasn't even afraid of the tiger at the zoo. Do you think she would have been afraid of an elephant? I don't think so. But she might be afraid to climb up on an elephant and take a ride on one. That could be a little scary. Here's a song that says, if you climbed up on an elephant, you would be so high up, it would be really scary. The French word for elephant is "elephant." Monter sur un elephant C'est haut, c'est haut! Monter sur un elephant C'est haut, c'est effrayant! How about 2 elephants? Monter sur deux elephants... C'est haut, c'est haut! Monter sur deux elephants... C'est haut, c'est effrayant! How about 3 elephants? Oh no! Monter sur trois elephants... C'est haut, c'est haut! Monter sur trois elephants... C'est haut, c'est effrayant! Let's sing it in English. Climb up an elephant's back It's high! It's high! Climb up an elephant's back! Oh my, oh my, it's high! Let's try 2 elephants. Climb up 2 elephants' backs It's high! It's high! Climb up 2 elephants' backs Oh my, oh my, it's high! How about 3 elephants? Oh boy! Climb up 3 elephants' backs It's high! It's high! Climb up 3 elephants' backs! Oh my, oh my, it's high! All right! You can climb down from the elephants now. Oh, be careful. You'll probably need a ladder to get down. The name of this song is Alouette and alouette means a lark. Everytime you hear the French words, la tête, point to your head, when you hear, les yeux, point to your eyes, when you hear, le bec, point to your nose, when you hear, la bouche, point to your mouth. Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai la tête. Je te plumerai la tête. Et la tête! Et la tête! Alouette, Alouette! Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai les yeux. Je te plumerai les yeux. Et les yeux! Et les yeux Et la tête! Et la tête! Alouette! Alouette! Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai le bec. Je te plumerai le bec. Et le bec! Et le bec! Et les yeux! Et les yeux Et la tête! Et la tête! Alouette! Alouette! Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai la bouche. Je te plumerai la bouche. Et la bouche! Et la bouche! Et le bec! Et le bec! Et les yeux! Et les yeux Et la tête! Et la tête! Alouette! Alouette! Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te plumerai. Do you remember in the story, Madeline went to the hospital? She had appendicitis. You've probably never had appendicitis but I'll bet you've had a cold. Oh, it's no fun when you have a cold. Your nose is all stuffed up and perhaps you sneeze. Let me hear you sneeze. Good! Can you sneeze 3 times in a row? Let me hear you. 1, 2, 3! Good! Here's a silly song that French children sing while they're bouncing a ball. It's about someone who has a cold. At the end, he sneezes 3 times. It goes like this. Allô, allô, monsieur! Sortez-vous, monsieur? Non, non, monsieur. Pourquoi donc, monsieur? J'ai le rhume monsieur. Toussez donc, monsieur. Atchoum, atchoum, atchoum, monsieur! Now here it is in English. Listen once and sing it with us the second time. Be sure to give 3 loud sneezes at the end. Hello, hello, hello, sir! Meet me at the grocer. No, sir! Why, sir? Because I have a cold, sir. Where did you get your cold, sir? At the north pole, sir. What were you doing there, sir? Shooting polar bears, sir. Let me hear you sneeze, sir. Achoo, achoo, achoo, sir! Now let's do it together. Hello, hello, hello, sir! Meet me at the grocer. No, sir! Why, sir? Because I have a cold, sir. Where did you get your cold, sir? At the north pole, sir. What were you doing there, sir? Shooting polar bears, sir. Let me hear you sneeze, sir. Achoo, achoo, achoo, sir! Good! You know, it's fun learning about children from other countries, isn't it? Maybe someday, one of you will travel to France and then you can sing these songs with the French children you meet there. Goodbye for now! Au revoir!

This short from the UPA studio was nominated for an Oscar. Based on the Madeline series of childrens books that recently received a boost and have led to a feature-length live action movie as well as an animated series, UPA did this short back in the 1950s and it captures the books' flavor very well. This short can be found on one of the Columbia Classics series of tapes released some years ago and is well worth watching.