Bim

Once upon a time, there was an island where every child had a donkey for a friend. The most beautiful donkey was Bim, and his friend was Abdullah, a poor boy who never had any money to buy Bim honey cakes. But there was a boy on the island named Massoud. His donkey was an old jenny, because he loved nobody. When he saw Bim, he wanted him. Because he was the governor's son, Massoud took Bim, and played nasty tricks on him, like whitewashing his hindquarters and threatening to cut off the donkey's ears.

It''s a charming little fable by Albert Lamorisse, best remembered for directing The Red Balloon, shot in French North Africa, using children -- and donkeys -- as his performers. With its Arabian Nights sensibilities, it had the critics raving that this was the only true children's movie ever made. I'd dispute that as Franco-centric aggrandisement -- I'm very fond of the 1931 version of EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES myself. However this is a very charming movie.