Minuscule

Minuscule in French means tiny, which applies to both the format and the content of this beautiful animated series. The titles of the episodes in English are written in small initial letters, which is another meaning of the word minuscule.

Each episode brings us a separate story about insects (sometimes some other tiny creatures, such as spiders and snails) lasting about five minutes. It's just amazing what can fit in such a short time.

Insects are visually presented quite realistically, but the stories themselves are caricatured versions of their way of life, very wittily used to entertain and teach us at the same time. There is no dialogue in the series, but the stories are told with pictures and very impressive use of sound effects.

Bright colors, silly sound effects, and surreal situations are also accessible to small children, while adults can find a certain philosophical depth in these stories. And the strongest asset of the series is a positive atmosphere, full of life's joy that is inexorably transmitted to the viewer.

Ladybug and grasshopper are quite villains, but you just can't help but like them and laugh at their petty mischief. And when you see an unfortunate spider in the role of a victim, you will hesitate to slap it with a slipper next time you see one. If the child in you is not completely gone, there is no chance that "Minuscule" will not improve your mood.

According to IMDb, the series consists of 175 episodes, but the DVD release contains 6 discs with 13 episodes each, which is not even half of the total number, and I did not manage to find much more on YouTube either. But as the episodes bring separate stories, not being all in number won't diminish your experience.

9/10.

This series of 60 5 minute CGI shorts is sweet and funny. The characterisations of the various bugs are brilliantly done, and I'm amazed at how sparingly some of the charming stories are told. My kids, 4 and 10, adore these. So do I.

It's available in French only at the moment I think, but that's irrelevant, it matters only for the titles, the animations themselves have no speech.

If I've learned anything from Miniscule, it's don't f*ck with a Ladybird.

Incidentally they seem to be a tribute of sorts to "Microcosmos", a deservedly famous French wildlife documentary documenting one day in a French meadow.

Magnifique!

First of all, 10 is the highest grade here, and it is impossible to grade this piece higher, but also impossible to rate it lower. Why? It has a certain something, it tells you what it's got without words, you understand everything because at some point of your life you were in a similar situation and probably only know in retrospect what evil little things you could have done to get the satisfaction you never did. Watching this will filter out all the 'real world' out of you and essentially you become a child. You understand, but more emotionally than rationally, twists - sometimes incredibly simple - surprise you, but never leave you hunger for something more, like after watching some high profile Oscar-material drama.

Those cartoons give you inner peace and happiness that very very few other movies can, it's for all ages and you can look at it from different perspectives.

Minuscule is the pleasure of plunging into the world at once real and marvelous of the lives of tiny animals inhabiting our meadows, through small 5 minutes stories. No translation needed, no text, no humans, the lives of these tiny animals doesn't collide often with the destiny of mankind. More so with our houses (warm even in winter),gardens (full of delicious food), remnants of our pick-nicks, and of course our transportation (depending on the views: dangerous monsters, crashing engines, real transportation or competitor in the race for the fastest). Observation of the real, poetry and dreams are everywhere. It is such a pleasure to see them! My favorite? The "dream of a snail." Unbelievable that this series is not more known.

Very simple and fun. They (total of 60 five minute episodes in 3 DVDs as of May 2007) are the cutest clips I've ever seen. Its guaranteed that you will forget about all of your daily worries as soon as you start watching them. They are like happiness pills. Just take 4-5 of them whenever you feel down. Unfortunately they are only available from France. Recently they won the "Best TV series for all ages" award at the Pulcinella 2007 awards: "MINUSCULE shows insects in their day-to-day existence, "at grassroots level," as if we were right there with them. Although the series calls to mind a wildlife documentary, it's a documentary in which the insects are presented in burlesque situations, with a fair amount of philosophical contemplation thrown in." I am looking forward for the 4th DVD.