The Red Balloon (short film)
| The Red Balloon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year Released: | 1956 |
| MPAA Rating (USA): | NR |
| Director: | Albert Lamorisse |
| Starring: | Pascal Lamorisse |
The Red Balloon (French: Le Ballon rouge) is a 1956 fantasy featurette directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse.[1]
The thirty-four minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient, mute, red balloon, was filmed in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris.
It won numerous awards, including an Oscar for Lamorisse for writing the best original screenplay in 1956 and the Palme d'Or for short films at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The film also became popular with children and educators. This is the only short film to win the Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
Lamorisse used his children as actors in the film. His son, Pascal Lamorisse, plays Pascal in the main role, and his daughter Sabine portrays a little girl.
Plot
The film, which has a music score but almost no dialogue, tells of Pascal (Pascal Lamorisse), who, on his way to school one morning, discovers a large helium-filled, extremely spherical red balloon.
As Pascal plays with his newfound toy, he realizes the balloon has a mind and will of its own. It begins to follow him wherever he goes, and not rise, at times floating outside his bedroom window, as Pascal's mother will not allow it in their apartment.
The red balloon follows Pascal through the streets of Paris, and the pair draw inquisitive looks from adults and the envy of other children as they wander the streets. At one point the balloon enters Pascal's classroom, causing an uproar from the other pupils. The noise alerts the principal, who becomes angry with Pascal and locks him up in his office until school is over. At another, Pascal and his balloon encounter a little girl (Sabine Lamorisse) with a blue balloon that also seems to have a mind of its own, as evidenced by its act of following Pascal's.
In their wanderings around the neighborhood, Pascal and the balloon encounter a gang of bullies, who are envious of his balloon, and they soon destroy his new friend through the use of slingshots.
The film ends as the other balloons in Paris come to Pascal's aid and take him on a cluster balloon ride over the city.
