The Happy Duckling

This is really all about the last minute or so, but en route it provides us with some cleverly crafted folded paper animation that I really did quite enjoy. A young lad is walking home when he is adopted by a cheery duckling. He isn't interested and so tries to chase it away, but it perseveres and as they travel through the countryside he begins to realise that this is quite an useful friend to have. Nearing home, though, his imperative to ditch his pal becomes more pressing. Quickly we see why and it's time for some sharp, apprehensive, intakes of breath from us as his feathered friend persists in tracking down his pal. There is one scene when they are walking along the road where three or four rabbits cross in front of them. By flapping up from the flat page then down again, their movement is conveyed and that quickly applied simplicity made me smile. The whole construction of the story and of it's frequently changing locations is delivered via some page-turning pop-up solutions that reminded me of those Christmas cards you used to get in the late 1970s, and I reckon there must have been a phenomenal amount of creative work gone into the painting and layering of these scenes and characters in this delicate and mischievous piece of cinema.