L'Enfant au grelot - Educational Workshop

e d u c at i o n a l g u i d e

L’Enfant au Grelot

by Jacques-Rémy Girerd Guide created by Azadée Tolooie

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CONTENTS

I.

To understand the film better  Technical information  Synopsis  Notes about the author  About the film

page 3 page 3 page 3 page 4 page 5

II.

To work in class with the film  Teaching guide  Pre-viewing pedagogical activities  Post-viewing pedagogical activities  Student guide  Pre-viewing pedagogical activities  Post-viewing pedagogical activities

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Sitography

page 8 page 11 page 15 page 14 page 22

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Guide made by Azadée Tolooie, pedagogical referent at Alliance Française of Puerto Rico for the project Festinema Junior 2016 with the support of the Délégation Générale de la Fondation Alliance Française aux Etats-Unis, and translated into English, with the support of the Institut Français.

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I.

To understand the film better

Technical information CHARLIE’S CHRISTMAS Short animation film France - 1998 Duration: 25 mins Director: Jacques-Rémy Girerd Storyline: Jacques-Rémy Girerd, Benoît Chieux, Damien LouchePélissier Storyboard: Iouri Tcherenkov, Antoine Lanciaux, Marc Robinet Graphic design: Benoît Chieux, Damien Louche Pélissier Animation: Studio Folimage Sound and editing: Hervé Guichard Assisted by: Loïc Burkhardt Musique : Serge Besset Orchestre Lyrique Avignon-Provence Producer: Patrick Even 8 International awards including the Cartoon d’Or 1998

Synopsis After a snowstorm a few days before Christmas, in the middle of a forest similar to one found in fairytales, an abandoned baby in a wicker basket is found by the mailman, Grand-Jacques. The young baby is holding tightly in his hand a curious bell. Grand-Jacques takes him to the orphanage of the adorable Mamie Rose. The child, Charlie, grows up at the small orphanage along with six other boys. He often confides in his lucky bell and tries to solve the mystery of his origins. A few days before Christmas, Charlie accompanies the mailman, his best friend, who has to deliver the letters children wrote for Santa Claus…

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Notes about the author « My concern to offer the public a quality film met the one to offer the same thing to my own kids. “Charlie’s Christmas” was designed as a gift. »

Born in 1952, Jacques-Rémy Girerd is successively from 1978 to 1988: primary school teacher, middle school teacher’s assistant, professor at the School of Fine Arts in Grenoble... In 1984, he founds the studio Folimage, which he directs. He has directed in total around a hundred works (television series, short films, medium-length films) and asserts himself as a French specialist in technique for claymation films.

Since 1988 and the birth of his first child, he devotes himself mainly to directing children’s films and creates many “edutainment” series for television (Le bonheur de la vie, Mine de rien, Ma petite planète chérie) which were a success in all five continents. In 1997, he signs L’enfant au grelot, a medium-length film that debuted in movie theaters in 1998 and obtained great success (330,000 spectators). In 2003, the full-length film La Prophétie des grenouilles also receives great acknowledgement. His film Mia et le Migou, released at the end of 2008, won various awards. JacquesRémy Girerd is also an author of juvenile novels and picture books (Cœur de trèfle).

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About the film

Folimage Studio Founded in 1984 by Jacques-Rémy Girerd, this animation film studio is a center for image by image creation where almost anything is possible thanks to the passion, the talent, and the imagination of about a hundred artists and technicians.

The Universe of Stories Fairytales originate from myths and legends of universal topics. It responds to a very precise narrative structure, talked about in the works of linguists such as Propp and Greimas: a character, enduring a hard time or a wrongdoing must go through a certain numbers of tests and adventures, which often question his position or his existence, to reach new, stable circumstances.

Charlie’s Christmas narrates the adventures of the main character, Charlie, who suffers not knowing where he is from and takes off to find out.

The two graphic authors of the film, Benoît Chieux and Damien Louche Pélissier have found the mood to be just; the lights, adequate; and the esthetic form that was suitable to imagine as favorable for this story: 250 sceneries, props of a dream world, tender and poetic resembling eternal stories.

The stereotypical characters (ample noses, lanky bodies, and the nicely shriveled up extremities, two steps from being a caricature), play marvelously with the aforementioned design, forming a strong esthetic, whole without excess, funny without vulgarity and sensible without gratuitous effects.

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The soundtrack The original music directed by Serge Besset and played by 45 orchestra musicians, different voices interpreted by great actors, real children lending their voices to drawings of toddlers, sound effects, and atmospheres recorded with precision, nothing was left to chance during the creation of the film’s soundtrack. The latter was not designed as an element brought up at the end of production to accompany the film, but instead as “an essential component, an indispensable force for the success of the subtle alchemy necessary for the direction of a cinematographic piece. Each of the twenty six musical pieces, carefully chiseled by the composer, was the object of meticulous and precise work as per the director’s intentions.

Furthermore, the creativity of Serge Besset was able to be fully and freely expressed to produce a personal, coherent work using a vast range of sentiments.

A film to be drawn Animation is a film genre which uses image by image shots as the basic technique. The cartoon Charlie’s Christmas distinguishes itself from the current production of films for a young public by the charm and precision given to its art. Each picture is composed of multiple copies (Celluloid). The ground color of the picture corresponds to the background colors of the scenery. The second one corresponds to the details of the scenery. The third one corresponds to the central character or element.

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The characters

Charlie He is the hero of the film. An orphan, he has a sense of real things, and he is both generous and courageous. His only link with his past is a little golden bell which Charlie had held tightly in his hand when the mailman found him lost in the forest.

Grand-Jacques He is a less than ordinary man who has the allure of Jacques Tati on his bicycle. He is the friend that every child has dreamt about. This very appealing poet becomes Charlie’s friend and substitute father.

Rose The very nice Mrs Rose runs a foster home for abandoned children.

Her life and that of her small orphanage are turned upside down by the arrival of little Charlie.

Père-Noël Leaving alone deep in the forest, he rejects the mailman who every year brings him the letters written to Santa by the children. Why this refusal? A mystery…

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II.

To work in class with the film

Teaching guide Pre-viewing pedagogical activities

These learning activities were made for a public of 4 to 6 year old students in order to prepare them for viewing the film in its entirety and then develop the content in class.

The educational development may be done in the maternal language or French language depending on the linguistic profile of the students and the teacher’s objective (FLE-FLS-FLI).

Activity 1: The poster of the film a) You may from the very beginning ask the students to find the characters of the title Charlie’s Christmas on the poster. Ask them to identify the time of day (night: the star, the color of the sky, the dark blue), the season (winter: clothes, red nose and cheeks due to the cold, the snow), the place (the forest: the pine trees). Put them on the path of Christmas.

You may draw their attention to the setting of the image (view from above) and show them that the character is seen from the sky. Emphasize the size of the star too as a central element. What is its role?

It is possible to ask the students if the poster looks more like a drawing or a photo and ask them what type of film it is (animation film, cartoon). b) -

Ask them to formulate hypotheses about the story: Why is the child alone in the forest?

What is going to happen to him?

Who is going to be able to help him?

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Activity 2: The bell a) You may familiarize the students with the object first: show them an image or bring a bell to class. You may ask them questions: what is a bell for? If this bell were magical, what could it do? What character uses a bell (Santa Claus)? b) Ask them to color the bells with their favorite colors.

Activity 3: The characters a) In order to understand the clothing vocabulary, ask the students to describe the characters’ clothes. Draw their attention to the “uniforms” of the mailman and Santa Claus. Do they know other jobs where it is necessary to where a uniform? b) Ask them to formulate hypotheses about the relationships between the characters and their purpose in the film. Do not confirm anything, stay at the hypothesis stage.

Activity 4: The friendliness of the characters a) The characters all share certain physical characteristics, such as a prominent nose, small eyes, round and rosy cheekbones, small hands and feet, a round face. Ask the students to physically describe the characters while emphasizing these similarities. Explain to them that this appearance makes the characters kind and childlike. b) Ask them to draw themselves following the characters’ style: small eyes, big nose, round and rosy cheekbones, small hands and feet, round face, round or twig body, etc.

You may also begin by providing an example and draw a self-portrait of the same kind, which will amuse the children and will make them want to imitate you.

Activity 5: The tenderness in the film All throughout the film, little Charlie, though an orphan, is pampered by his foster family, Mamie Rose, Jacques the mailman, his friend the star, and his friends at the orphanage. He gets all kinds of kisses and hugs (kisses on the cheek, on the forehead, hug from Mamie Rose, Eskimo kisses from his papa,

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etc.) during the whole story. This tenderness tends to be sweet, warm, and reassuring for children even though it’s a film about the separation of a child from his father. a) You may start by asking the students, who are the people in their lives who give them the most hugs and kisses. They will probably talk about their family. Make them clarify at what time of the day and for what reasons (waking up, going to school, going to bed, saying goodbye, saying “I love you�, consoling, etc.). You, therefore, introduce with these questions the topic of the importance of affection in the life of a child. b) In order to work this topic, we propose a fun game, especially for the little ones: the game of hugs and kisses. For this, Cut the heart cards and paste them on cardboard paper so the cards are less flimsy.

Before the beginning of the game, show them the key of the game. Have them practice the meaning of each color.

Development of the game: Form circles of 7 students. You will give one game of 7 heart cards to each group, each student holding one heart card. At your signal, they must move around as fast as possible so the colors match (like dominoes) and that the flower of hearts can be formed. Once the flower is formed, they must give a sign (clap their hands, jump or yell) so the other groups stop the game. They must then continue to a round of kisses/hugs corresponding to the color they have in common with their neighbor. If a student gets confused, his/her turn is over, and the game restarts. The group that forms the circle of colors as fast as possible and correctly follows the color instructions wins.

If you have a small group of students, you may play around a table and hand two or three cards per student so they can form a flower as fast as possible.

Activity 6: The principles of Christmas The film transports us to the universe of Christmas. In order to introduce the principles of this topic, ask the students to circle the items that make them think of Christmas. Careful, not all your students may agree, so invite them to validate their choice and spark a debate.

You will find a game at the end of this worksheet for before viewing the film (the game of the Christmas tree that loses an ornament) as well as a handcraft activity (The Christmas candy cane) which you may present to your students at any moment of your teaching session.

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Teaching guide Post-viewing pedagogical activities

Activity 1: Recalling the film This activity allows the students to reorder the appearance of other characters in Charlie’s life and to better understand the flashback of his brutal disappearance, during his fall from the sleigh.

Ask the students to cut the images and reorder them (either on the table or paste them on a piece of paper). This activity may be done in small groups.

Solution: Grand Jacques finds baby Charlie, he entrusts him to Mamie Rose, the children are on the roof to pay with the stars, Charlie is outside and looks for Santa Claus, Santa Claus read Charlie’s letter and leaves to meet him, Charlie and his dad are finally reunited.

Activity 2: The reunions Introduce the topic of child/parent separation and ask the students if they know other stories or cartoons based on this topic.

Move on to activity 2, the labyrinth game.

Solution:

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Take advantage of this moment to talk about the orphanage and the foster family. Ask the students why it is important to have family or parents. What role do they play in our lives?

Activity 3: The letter to Santa Claus This activity will complement a sequence dedicated to an explanation of the function of the Post Office: sending a letter, its stamping, and its arrival in a mailbox. You may also visit Santa Claus’s Post Office website in Libourne, France: http://www.laposte.fr/pere-Noël/ and then organize a short field trip to the nearest mailbox so that the students can mail their letters to Santa Claus, stamps not being necessary for the North Pole! Letters addressed with Santa Claus’s name arrive directly to the Post Office in Libourne, even though they are not stamped.

Activities 4 and 5 are tracing exercises complementary to the topic of Christmas.

Activity 4: Draw the film. a) Grand Jacques’s room is greatly inspired by Van Gogh’s painting. It could be interesting to see a reproduction of this painting during a language lesson and prepare the bigger ones to form links between the works of art.

Clicking on the reproductions, you will zoom in to the painting which may be helpful) http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_chambre_de_Van_Gogh_%C3%A0_Arles

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b) Draw a scene from the film: each student will select a scene from the film that he will draw, respecting the instructions of the “three layers�: the background of the scenery will be colored in pastel tones on a white sheet of paper, the details of the scenery will be drawn with color crayons on tracing paper, the characters will be drawn on a separate tracing paper. Observe the game of stacking three layers of the picture with the students and have them exchange their characters with each other.

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Student guide Pre-viewing pedagogical activities

Activity 1: Look at the poster. What do you see?

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Activity 2: Color the bells with your favorite color!

Activity 3: Look at the characters. How are they dressed?

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Activity 4: Look carefully at their noses, their eyes, and their bodies.

What do you notice?

Your turn! Draw yourself the same way!

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Activity 5: Hugs and kisses game

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Game key

Dear kiss Blow a kiss in the air with your hand

Royal kiss Give a kiss on the hand

Cheeky kiss Butterfly kiss Kiss with your eyes by batting your lashes

Stick out your tongue or tickle each other

Hug kiss

Goodnight kiss

Give a big hug

Give a kiss on the forehead

Eskimo kiss Rub together the tips of your noses

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Activity 6: Circle the things that make you think of Christmas.

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Game 1 The Christmas tree that lost a decoration!

Materials 1 Christmas ball, 1 scarf

How to play: The students make a circle. In the middle of the circle is the tree (one of the students), blindfolded. The students pass the ball while singing a Christmas song. When the song is finished, the players put their hands behind their backs. The Christmas tree then has to guess who has the ball. This player then becomes the Christmas tree and so on.

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Game 2 Build a Christmas candy cane

Materials Pearls, pipe cleaners

Twist the pipe cleaner so that the balls you put on don’t fall off. Thread the balls one by one and twist the other end of the pipe cleaner when you feel your candy cane is long enough.

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Student guide Post-viewing pedagogical activities

Activity 1: Cut the pictures and put the story in order.

ActivitĂŠ 1: DĂŠcoupe les

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Activity 2: Help Santa Claus find his son, Charlie!

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Activity 3: Practice writing your letter to Santa Claus!

Dear Santa Claus, My name is ______________ I am a good kid in school.

For Christmas, I would like ___________ Thank you!

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Activity 4: Learn to draw a star! Follow the edge of the start without lifting your pencil (no line should touch another).

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Activity 5: Decorate the Christmas tree ball by copying the designs.

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Sitography Official site of the film http://www.folimage.fr/fr/distribution/programmes/l-enfant-au-grelot_3.htm

Training guides and worksheets http://www.cineressources71.net/files/enfant_grelot_Fiche_Enseignant.pdf http://www.acnice.fr/ia06/iencannes/Sitecannes/file/Fimecole/2011_2012/films_maternelles/enfant_au_grelot/d ossier_enfances_au_cinema.pdf

Handcraft and drawing activities http://pages.infinit.net/eikasia/theme/theme-NoĂŤl http://alacasecatherine.fr/NoĂŤl/l http://maternelleannie.org/