Léon in Wintertime/L'hiver de Léon

PreS-Gr 3—"Léon in Wintertime," part of a short film series by the French animation studio Folimage, presents a fantasy world in which ogres exist and bears can be adopted by humans. Bonifacio, a vaguely Italian storyteller, has concocted a plot to take over the kingdom of King Balthasar by using a hungry ogre to terrorize the town. Princess Molly Gingerbread sets out to rid the country of the ogre and meets Léon, the "bear-face" boy-cub, who has run away from home because he feels he is a burden to his adoptive human parents. With help from new friends—a hedgehog with a golden apple and a timid elephant—the group just may save the day. The character voices are well delineated, adding depth to the charms of this short. The use of Claymation, with backgrounds of various artistic mediums, makes this enchanting film enjoyable for children, and bears, of all ages. In "Molly in Springtime," the villainous Bonifacio has concocted yet another plan to discredit our erstwhile hero Léon by blaming Léon's honey for an epidemic of swollen bellies (though Bonifacio is the culprit). Bonifacio then steals the king's crown and endeavors to discredit Léon and force Molly Gingerbread to marry him. With the same cast of voices as before, viewers will quickly find themselves back in this vaguely medieval world, and will root once more for Molly and Léon to defeat the evil storyteller. This DVD could be used not only in elementary schools but also with older language classes by utilizing the French language option (with English subtitles), or with art and film classes as a study in visual design.—Chani Craig, Gill-Montague School District, MA