Birdhouse stories – La cabane à histoires (2019)

Directed by: Célia Riviere | 45 minutes | animation, family | Dutch voice cast: Sem Thuis, Amber Beishuizen

If you have a toddler or preschooler who loves books, you will undoubtedly pick up a (picture) book every day to read aloud. Nothing is more relaxing for child and parent than that moment of happiness: enjoying a funny or exciting story together with the most beautiful illustrations. The selection of picture books is countless times greater than the range of films for this target group. Good choice by the French Célia Rivière to turn existing French picture books into an animation series, ‘La cabane à histoires’. Some of these animated shorts have now been released under the title ‘Birdhouse stories’.

What the films in ‘Birdhouse stories’ have in common is that they are about animals. Often, but not always, a bird plays the leading role. The nine films are animated differently, but there are similarities. The style can best be described as ‘picture book brought to life’ and that is of course exactly the intention. Collage techniques and the absence of too loud colors contribute to the artistic atmosphere. The films are linked together by the table on which the books lie and are introduced, with a cute little bird that reappears in every connecting scene.

The playing time of the videos is just long enough. It is, of course, a tried and tested recipe; other compilation films for toddlers also have the same length and structure; take for example ‘Rita & Crocodile’ or the adventures of the ghost Laban. The fact that there are nine films may be a bit too much for some restless children, compare it with reading nine books… but the stories are different enough to keep the interest.

The stories themselves are not very startling; but with themes such as ‘you are good the way you are’, ‘overcoming your fears’, friendship and being there for each other that is not a bad thing. Fun pastime for children from the age of three.