Once upon a time, amid shimmering colours that bring to mind a watercolour painting, a baby bird comes out of its shell and into the world at the feet of majestic flamingos. But these elegant creatures are by no means overjoyed to meet this little blue bird. Even though he pulls out all the stops in an effort to become as pink as the flamingos and win their favour, nothing he does ever works out and the little blue bird is always shunned.
The story is based to a large extent on The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. It is told here without words, trying instead to get as close as possible to the natural language of birds, which means taking great care with the use of sounds and, visually, choosing a rich palette of colours for the two-dimensional animation. The variety of colours also chimes with the moral of the story, which promotes the diversity of individuals.
As a character, the little bird demonstrates ingenuity almost straight after hatching, all in a bid to find his place in the world around him. All’s well that ends well and, after numerous attempts by this “blue flamingo” who was born in the wrong place, he finds a way to flourish in an environment that respects him and what makes him different.
