Visual and auditory inventiveness dominate this short film, which is as tender as it is funny.
Although it has no words, the first joy with this film is in listening to it: for it is full of sensitive and discreet sounds of awakening nature (the sounds of leaves, wind blowing, or rain falling on the earth) that follow one after another in a decidedly wacky soundscape. This playful aspect chimes with the colourful appearance of very curious creatures who keep popping up. Between animals, plants and geometric shapes, the island’s unusual array of exhibits will amaze young viewers. They can have fun trying to imagine what will emerge next from behind a bush or guessing the colour of the next bird to appear, bearing in mind that they can change the colour of their feathers like a sound chameleon switching up its squawking as it perches alongside it on a tree. This film creates a dynamic of constant surprises, thus giving its world a charmingly quirky tone.
In this very short film viewers go in the space of a few seconds from thinking the island is uninhabited to seeing that it is a place where every piece of the set and everything that lives there – whether it is alone in the shot or interacting with something else in the frame – is a working part of a gigantic body whose shapes and sounds respond to each other. The interaction between each element on the island creates a concert with a whole range of tones, from mad sweetness to cheery barminess.
While the score is a particularly well-chosen treat, it is accompanied by visual innovations that lend a hilarious dimension to the creatures that inhabit the island.
Island is a visual poem to be watched and listened with preschool viewers!
