Using gentle pastel tones, Marjolaine Perreten conjures the atmosphere of a moment in autumn on a riverbank, where lots of little animals are milling about. The film takes the time to explore this miniature world, featuring an unfortunate heron, three snails with intrepid antennae, a hedgehog building its home, a stone marten preparing for winter, a multitude of tiny hairy insects and a large, unflappable toad. Each creature is happily going about its business until the skies burst and the rain disrupts their routines.
The young Swiss director uses digital animation and a simple style enhanced by sounds and a musical composition consisting of a few piano notes to immerse us in a poetic and amusing world in which preschool viewers will enjoy identifying the rain, the leaves and their first animals. The fun sounds contribute to this lovely short film’s gentle tone, helping to make this very pleasant viewing from a very young age.
