The Snail and the Whale is based on the children’s picture book of the same name by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. That duo is also responsible for Stick Man and The Gruffalo. You can find out more information about the book on their websites.
The film was made by a pair of English directors and produced in Great Britain. But for the music, the team turned to the famous French composer René Aubry. Here is his fascinating biography:
“A French composer born in 1956, René Aubry is a multi-instrumentalist and designer of atmospheric soundscapes. He has been scoring films for years. For Magic Light Pictures he wrote the scores for The Gruffalo, The Little Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man, The Highway Rat and Zog. In France, he wrote original soundtracks for, among others, La Révolte des enfants (1989) and Malabar Princess (2004). More recently, he wrote the music for The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily directed by Lorenzo Mattotti and based on the children’s book by Dino Buzzati (screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival). He also worked with Wim Wenders for the film Pina (2011) about the German choreographer Pina Bausch. He nurtures a particular bond with dance: he has worked for many years with the American choreographer and contemporary dancer Carolyn Carlson and also with Pina Bausch, who asked him to do the sound design for three of her shows.”
The Snail and the Whale aims to raise our awareness of the dangers facing whales. Human actions and the pollution we cause – both sound and industrial pollution – are disturbing whales’ senses to such an extent that an increasing number of them are getting stranded on beaches. In addition, whale hunting remains common in countries such as Norway, Iceland and Japan, intensifying the threat of a tragic extinction.
