The King and the Mockingbird
A poetic and surreal masterpiece blending dystopian grandeur with fairy tale innocence. In a vertically stratified kingdom, a tyrant king is defied by love and a loquacious bird, culminating in a melancholic, awe-inspiring ode to freedom.
The King and the Mockingbird
The King and the Mockingbird

Le Roi et l'Oiseau

19 March 1980 France 83 min ⭐ 7.8 (403)
Director: Paul Grimault
Cast: Jean Martin, Renaud Marx, Agnès Viala, Pascal Mazzotti, Albert Médina
Animation Family Fantasy
Tyranny vs. Freedom Vertical Social Stratification The Nature of Art and Reality Industrialization and Dehumanization

The King and the Mockingbird - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details

Easter Eggs

Police Officers' Design

The bowler-hatted, mustachioed police officers are a direct visual reference to Thomson and Thompson (Dupond et Dupont) from Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin.

Metropolis Architecture

The dark, industrial Lower City where workers toil without sunlight is a visual homage to Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis.

Factory Scene

The scene where the heroes are forced to work on a conveyor belt references Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, critiquing industrial dehumanization.