The Red Balloon (1956)
"Le ballon rouge" (original title)

A red balloon with a life of its own follows a little boy around the streets of Paris.

Director:

Albert Lamorisse

Writer:

Albert Lamorisse

Stars:

Pascal Lamorisse, Georges Sellier, Vladimir Popov

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pascal Lamorisse	...	Pascal - le petit garçon
Georges Sellier	...	Le marchand
Vladimir Popov	...	Un locataire
Paul Perey
Sabine Lamorisse	...	La petite fille au ballon bleu
Michel Pezin
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Renée Marion	...	La mère de Pascal

Storyline

A boy makes friends with a seemingly sentient balloon, and it begins to follow him. It follows the boy to school, to the bus, and to church. Boy and balloon play together in the streets of Paris and try to elude a gang of boys that wants to destroy the balloon. Winner of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and there is almost no dialog spoken in the film.

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Plot Keywords:

balloon | boy | red balloon | little boy | following | 

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Short

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Red Balloon

Filming Locations:

Ecole communale de garçons, Ménilmontant, Paris 20, Paris, France.

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films Montsouris

Technical Specs

Runtime:

34 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, even though it has little dialogue.

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Goofs

The boy comes up to the front window of a bakery shop and peers in, and we see him eyeing the display of bakery goods. Then the camera position changes so that we see the boy from the inside of the bakery, but from the inside looking out, the selection and arrangement of displayed items is suddenly quite different than what we just saw from the outside view.

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Crazy Credits

With the cooperation of the balloons of the Paris area.

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Connections

Spoofed in Dream Doll (1979)

User Reviews

Le Ballon Rouge is a masterpiect of Short Film making...

Le Ballon Rouge is a masterpiece in Short Film making. It tells the story of the day of a life of a parisian boy who finds a red balloon on his way to school. Or rather it finds him. Everybody, it seems is rather keen to see the boy get rid of the balloon. He arrives at school and is not allowed to bring the balloon in with him. He lets it go and it flies off, only to be waiting for him at the end of the day, hovering outside in the school yard. Further adventures ensue throughout the day culminating in a spectacular ending for the boy. It is wonderfully directed by Albert Lamorisse. This fantasy is elegant in direction and editing on the screen. The acting is understated and quite delightful. It has always been my favourite of all Short Films. I wonder if it exists as a theatrical print. I've only ever seen it on TV. I'd love to see it projected.