The Red Balloon (1956)

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

Director:

Albert Lamorisse

Writer:

Albert Lamorisse

Stars:

Pascal Lamorisse, Sabine Lamorisse, Georges Sellier

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Pascal Lamorisse	...	Pascal - le petit garçon
Georges Sellier	...	Le marchand
Vladimir Popov	...	Un locataire
Paul Perey	...	Le père de Pascal
Renée Marion	...	La mère de Pascal
Sabine Lamorisse	...	La petite fille au ballon bleu
Michel Pezin

Storyline

A boy makes friends with a seemingly sentient red balloon, and it begins to follow him. It follows him to the bus stop, to school, and to church. They play together in the streets of Paris and try to elude a gang of boys that wants to steal it.

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Plot Keywords:

child protagonist | boy | balloon | little boy | red balloon | 

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Taglines:

The Academy Award Winning Sensation!

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

For a brief instant, a wire can be seen attached to balloon as boy waits to cross street. Wire stands out against blue coat of man standing behind him looking on as the boy waits for intersection to clear.

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Quotes

Pascal - le petit garçon: Could you hold my balloon while I'm in school?

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Crazy Credits

With the cooperation of the balloons of the Paris area.

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Connections

Referenced in Paperman (2012)

User Reviews

Ballon Rouge, Le

The late French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse made this classic, 1956 short work (34 min.) about a lonely little Parisian boy (Pascal Lamorisse) befriended by a large red balloon, which seems to have a will of its own. As with his preceding short, 1952's Crin-Blanc / White Mane, Lamorisse took home a grand prize from the Cannes Film Festival for The Red Balloon, and the latter film also won an Academy Award. There have been some stimulating pieces of film criticism (some pro, some con) written about the aesthetics of this little movie over the years, but there's no question it makes for a touching, allegorical piece always certain to prompt conversations among viewers of any age. (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Red Balloon

Filming Locations:

Ménilmontant, Paris 20, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,004, 18 November 2007

Gross USA:

$34,570

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,980

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films Montsouris

Technical Specs

Runtime:

34 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1