The Red Balloon (1956)

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, Sabine Lamorisse, Georges Sellier

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

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.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | balloon | street | school | little boy | 

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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

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Red Balloon

Filming Locations:

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

First film of singer Renaud, aged three.

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Goofs

Just after the scene where the boy is turned away from boarding the bus, you see him running off with the balloon in his left hand and the satchel in his right however in the next shot it is reversed.

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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

Spoofed in Malcolm in the Middle: Water Park (2000)

User Reviews

The First Film I Saw...

This is one of the first films I remember seeing. My grandfather was kind enough to record it off of television for me when I was only one or two years old. I remember enjoying it alot as a very young child and I enjoy this film just as much, if not even more, today. I can appreciate the story more, now that I'm older. It is one of the truly best short films ever made, right up there with the best of Chaplin and other great short-film makers.