Il était une fois... la vie 

The workings of the human body explained by animated characters.

Stars:

Roger Carel, Marie-Laure Beneston, Alain Dorval

1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Roger Carel	...	Maestro 26 episodes, 1987-1988
Marie-Laure Beneston	...	Psi 26 episodes, 1987-1988
Alain Dorval		26 episodes, 1987-1988
Gilles Laurent		26 episodes, 1987-1988
Henry Djanik		26 episodes, 1987-1988

Storyline

The workings of the human body explained by animated characters.

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Plot Keywords:

body | blood cell | platelet | bacteria | virus | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family

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Details

Country:

France Japan Canada Italy Belgium Spain Netherlands

Language:

French Czech

Release Date:

13 September 1987 (France)

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time... Life

Company Credits

Production Co:

Procidis, France Régions 3 (FR3), Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (26 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The workings of the human body explained by animated characters.

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Alternate Versions

Aspect Ratio is changed from it's original 1.33:1 to 1.66:1 in remastered versions for TV and Digital Plaforms.

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Connections

Featured in MenT: Originální content! Vís jak brásko (2018)

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Soundtracks

Hymne à la vie
Music by Michel Legrand
Lyrics by Albert Barillé
Performed by Sandra Kim

User Reviews

Excellent combination of education and fun for kids aged 4-12

We bought the DVD set of "Es war einmal das Leben" (German) / "Once Upon a Time... Life" (English) for our bilingual kids because everyone loved the "Es war einmal der Mensch" (German) / "Once Upon a Time... Man" (English) series (us parents had seen it as kids) and it has exceeded even high expectations! The series is very well made, does not show its age, and our kids at various ages really like to watch it. At the same time, they learn things us parents didn't know until way, way later. The series covers everything to do with the human body from organs, all senses, blood, infection, antibodies, and much more in animated 20-25 min episodes. Topics some people may find "sensible", such as digestion and reproduction are covered in a tasteful, discreet and child-friendly manner (the reproduction episode starts coverage mainly where the baby starts growing), while still (as typical) informative and fun.

Children are usually fascinated with how their bodies work and through the episodes gain an understanding of this in the context of their environment. The format of the episodes switches between the outside world (a family with 2 children) and the inside of the body. For example, in the episode covering infections, the boy cuts himself accidentally and the wound gets infected and the episode covers how the body reacts to this. Similarly, the episodes on the senses, e.g. hearing, seeing, link what happens inside the body to the context of the outside world and the episode on respiration and circulation of oxygen in the blood covers the complete lifecycle including (briefly) where the oxygen comes from (plants).

This is one of the best ever children's programs - I would say it's a must see for every family with kids!