The Onion Skin: Movie Journal: The 1950's

Folksong Fantasy (1951)

National Film Board of Canada

Technique

Folksong fantasy is an animated film directed by Alma Duncan with Lyle Enright in camera and Emma Caslor as the singer. The movie was recorded on a 16 millimetre film, using balsa wood to carve the puppet characters and props. The technique was a mixture between stop motion with puppet animation, using multiple layers for elements that would be floating, such as feathers and leaves, thanks to that, the recording set was not needing of too much, that is why in some scenes, the floor was not being seen or the backgrounds were not so detailed.

Representation

The film was produced on the point of transition for Canadian cinema moving from war propaganda since the creation the NFB in 1939. Now, the industry in the country was going to focus on educative, experimental or provocative content in a mixture between state supported cultural institutions and independent film making.

The story is an adaptation of three songs from old folklore compiled in a single film which is depicted as a theatre play with three acts, which can be a representation of their nature to transmit emotions and to resonate with audiences. The songs were done with that same intention for to appeal for younger audiences while being experimental and to preserve this songs, even though they have cut some verses to avoid extending too much the film.

The three songs were chosen according to the mood they transmit: The happy, the tragic and the intermediate. These songs in the specified order are:

The happy: The riddle song is possibly originated from the 15th century, which had a pattern consisting on: the situation, the question and the answer. This song had no other intention than to be catchy and become a lullaby for children, especially. This song is considered happy of how calm both the visuals and the lyrics are, which remarks the human curiosity for things.

The tragic: Who Killed Cock Robin? is a nursery rhyme from 1744 which had a numerous amount of versions as time went by. One of its most complete and famous interpretations was in 1865 with "The death and burial of Poor Cock robin", written by H.L. Stephens, which included an ending where the Sparrow gets executed as a thief. This is set as the tragic given the dark nature it evokes, a funerary setting where there is only mourning. This is the only on the short with no music to accompany the singer.

The intermediate: The cooper of Fife, apparently is the most recent from the three, being first recorded in 1941 by Burl Ives. This song is about a cooper whose wife refuses to do the housework and wants him to do it, so he lained her back with wool and beat her with a stick. This can be interpreted as misogyny, but back then it was something considered normal. The song can be described as a satire against this practices where you should make your wife learn. This song is described as the intermediate given the lyrics that present a negative perception of a relationship and their surroundings disguised as a funny and charming place.

Personal perspective

It was entertaining to see the film, the art style was charming and the music correctly appealed to the situation and went for a more traditional and rustic chanting to achieve that fantastic aesthetic it was intended.

Even though I consider it feels sometimes a little bit rushed and it is needed to watch it carefully to comprehend each scene, there is no doubt that it is a great introduction of Duncan to become a film maker.

Reception

The film can be found in the official NFB website, which stores almost all the films that were released by the organization. Even though Alma Duncan was a personality that was well known inside the Canadian Artists, this short film seemed to be almost out of the radar.

The film was screened at the Edimburg International Film Festival in UK in 1951. It could mean that the film had a good reception once it got released for the few Canadian theatres available back then.

The film got released in a time when Canada was releasing thousands of short films but so little feature films. From 1939 to 1959, only 18 feature films were released. It may not be so relevant this information, but usually, Canadian film makers would move to Hollywood or there would a great influence from there making it hard to stand out. But still, this ambition to create was still active and there was a will to do something besides the American perspective.

The film nowadays is not so perceived by the public and little of this short can be found on some animation books. Still, they have some interesting information that can cover the background of this one. This lack of information can be noted in movie databases where there are almost no reviews or information about the people behind it or the process that led to this result.