Starewicz's Deux fables de La Fontaine is a weird little masterpiece

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school animation that feels like a fever dream, yes. This is for people who think modern CGI is too smooth and miss the weird, jerky soul of puppets. If you need a fast-paced plot or clear morals, you’ll probably find this boring and a bit creepy.

Wladyslaw Starewicz had a way of making puppets look like they were actually thinking. In this short, the lion isn't just a prop; he has this heavy, burdened posture that tells you everything before he even moves.

The first part, about the gnat, feels almost frantic. It is a classic power struggle, but watching a tiny bug pester a massive puppet lion is just wildly impressive considering when this was made. You start looking at the background, noticing the textures of the fur and the way the dust motes seem to settle on the set. It feels tactile, like you could reach in and get a splinter.

Then things shift into The Lion Grown Old. This is where it gets surprisingly sad. There’s a scene where the lion is just lying there, and the way the light hits his face makes him look genuinely tired of life. It is not like The Doll Shop where things feel whimsical; this has a real weight to it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Deux fables de La Fontaine (1932) through its definitive frames.

The pacing is a bit uneven, but that works in its favor. Sometimes the silence just sits there, and you aren't really sure if it's the film or if your own brain is just trying to fill the gaps. The movements aren't perfect—sometimes a limb twitches in a way that feels like a glitch—but that’s exactly why it sticks with you.

It’s not trying to teach you a lesson as much as it’s trying to show you a mood. You don't walk away feeling 'educated' by a fable; you walk away feeling like you saw something tucked away in an attic that wasn't meant to be found. 🦁🪰

A few stray thoughts:

• The lion's ears twitch in a way that is almost distracting.
• I spent too long trying to figure out how they rigged the gnat's flight.
• It reminds me a bit of the mood in Mat, even though they are completely different animals.
• The lighting in the final scene is just plain gorgeous.