If you've been going through the vast collection of films that have lapsed into the pubic domain -- and you probably have, because who can afford entertainment otherwise? -- you've likely stumbled upon an animated feature called The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird, a strange little thing featuring voices by such luminaries as Peter Ustinov, Claire Bloom, and Denholm Elliott. Whether you watched it all the way through or just paused long enough to think, Huhn, what's this all about?, it turns out that the film, which has been knocking around since the 1950's, is just the tip of a visionary iceberg that was taken away from its creators, the French director Paul Grimaut and the poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert, and released unfinished without their permission. It took some 30 years to complete the project, and another thirty-odd years for it to get its U.S. release. Now, under the title The King and the Mockingbird, the film is making its way into theaters this Friday, and kid, it was well worth the wait. I go a bit into the film's history and why this fractured fairy tale deserves its place among the ranks of animation classics in my review for Jim Freund's Hour of the Wolf. Plus: My thoughts on the Studio Ghibli documentary, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. Click on the player to hear the review, or right-click the title to download.THURSDAY MORNING AT 1:30 AM
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