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Animation of folk songs (9)

  • Alouette
    Alouette
    Norman McLaren  &  René Jodoin 1944 2 min
    This animated short co-animated by René Jodoin and Norman McLaren was produced for inclusion in the Let's All Sing Together sing-along series. It illustrates the popular song Alouette, gentille alouette. The technique used is single-frame animation of paper cutouts.
  • Blackfly
    Blackfly
    Christopher Hinton 1991 5 min
    This animated film about the pesky blackfly is based on the song of the same title, written and sung by Canadian folk singer Wade Hemsworth, with back-up vocals by the McGarrigle sisters. It recounts Hemsworth's battles with this quintessential "critter" during a summer of surveying in Northern Ontario.
  • Log Driver's Waltz
    Log Driver's Waltz
    John Weldon 1979 3 min
    Easily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, this lighthearted animated short is based on the song “The Log Driver’s Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth. Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to marry a log driver over his more well-to-do competitors.
  • C'est l'aviron
    C'est l'aviron
    Norman McLaren 1944 3 min
    One of a series of French-Canadian folk songs, this film was illustrated by Norman McLaren for the Chants populaires series. White gouache drawings on black cards were photographed with overlapping 'zooms' to suggest the forward movement of a canoe along rivers and lakes. This film appears in Chants populaires no. 5 and in Chants populaires no. 6.
  • The Cat Came Back
    The Cat Came Back
    Cordell Barker 1988 7 min
    This hilarious animated short is based on the century-old folk song of the same name. Old Mr. Johnson makes increasingly manic attempts to rid himself of a little yellow cat that just won't stay away...
  • Hen Hop
    Hen Hop
    Norman McLaren 1942 3 min
    This joyful short animation features a dancing hen that transforms into an egg. The film was made without a camera by Norman McLaren, who drew directly onto 35 mm movie stock with ordinary pen and ink. Colour was added optically.
  • Le merle
    Le merle
    Norman McLaren 1958 4 min
    In this animation film, Norman McLaren imparts unusual activity to an old French-Canadian nonsense song. Simple white cut-outs on pastel backgrounds, many by Evelyn Lambart, provide lively illustrations. The folksong "Mon Merle" is sung in French by the Trio Lyrique of Montreal.
  • Sing a Little
    Sing a Little
    1951 9 min
    Puppet animation illustrates three songs sung by Alan Mills in his CBC studio: The Farmer's Cursed Wife, Barbara Allen, and Jack the Sailor.
  • Vive la rose
    Vive la rose
    Bruce Alcock 2009 6 min
    Based on the last recording by one of Newfoundland's foremost traditional music performers, Emile Benoit's tender delivery of the 18th century French song is the heart of Vive la rose. The story of unrequited love and tentative obsession throughout the beloved's life, sickness and early death is the narrative focus, accompanied by an emotional interpretation of Benoit's strong Newfoundland French accent and wavering old man's voice. Vive la rose is animation on location, rooting the film in a location that evokes the past, and combines ink drawings with a variety of romantic and associative elements and objects.