Mouse's Tail, The (La Queue de la Souris) — Benjamin Renner, 2007
In this beautifully animated fable made by Benjamin Renner at L’école de la Poudrière, a mouse is captured by a hungry lion and needs to find a way to outwit him and escape.
It uses few colours for a dramatic effect.
Modern Languages teachers will find a bespoke set of lesson ideas for this film here.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- There are few colours in the film. Look at how the 3 main colours, black, white, and red are used to represent what is happening. Use the Cs and Ss as a guide.
- Stop at 00:37 seconds. Describe how the mouse is feeling.
- Watch the first 40 seconds. Predict what you think will happen next.
- What animals does the mouse bring to the lion?
- Stop at 03:15. How is the mouse feeling now?
- How does the camera movement hide what the mouse is doing to the lion?
- In 50 words or less describe how the mouse outwits the lion.
- Make up a character profile on the lion and/or the mouse. What words would you use to describe them?
- Feelings – think about how the characters feelings change throughout the film. How do we know they change
- Think carefully about the narrative of the film. Look at the questions here to help you do this.
Cultural
- What is the message in this fable? What other fables do you know? Why were fables used to tell moral messages?
- Look at fables from different cultures around the World. How are they similar or different to the ones we know?
- Here is another fable about a lion and a mouse; compare the film to this written version.
- Think about how lions are usually depicted in films. Look at other clips of them on screen. Is this a fair representation of lions?
- Think about how mice are usually depicted in films. Look at other clips of them on screen. Is this a fair representation of mice?
- Lions are an endangered species – why? What are countries doing to protect these animals?
- Mice are often seen as vermin and killed in traps. Is this right or wrong? Debate the issue.
Creative
WRITE
- How does the mouse get out of the snake’s mouth? Write the story.
- Make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of the lion and the mouse.
FILMMAKING
- Can you make your own film of this story? How could you film it differently? Use our Making a Film resource to help.
FRENCH
- What does the title mean?
- Can you find the French name for the other animals in the story?
DRAW
- Make the film into a comic strip. You could use French or English.
- The lion is always black in the film. Paint a lion in their natural colours. You could do the other animals too.
DRAMA
- Act out what you think happens next. How does the lion escape?
RESEARCH
- Research lions. What do they eat? Where do they live? You could make this into an information poster or leaflet.
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fairytale, Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Expressive Arts, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education |
| Director | Benjamin Renner |
| Country of Origin | France, Africa |
| Medium / Content | 2D Animation, Fiction, Colour, Sound, Subtitles |
| Themes | Relationships, Danger / Fear, Culture / Society, Identity / Self, Intolerance / Misconceptions |
| Clip Length | 04:10 |
| Clip Length | 04:10 |
| Age Group | P1-P4, P5-P7, S1-S3 |
