Michel Ocelot astounds his audience with short stories perfect in length for toddlers or for adults of short attention span. By far the most apt and expert use of 3D I have seen, the delicate addition of a third dimension to a silhouette animation is analogous to the magic in the tales.

A group of passionate and excitable storytellers gather in an old cinema to narrate fairy tales fit for all ages, some ringing familiar and some unique. Reminiscent of the TV show ‘Wishbone’, the same characters recur in each story. The silhouette style enriches the imagination, leaving the viewer to colour in the shadows. Some scenes brought back vivid images I’d had when reading Alan Garner’s fantasy stories as a child. The humour is timeless and expertly paced, the audience transfixed and delighted throughout.  The stories are geographically and historically diverse; one chapter in particular, set in the Aztec period, offered an unexpected and particularly moving choral chant that dragged me to the edge of my seat.

If the hooting owl that precedes each tale doesn’t engage you from the outset, the irrefutable charms of the storytellers will draw you in. If the Aztec chorus doesn’t stir you, the dancing porcupine will surely win over the prickliest of personalities.  TALES OF THE NIGHT is an art piece you will wish you had seen when you were young enough to have your imagination expanded – or perhaps it’s not too late?