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'Tales of the Night' Heads to Disc & VOD

Michel Ocelot’s animated feature, “Tales of the Night,” will be available on January 29 on DVD/Blu-ray, preceded by an early cable VOD and digital release on January 8.

NEW YORK, NY – Tales of the Night, a stunning new feature film by French filmmaker Michel Ocelot (Kiriko and the Sorceress; Azur & Asmar), will now be available to audiences of all ages at home. Through an agreement with the film’s theatrical distributor, GKIDS, Cinedigm Entertainment Group (CEG) will release the English-language version of Tales of the Night on January 29 on DVD/Blu-ray, preceded by an early cable VOD and digital release on January 8.

Tales of the Night extends the shadow puppet style of Ocelot’s earliest works, with black silhouetted characters set off against exquisitely detailed Day-Glo backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns. The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, to the Land of the Dead:

  • The Werewolf - Two sisters are in love with the same dashing young man. The older girl wins the young man’s heart through deceit, leaving her younger sister in despair. But this perfect man has a terrible secret.
  • Ti Jean and the Belle-Sans-Connaître - In the Antilles, a carefree boy breezes along whistling. He enters a cave and goes down, down, down, deeper than he could ever imagine. Will nothing strike fear into his heart or break his stride?
  • The Chosen One And The City Of Gold - Amidst grand ceremony, a girl is given in sacrifice to a strange beast, and in exchange her people will receive much gold. The girl has a sweetheart who opposes the arrangement – but the creature is invincible!
  • Boy Tam-Tam - A boy taps away all day long, on anything he can find, driving everyone crazy. He’d love to own a real drum, or better still, the magic tam-tam, which can make anyone dance.
  • The Boy Who Never Lied - A horse that can speak is a rarity, but not so rare as a boy who never lies. The King of Tibet makes a bet that no one can make his stable boy tell a lie. His cousin accepts the bet – but he has a formidable secret weapon.
  • The Doe-Girl And The Architect’s Son - A young man sees his beloved transformed into a doe before his own eyes by a jealous sorcerer. The elusive Caress Fairy is the only one able to help him, but she’s so very hard to find.

“Storytelling is my language. When I do it, I’m in my element,” says Ocelot, who has won several major awards for his animated films. “I’ve always made little things in relief, cut-outs, collages, and so on. Technological advancements enabled me to return to a certain enchantment in my early work.” Tales of the Night was nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival before opening theatrically in 3D in the U.S. in September 2012.

The release of Tales of the Night on home entertainment platforms marks the continuation of a longstanding partnership between GKIDS and New Video (now Cinedigm Entertainment Group), which has previously distributed GKID’s Oscar-nominated films The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris, and Chico & Rita.

DVD and Blu-ray bonus features include: an interview with Michel Ocelot; a featurette with Ocelot titled “The Festival of Color: Storytelling through Animation;” the original French audio track with English subtitles; and a U.S. theatrical trailer. Written and directed by Michel Ocelot; Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard, producers; Eve Machuel, associate producer; music by Christian Maire.

Source: Cinedigm Entertainment Group

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.