Jon Peters Reviews: “The Red Balloon”

‘The Red Balloon’ is the best thing Walt Disney never came up with. Now that isn’t a bad thing for Albert Lamorisse, the writer and director, it’s a compliment. It’s a testament to his masterpiece that it still captures the hearts of all that sees it, some 40 years later. It’s a whimsical tale about a little boy who, on his way to school, finds a stray balloon. Soon the boy discovers that the balloon has a mind of its own, acting more like a playful puppy than a rubber object. As they play throughout the city, other local boys get jealous and try to take and destroy the balloon.

Lamorisse presents the film rather simple, but in its technique it is quite complicated. Every cinematic trick is used to tell the story and to this day, with all of our CG and modern FX, I’m amazed at how he presented the balloon and its characteristics. The balloon moves around like a puppy playing with its young master, freely, and at times sneaky, but just try to squint to see a string, because 99% of you won’t. Speaking of tricks, don’t even ask me how Lamorisse accomplished the climax, an orgy of balloons swooping in to take the little boy away.

The cinematography is extraordinary too. The red balloon just pops out against the gray and blue hues of the sky and colors of the boy’s shirt. The city is drab and labyrinth and works perfectly with the theme of the film. If there’s a complaint, it’s that we wish ‘The Red Balloon’ was longing (it clocks in at 34 minutes), but we might get our wish as a new film inspired by this short, ‘Flight of the Red Balloon’ is hitting cinema’s soon, to rave reviews.

‘The Red Balloon’ in all of its purity, works for people differently. It’s cute, whimsical, nostalgic, heart-warming, and above all, a masterpiece. Again, that is another trick Lamorisse used: making a children’s film using a relative dialogue free narrative. Standing the test of time, I hope ‘The Red Balloon’ will be see by us all, young and old, and adored newly and fondly.

THE DVD:

Featuring a new high definition transfer, the video just pops at you. Its 1.33:1 presentation is a marvel and while it does have some grain, it’s bright, clean, and the level of clarity is apparent as you can see a scene of two in which the strings pulling the balloon are visible. The audio is devoid of hisses and has been cleaned up nicely, but what else do you expect from the Criterion Collection?

Michael Koresky writes some liner notes, describing the film popularity, themes, and why it’s a masterpiece, this is the only extra we get outside of the standard trailer. It’s a shame there’s know audio commentary or the inclusion of ‘White Mane’ an earlier short film that made Lamorisse career bloom. With the short running time of both and the fact that they are both directed by Lamorisse, not having a double bill with ‘White Mane’ is disappointing, even more so that they released ‘White Mane’ separately. That’s the only negative with the ‘Red Balloon’s’ first DVD appearance.