Ah Those Little Humans! (Ah ces p'tits humaines!) — Romaine Gautraut, 2019
WARNING: Please note that this film contains distressing content. Caution should be exhibited if showing to younger primary school pupils.
In this musical tale, a polar bear tries to find solutions to the problems caused by melting ice caps. He seeks help from humans, but their solutions do not help him. The polar bear becomes increasingly desperate and angry, but the humans don’t like this, and cut off his head.
Please note that this film may be distressing to younger viewers: the polar bear is shown in a guillotine, and the blade is released. In the next scene, the polar bear is shown sitting on his ice, next to his head, and no blood is shown.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Why are humans referred to as ‘little’ in the title?
- How does colour help tell the story?
- The filmmaker plays with scale for effect. What is the effect of the size of the human hands in comparison to the polar bear? What is the effect of the size of the bear in comparison to its habitat? How does the composition of the shots fit into this (e.g. at 01:02 and 02:24)?
- How does the music help to make the beheading scene more shocking?
- The polar bear does not die, despite being beheaded. Is this a happy ending then?
- What is the filmmaker’s message?
Cultural
- Consider other films and stories which deal with environmental issues, either explicitly or implicitly (e.g. ‘FernGully’, ‘The Lorax’, ‘WALL-E’). What do they have in common with this film? What are the differences?
- The film puts the polar bear in the role of rebel or revolutionary, and humans in the role of tyrannical ruler. What other films feature this sort of relationship? How do they usually end? Is this borne out in history?
Creative
WRITE
- The film gives a voice to an animal who cannot speak for itself. Imagine that polar bears could speak. Write a persuasive text from the point of view of a polar bear, to persuade humans to live sustainably.
DRAW/MAKE
- The imagery in the film clearly shows how humans are impacting on the habitat of the polar bear, by using scale: his home is very small compared to the size of his body and sea in the background is empty because of the effects of human activity. Consider other animals in danger. Create a visual representation of their habitat being threatened by humans (e.g. a panda in a bamboo forest, surrounded by roads).
STEM
- Investigate climate change and its effects on humans.
- Research greener sources of energy.
- Investigate ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in school and at home.
MODERN LANGUAGES
- The song in the film is based on a French nursery rhyme, ‘Ah Les Crocodiles’, which can be found on YouTube. Listen to and/or learn the song, or another French nursery rhyme, such as ‘Allouette’ or ‘Frere Jacques’.
RESEARCH
- Research people who speak up for (or spoke up for) the rights of others or to affect positive change (e.g. Greta Thunberg, Martin Luther King, Malala, Marcus Rashford etc.).
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fairytale, Musical, Stop-Motion |
| Curriculum Areas | Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education, Sciences, Social Studies |
| Director | Romaine Gautraut |
| Country of Origin | France |
| Medium / Content | 3D Animation, Colour, Sound |
| Themes | Feelings, Danger / Fear, Health, Culture / Society, Food / Environment, Creative Expression |
| Clip Length | 03:40 |
| Clip Length | 03:40 |
| Age Group | P1-P4, P5-P7 |
