Otherwise (Anders-Artig) — Christina Schindler, 2002
A chameleon fails to conform to normality as he and his siblings grow and explore their world. Different in every way, from what he likes to eat to his abilities, he gets the blame when another chameleon is snatched by a bird of prey. He flees in terror when the other chameleons turn on him, but he unwittingly stumbles upon the missing chameleon and saves him. The group’s rage is forgotten when they are reunited with their lost sibling and the ‘strange’ lizard is finally accepted.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- How were we introduced to or how did we meet the characters?
- How could you tell the others did not like the red chameleon?
- Screen the film using Sound On/Vision Off so your class hear only the soundtrack. Can we tell what is happening? Is someone scared or excited?
- Show the film up to the point where the eagle first appears. Pause the film and ask the class to predict what might happen next.
- Highlight the changes in colour as the chameleons walk through different settings. Can your pupils name the colours and predict what colour they will go in the next shot?
Cultural
- Which parts of the film were exciting/sad/made you nervous? Can you explain why?
- Freeze frame at significant moments in the story. From what can be seen, imagine what the characters might be feeling or thinking.
- Create two columns titled “differences” and “similarities”. In which ways is the red chameleon different from the others (e.g. he doesn’t change colour; he is vegetarian)? How are they similar (e.g. four legs, he has a tail)?
- Provide cut-out pictures of people, animals, everyday things we see all the time. Create two boxes: to identify ones that are ‘the same’ and ‘different’.
- Think of ways the red chameleon could have been included. How should the others behave towards him?
- Discuss the idea of a cliff-hanger in stories. Screen the film and ask the pupils to note what they think are “cliff-hanger moments”.
Creative
WRITE
- Think about the red chameleon’s feelings. Write about what it is like to be different from a group.
- Write a descriptive character profile, focusing on physical characteristics.
FILMMAKING
- Ask pupils to think up some cliff-hanger moments in a story of their own. Use a storyboard to draw how they would present it in a film, focussing on camera shots and inter-cutting (e.g. shots of two animals about to charge at each other, then a person standing between them, looking the other way).
DRAW
- Re-create or draw the main settings where the action takes place (for example: the jungle, the beach, a mountain)
- Investigate how colours change when they are mixed together. Using paints or crayons, create new ones.
- Prepare a box filled with strips of paper with emotion words written on them (e.g. happy, sad, angry, etc). Ask pupils to select a word at random from the box then draw what their selected emotion looks like.
- Create a pictorial timeline of the film, noting the changing colours of the chameleons and what they are doing (e.g. when they are lying on rocks, they are brown; when they are running up the mountain, they are blue/grey).
MAKE
- Camouflage is a big part of the chameleon’s story. Create a collage using colours and textures where the chameleons could hide.
RESEARCH
- Find out about other animals that disguise themselves.
Clip Details
| Record Id | 007-002-000-003-C |
|---|---|
| Resource Rights Holder | Christina Schindler |
| Project Ref | STST1-02 |
| Year of Production | 2002 |
| Genre | Fairytale, Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education, Social Studies |
| Director | Christina Schindler |
| Country of Origin | Germany |
| Medium / Content | 2D Animation, Fiction, Colour, Sound |
| Themes | Relationships, Identity / Self, Intolerance / Misconceptions |
| Clip Length | 07:00 |
| Clip Length | 07:00 |
| Age Group | P1-P4, P5-P7, S1-S3 |
