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Mobile

Verena Fels, 2010

A lonely cow is stranded by herself on one side of a child’s mobile but, because the weight of Cow balances the weight of the other animals on the opposite side, they won't let her join them. When kindly Mouse invites Cow over, chaos ensues. Can they find a balance?

Clip Details

Genre: Comedy

Country of Origin: Germany

Medium/Content: 3D Animation, Colour, Sound, Fiction, No Dialogue

Clip Length: 06:29

Age Group: Early Years

Classroom Activities

Describe the music and speech used in the film. Does the language cause a barrier in telling the story? How can we tell?

How can the viewer understand what the animals are feeling, how do they express their emotions?

Why does the music stop at 00:49 seconds? Investigate the use of music as an introduction to different films: what genres of music are they? What do they tell us about the film?

The music is reintroduced at 02:10, how does it change and why? What does it do for the viewer? Can music tell a story? Can you give other examples of where you have seen/heard this?

How is camera and editing used to establish Cow’s isolation?

Why does the camera pan up/down/across at the start? In what order do we discover things? When does the viewer know for sure it is a baby’s mobile? Were there earlier hints?

There are a variety of shots taken: get pupils to put screenshots of clips into groupings of close-up/medium/long shots. Do these different ‘shots’ convey a certain message?

Watch the first 47 seconds: how does Cow feel? How do we know? How would you feel if you were Cow? Use Emotion Works to support.

Choose from Cow, Dog or Mouse: describe their personalities and actions – do they make good or bad choices? Listen to the outcomes of each decision.

At 01:40-01:44 Cow shows us she is ready to try: what does she do? Make short clips/photos displaying how you show you’re ready to take on a challenge.

* Write the story from the perspective of one of the animals on the mobile.

* If you could change the music of the film, what would you pick? Create a new movie using the same music or same clip but adding your own music.

* Summarise what the film is about and turn this into a storyboard.

Clip Details

Genre: Comedy

Country of Origin: Germany

Medium/Content: 3D Animation, Colour, Sound, Fiction, No Dialogue

Clip Length: 06:29

Education Level: Early Level