The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon (French: Le ballon rouge) is a 1956 French fantasy drama featurette written, produced, and directed by Albert Lamorisse. The 35-minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient, mute, red balloon, was filmed in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) A very heartwarming story.
 * 2) Albert Lamorisse does his most iconic film.
 * 3) Pascal Lamorisse does the best performance.
 * 4) Beautiful orchestral soundtrack.
 * 5) This live-action short film is pure fantasy-like for a G rating.
 * 6) Colorful special effects.
 * 7) A very happy ending scene is pure magical, with a little boy happily ties the strings together into knots and holds on as the collection of balloons lift him off the ground and up into the sky. The final shot of the film shows overjoyed little boy flying higher over the Parisian cityscape and disappearing off into the sky.

Reception
Since its first release in 1956, the film has generally received overwhelmingly favorable reviews from critics.