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Flix and the Beast
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From: Kathy Whitt <kwhitt>
Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 09:37:48 -0500
I am commenting about Flix and The Beast of Monsieur Racine. I like them a lot.
In Flix, it seems to me that Ungerer is commenting in a positive way about getting along in and being accepted in an environment in which one is different. With his Alsacian background, it could be a commentary on how the the French and the Germans might have existed together just as much as cats and dogs. It could be any number of cultures existing distinctly but together. In today?s times, it could be seen in contrast to the intolerance in the Yugoslavia area. Of course, the text is delightful while giving a simple pattern about how to get along by helping one another and then coming together through marriage.
The real intrigue for me is the marriage of the illustrations and the text. They complete one another. The cartoony style that characterizes Ungerer is delightful for children and adults. A great many things are happening in his pictures, and that is another part of his charm. It has been said that Ungerer is making little statements in his pictures. Maybe so, but to my eyes the little asides are more entertaining than disturbing, and I suspect that some people don?t even see them. With television the way it is today, I look at the picture at the start of the story which shows a television depiction of a cat raising an ax over a dog as less disturbing than television violence in Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. Other pictures show anti-rodent bias in various ways, which is not surprising in a cat culture. We see a baptism with a watering can, strangely positioned faucets, cat images on purses, the car and a hat. In the dog culture, equally interesting dog images occur in the background. It all contributes to the intrigue of the art and the assumptions which are built into societal thinking.
The illustrations in The Beast of Monsieur Racine are just as good and have just as many little pictorial asides. His borders have animals hanging out of them, or are tied together or unraveling. It is the kind of art that draws one into the picture. In this book I think the art predominates over the story line. The story is good but the art is better. It?s a nice little story about deception but a wonderful series of pictures that tell a lot.
I haven?t seen everything Ungerer has done. I found some interesting pictures and information on the Internet, including his work on behalf of animals.
Kathy Whitt Muehl Public Library Seymour, Wisconsin kwhitt at owls.lib.wi.us
Received on Wed 04 Aug 1999 09:37:48 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 09:37:48 -0500
I am commenting about Flix and The Beast of Monsieur Racine. I like them a lot.
In Flix, it seems to me that Ungerer is commenting in a positive way about getting along in and being accepted in an environment in which one is different. With his Alsacian background, it could be a commentary on how the the French and the Germans might have existed together just as much as cats and dogs. It could be any number of cultures existing distinctly but together. In today?s times, it could be seen in contrast to the intolerance in the Yugoslavia area. Of course, the text is delightful while giving a simple pattern about how to get along by helping one another and then coming together through marriage.
The real intrigue for me is the marriage of the illustrations and the text. They complete one another. The cartoony style that characterizes Ungerer is delightful for children and adults. A great many things are happening in his pictures, and that is another part of his charm. It has been said that Ungerer is making little statements in his pictures. Maybe so, but to my eyes the little asides are more entertaining than disturbing, and I suspect that some people don?t even see them. With television the way it is today, I look at the picture at the start of the story which shows a television depiction of a cat raising an ax over a dog as less disturbing than television violence in Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. Other pictures show anti-rodent bias in various ways, which is not surprising in a cat culture. We see a baptism with a watering can, strangely positioned faucets, cat images on purses, the car and a hat. In the dog culture, equally interesting dog images occur in the background. It all contributes to the intrigue of the art and the assumptions which are built into societal thinking.
The illustrations in The Beast of Monsieur Racine are just as good and have just as many little pictorial asides. His borders have animals hanging out of them, or are tied together or unraveling. It is the kind of art that draws one into the picture. In this book I think the art predominates over the story line. The story is good but the art is better. It?s a nice little story about deception but a wonderful series of pictures that tell a lot.
I haven?t seen everything Ungerer has done. I found some interesting pictures and information on the Internet, including his work on behalf of animals.
Kathy Whitt Muehl Public Library Seymour, Wisconsin kwhitt at owls.lib.wi.us
Received on Wed 04 Aug 1999 09:37:48 AM CDT
