Monsieur Pointu
1975 · 12m · Canada
Directed by Bernard Longpré, André Leduc
Genres: animation, comedy, surrealism
Tones: absurdist, theatrical, whimsical
Stage entertainer Monsieur Pointu and his violin are literally taken apart — head, limbs, attire, bow, and strings performing separate acts with strange and amusing results.
Picked by Margot
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Everyone expects the puppet to stay whole, so watching Longpré and Leduc methodically disassemble Monsieur Pointu into autonomous parts—each one performing its own absurdist vaudeville—feels like watching someone systematically demolish the fourth wall with a violin bow.
A crystalline formal exercise in theatrical animation that locates itself squarely in the Méliès lineage of mechanical wonder-making, executed with the compositional precision and editorial rhythm you'd expect from NFB masters working at the height of their powers.
The genius move here is the decision to give each severed component its own distinct performance style and timing—the head bobbing differently than the limbs, the bow conducting its own invisible orchestra—which transforms what could've been a one-joke premise into something that actually sustains twelve minutes through pure variety and rhythm.