Pick of the Day: Big Mouth (DVD)

Big Mouth. DVD. 8 min. National Film Board ofCanada. 2013. ISBN unavail. $99.
Gr 3 Up–This quirky animated short by Canadian filmmaker and animator Andrea Dorfman and producer Annette Clarke tells the tale of a little girl with a big mouth. Trudy can’t seem to keep herself from insulting her little schoolmates by overstating the obvious. She’s brutally honest about pointing out the faults of other people, leading to difficulties in school and notes sent home from the teacher. A mysterious stranger helps her to understand that it is our differences that make us special and unique. The film is creatively animated using marionette-like cut-paper images. Bonus clips tell how the film was made, including the inspiration and process. Narrated in both English and French, this whimsical little tale would be a delightful addition to foreign language, art, film, and language arts classes, and could be used as a discussion starter about tolerance and compassion.–Lisa Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH