La Fontaine perhaps never imagined that the literary genre he helped celebrate – the fable – could itself be turned against humans, a somewhat ironic circumstance when the mice here are anthropomorphized to the extent of being almost human. And it is no accident that mice were chosen as the main characters, if not for being the animal historically most used in scientific experiments. In this visually impeccable animation, men are animals’ “worst friends”, which is why the father when reading a bedtime story to his offspring, classifies humans as "the most dangerous of all" in order to discourage the youngsters from venturing out of the nest. But living in fear and ignorance - the nest a platonic cave - is no solution to anything. The dark humour of James Cunningham, here inspired by the illustrated work of Edward Gorey, closes the film with an essential moral lesson in the best traditions of fable. (FN)