One fateful late afternoon/early evening over 20 years ago, back in the good old days of video tapes and VCRs (videocassette recorders), I turned on my TV here in England and serendipitously came upon the beginning of what promised to be – and indeed proved to be – an English-language version of a fairly short but extremely interesting and exceedingly unusual French fantasy featurette that deftly combined animation with live action to create a totally unique, spectacular cinematic production. As my VCR was always kept with a recordable video tape inserted in it, I pressed RECORD straight away, and successfully recorded all but this stunning featurette's opening title and principal credits.
Unfortunately, however, by not having recorded that vital segment I had no idea what the featurette was called. Happily, thanks to some diligent online detective work a few years back, I finally discovered that it was entitled Terra Incognita, and it has remained one of my all-time favourite examples from the genre of animation shorts.
Directed, conceived, and written by celebrated French movie director, graphic novel artist/illustrator, and animation historian Olivier Cotte, originally released in French in 1995, and with a total running time of 12 minutes, Terra Incognita ('Unknown Land') presents the engrossing story of a merchant from long ago who purchases a mysterious living map that guides him on an exciting seaborne journey to exotic and sometimes very dangerous locations far away from his homeland, before he eventually becomes its guardian in an entire library of these enchanted charts, where he makes an incredible discovery concerning them.
This fascinating featurette is narrated in both the original French and the English versions by the French/English bilingual actor Michael (aka Michel) Lonsdale, who also stars in it as the merchant. The mash-up of animation and live action is extremely distinctive and elegant in style, in places very reminiscent of a medieval work of art coming to life, and therefore portraying most effectively the concept of a living, sentient cartographical parchment.
Art historians and aficionados will also note various illustrative homages within this featurette to certain genuine artworks dating from the Middle Ages. These include engravings of monstrous entities once believed by bestiary compilers to be real, as well as respectful nods to Hieronymus Bosch's famous triptych oil painting 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (1490-1510), and also the second, smaller of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's two equally memorable paintings (both c.1563) depicting the biblical Tower of Babel.
Nominated for the Best Short Film Award at the Catalonian International Film Festival in 1996, and winner of the Audience Award at the Corto Imola Festival in 1997, Terra Incognita is without a doubt one of the most original, unusual, and thoroughly mesmerising animated/live-action productions that I have ever seen. It successfully marries exquisite artistry with awe-inspiring music (especially during the closing scene in which the merchant reveals his suspicions concerning the true nature and actions of the sentient charts), and Lonsdale's seductive, French-accented narration is absolutely spellbinding. In short, a truly wonderful, effortlessly triumphant cinematic creation throughout – an absolute joy to behold!
The original French-language version of Terra Incognita can currently be watched here and also here on YouTube, and the very rarely seen English-language version here.
If you enjoy thoughtful, beautifully-presented animated fantasy, I heartily recommend that you devote 12 minutes of your time to view Terra Incognita – I guarantee that it will be time very well spent!
To view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
