Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a wildly imagined animated film-piece, co-produced by Belgian and French film companies. The movie is traced after a novella called The boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Melzieu. It's a musical and contemporary piece that has brought life to the words from the page far beyond what was ever on the page. The film is intricately planned, with even minuscule historical influences, which can cause the watcher to be confused. Although still an excellent film of choice.

The main character, Jack, was born on the coldest night on earth, leaving his heart frozen from the moment he was born. The midwife, Madeleine, replaces baby Jack’s heart with a Cuckoo-Clock. Jack’s mother runs into the night, Leaving Madeleine to raise him. Little Jack’s heart is weak, barely able to handle potent emotions, Much less falling in Love. Which fall in love is exactly what he does. When Jack’s object of affection moves away after only one meeting, he spends his days wishing and looking for the girl he met. Even despite what he was told of love and how his heart will falter when confronted with it.

Throughout the film an individual can easily note the dreamlike quality of imagery, which can be explained by its historical French influences. One of the characters that Jack encounters in his journey is Georges Melies, based off of the real Georges Melies. Melies was born in Paris in 1861; he was a trained magician and the owner of the Theatre Robert-Houdin in Paris. He had decided to go into film making a year or so after seeing his first motion picture. Melies was filming one day when he accidentally founded Stop motion picture when the gears of his camera jammed. Through his findings he was able to create illusions by causing the filming to come to a halt, changing the scene that was being filmed, then resuming. He’s regarded as a Cinemagician, A wizard of film, if you will. He was a man who understood that cinematography didn’t have to be a recording of everything around us, but rather a way to capture our dreams.

The movie, as aforementioned is based off of a book. The producers took the words on the page and made them so surreal that are some parts that seem to fly from the viewers grasps of comprehension. I do not think that this confusion is due to just the fact that the animation has a whimsical side to it. There are some plot holes that the film never entirely addresses. These details aren’t particularly needed to enjoy the film; however, it does make things a little more rich and engaging.

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is an exquisitely animated film that people who have an acquired taste for would enjoy, as it is quite eccentric. It makes a striking visual accompaniment to the book, if you have already read it. Otherwise, it can be a bit disconcerting. Nonetheless, it is a good film to curl up and watch when you can hear the odd pitter-patter of the rain outside.