Minuscule (TV series)

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Minuscule
Format	Animation
Created by	Thomas Szabo Helene Giraud
Directed by	Thomas Szabo
Country of origin	France
Production
Producer(s)	Phillipe Delarue
Running time	5 minutes, approx.
Broadcast
Original run	October 25, 2006 – present
External links
IMDb profile

Minuscule is a growing collection of short animations that follow the day-to-day existence of anthropomorphic insects. The characters are modelled on computer in 3D and are then set against real scenery. Each animation has a short, self contained and often humorous storyline. The audio is a combination of genuine insect and ambient recordings, and sound effects such as car or helicopter engines, synthesized buzzing etc. During the episodes no words are ever spoken and, although it is a real world setting with houses, fences, cars and garbage bins often involved in the storyline, humans themselves appear only peripherally (if at all).

1 Storyline
2 Broadcasting
3 Characters
4 External links

[edit] Storyline

The series has an overall feel very much like that of the 1996 movie "Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe" with the same European country farm setting (for most episodes), similar camera angles and shots, and an almost identical musical score consisting largely of open-ended, repeated piano phrases. In fact the official website itself states that Minuscule might be called "a cross between Tex Avery and Microcosmos, or grassroots slapstick"[1]. The creators also cite the Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1950s as a model for the series, and they are aimed at both young and old alike. Episodes tend to follow one or more insect characters through a specific situation and have involved storylines such as multi-insect races reminiscent of the pod race sequence in Star Wars:The Phantom Menace, a spider becoming trapped on a helium balloon, and a grasshopper maliciously launching other unsuspecting insects from a catapult made from a blade of grass.

[edit] Broadcasting

It is the brainchild of creators Thomas Szabo and Helene Giraud, and is produced by Phillipe Delarue. Although made in France, its lack of spoken dialogue and the deliberate ambiguity of its country of setting means the episodes are not specific to one nation, and they are sometimes shown on foreign television stations, such as the American Disney Channel, as well as being available at online video sites such as Youtube. Episodes are around five minutes long and when aired on the Disney Channel usually come on at night (9:00-10:00) at the end of the hour (i.e 9:55)and are never interrupted by commercials.

[edit] Characters

Although each episode is largely self contained, there are recurring characters and jokes (such as views through the eyes of spiders, with accompanying dungeon-like dripping sound effects). Each of these regulars has a specific personality that is outlined on the official website. Among the more commonly recurring insect characters are:
Ladybug
Grasshopper
Fly
Ant
The Red Spider