“In the forest without paths or trails, Hervé Hérisson runs for days on end.” These beautiful rhyming words open this enchanting tale. La maison du hérisson (The Hedgehog's House) is a short animated film that brings author Branko Ćopić's poem to life. A tribute to ex-Yugoslavian literature, this little gem of a stop-motion film tells the story of Hervé, a hedgehog who is deeply devoted to his house lost in the woods. Much envied by the other animals in the forest, Hervé takes refuge in his solitude and fully asserts his freedom. But these greedy beasts will seek him out and confront him.
This poem is brought to life thanks to the film's remarkable animation technique. Director Eva Cvijanović worked with woolly stop-motion animation and used lighting in various ways: the textures are brought to life through an astonishing play of light and shadow. The technique used in this film is reminiscent of Wes Anderson's wonderful Fantastic Mr. Fox. In addition, music plays a central role in the story and perfectly accompanies the narrative and its philosophical dimension. The director was particularly inspired by Ennio Morricone's spaghetti westerns to create the atmosphere of her film. Indeed, the animatics were combined with musical sketches, just as the famous Italian composer did when he associated characters with musical themes.
The film shows us that happiness and comfort can be found in modest surroundings: the hedgehog feels so at home not because he lives in a “golden house” as the fox imagines, but because he loves his childhood home and the symbolism it represents. It is his home, his place of belonging, which he has made his own. In a society where we are pushed to consume more and more, and to always want bigger and better, The Hedgehog's House shows us that material wealth is not necessarily synonymous with fulfillment and that life's little pleasures can be enough to make us happy.
