In Review: Paddle to the Sea, a film by Bill Mason

This is a unique review here but it was so great I had to include it on my main blog instead of just BabyMast. This is a short narrative film for children by Bill Mason, titled Paddle to the Sea. It was a tribute to the book published in 1940, and was about a small boy who created aboat that could sail the open waters and see things he could not. Over the winter months, the boy worked so hard whittling him down from wood, painting him, and finally releasing him.

From the Amazon website:
Like The Red Balloon, Paddle To The Sea folklorically portrays a toy's journey, with a bit of added personification since the whittled boat contains a stoic Native American man carved into its seat. The film begins in a Nipogon log cabin, where a boy laments releasing his newly crafted artwork but soon realizes that setting his toy free is the only way to enliven it.
Paddle goes on a number of adventures, and finally makes it to the sea after being fished out, stuck in a rut, and treated with kindness from an old lighthouse watcher. Paddle to the Sea is a lullaby to tranquility that entertains with simple charm and clever wit--Trinie Dalton

This is a really sweet and interesting story for families to watch or children. I would say normally 4 years plus, but when I introduced it to Lukka one rainy morning, he loved it, and he's only 2!
Enjoy!

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