This animated film, directed by Paul Grimault and scripted by the legendary Jacques Prévert, was released in a producer-mangled version in 1952. Grimault labored to complete a restoration unveiled in France in 1980. The celebrated Japanese animators of Studio Ghibli claim “The King and the Mockingbird” as a formative influence.

Now the movie has finally crawled to the US, where audiences can marvel at its hand-drawn magnificence.

The plot concerns a despotic king determined to thwart the romance between a shepherdess and a chimney-sweep, and the mockingbird who’s determined to thwart the king. The surreal images, offbeat jokes and pointed human-rights allegory make this an altogether different experience from most American animation. It’s dreamy, poetic and not to be missed.