''Tadpole and the Whale'' () is a Canadian children's fantasy film, directed by

Jean-Claude Lord Jean-Claude Lord (6 June 1943 – 15 January 2022) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was one of the most commercial of the Québécois directors in the 1970s, aiming his feature films at a mass audience and dealing with political ...

and released in 1988 as part of the Tales for All series."Demers film Tadpole wins a Golden Reel as box-office champ". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', March 14, 1989. The film stars Fanny Lauzier as Daphné, a young girl living in Mingan,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

who has developed the ability to breathe underwater, and who has befriended the

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s and the

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s living near the town in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The film's cast also includes

Denis Forest Denis Forest (September 5, 1960 – March 18, 2002) was a Canadian character actor. He was known for portraying henchmen in Academy Award-nominated blockbusters '' The Mask'' and ''Cliffhanger''. He was the lead villain in the second season of th ...

, Marina Orsini, Félix-Antoine Leroux, Jean Lajeunesse,

Lise Thouin Lise Thouin (10 July 1950) is a French Canadian actress and writer.Bulletin critique du livre français - Issues 583-584 1997- Page 1062 "De retour d'un voyage en Europe, la comédienne Lise Thouin est atteinte, durant l'été 85, par un virus foud ...

, Louise Richer, Thomas Donohue, Roland Laroche, Pierre-Olivier Gagnon, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Jean Lafontaine, Jean Lemire, André Doyle, Claude Grisé and Alie Lavoie Gray. The film garnered three

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the

10th Genie Awards The 10th Genie Awards were held on March 22, 1989 to honour achievements of Canadian films which were released in 1988."Dead Ringers tops at Genies". ''Montreal Gazette'', March 23, 1989. The event was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in T ...

in 1989, including

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, Best Cinematography ( Thomas Burstyn) and Best Original Song for "We Are One (Sous la mer)" (Normand Dubé, Guy Trépanier and Nathalie Carson).

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "Cronenberg film earns a dozen nominations Dead Ringers tops Genie list". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 14, 1989. It also won the Golden Reel Award as the year's top-grossing Canadian film with a gross of C$1.79 million just from

, before it had even opened in

English Canada English Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' is also used for any of the following: *Describing all the provinces of Canada ...

References

External links

* * 1988 films 1988 independent films Canadian children's fantasy films Films directed by Jean-Claude Lord Films produced by Jacques Bobet Films about dolphins Canadian independent films 1980s children's fantasy films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub