The Fox and the Child

The Fox and the Child follows a girl of around ten who lives with her family in a remote farmhouse on the edge of the Jura mountains in eastern France. Walking to school through the woods one autumn morning, she spots a fox and, instead of simply watching it disappear, becomes determined to see it again. What grows from that encounter is a bond between the child and the animal, and through the fox she comes to know a wild, hidden side of the natural world that changes how she sees animals and her own place among them.

Luc Jacquet directed and co-wrote the film with Eric Rognard, following his earlier March of the Penguins. It was produced by Christophe Lioud, Emmanuel Priou and Yves Darondeau, and combines nature documentary footage with a fictional story. Bertille Noël-Bruneau plays the girl, with narration voiced by Isabelle Carré and Kate Winslet, and Thomas Laliberté and Camille Lambert in supporting roles.

Made for about 13 million dollars, the film took roughly 30 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from around 4,600 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 out of 10 from some 360 votes, a modest but consistent level of approval. Jacquet returned to wildlife subjects with March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step and Antarctica Calling.