This Magnificent Cake!
2018·Animation·45m
7.1
★
In 1885, Africa is a succulent cake destined to be wildly divided and everyone wants a piece. A disturbed European king, a Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a successful but lonely businessman, an enslaved porter, a young army deserter, a ghostly clarinetist. Some benefit from colonialism and greed. Others suffer racism and violence.
Directed by Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels
africa
slavery
stop motion
colonialism
rag doll
19th century
african history
3d animation
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Jan Decleir
The King (voice)
Wim Willaert
Van Molle (voice)
Goua Robert Grovogui
Bolenge (voice)
Sebastien Dewaele
Pierre (voice)
Crew
Emma De Swaef
Director
Marc James Roels
Director
Emma De Swaef
Screenplay
Marc James Roels
Screenplay
Marc James Roels
Editor
Emma De Swaef
Editor
Marc James Roels
Director of Photography
Marc James Roels
Producer
Emma De Swaef
Producer
Emma De Swaef
Character Designer
Popular Reviews
22 reviews
Tim Tufts
8.0★ · 01/20/26
The materials and textures used here made for a stunningly beautiful stop motion animation. The sound design for effects, dialogue, and music was also very crisp and effective. All those elements were apparent in the first couple minutes when dream fountain kicked on (the gurgling sound, the water made of felt, the king calling for his butler)
The surreality throughout was that shit I love. Especially the king being just this uncomfortable little guy and the deserter wandering through the mansion. For a brief moment I was reminded of I’m Thinking of Ending Things when he found himself walking to his own home in the snow.
It’s also a home run thematically. Each of the individual narratives builds into this larger abstract satire of brutal colonial history. Unfortunately I can see some modern parallels with this self-centered king who casually fucks things up for everyone. That clarinet part was so genius.
The surreality throughout was that shit I love. Especially the king being just this uncomfortable little guy and the deserter wandering through the mansion. For a brief moment I was reminded of I’m Thinking of Ending Things when he found himself walking to his own home in the snow.
It’s also a home run thematically. Each of the individual narratives builds into this larger abstract satire of brutal colonial history. Unfortunately I can see some modern parallels with this self-centered king who casually fucks things up for everyone. That clarinet part was so genius.
The materials and textures used here made for a stunningly beautiful stop motion animation. The sound design for effects, dialogue, and music was also very crisp and effective. All those elements were apparent in the first couple minutes when dream fountain kicked on (the gurgling sound, the water made of felt, the king calling for his butler)
The surreality throughout was that shit I love. Especially the king being just this uncomfortable little guy and the deserter wandering through the mansion. For a brief moment I was reminded of I’m Thinking of Ending Things when he found himself walking to his own home in the snow.
It’s also a home run thematically. Each of the individual narratives builds into this larger abstract satire of brutal colonial history. Unfortunately I can see some modern parallels with this self-centered king who casually fucks things up for everyone. That clarinet part was so genius.
The surreality throughout was that shit I love. Especially the king being just this uncomfortable little guy and the deserter wandering through the mansion. For a brief moment I was reminded of I’m Thinking of Ending Things when he found himself walking to his own home in the snow.
It’s also a home run thematically. Each of the individual narratives builds into this larger abstract satire of brutal colonial history. Unfortunately I can see some modern parallels with this self-centered king who casually fucks things up for everyone. That clarinet part was so genius.
Alex Mayfield
8.4★ · 09/05/25
ချည်တွေဟာ တဖြည်းဖြည်းနဲ့ဝါးမျို
ချည်တွေဟာ တဖြည်းဖြည်းနဲ့ဝါးမျို
llusioner
4.6★ · 03/13/24
Well that was certainly interesting!
Well that was certainly interesting!
Lauren
8.3★ · 08/06/23
the foley work alone was insane
the foley work alone was insane
Archie
7.0★ · 08/22/22
os europeus tentando falar de colonialismo não deu certo mas a animação é linda e a história é tão surreal que no fim eu gostei
os europeus tentando falar de colonialismo não deu certo mas a animação é linda e a história é tão surreal que no fim eu gostei