The film is today regarded as a masterpiece of French animation and has been cited by the Japanese directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as an influence. It was released in the United Kingdom dubbed into English in cinemas in 1984 and subsequently on VHS, but then had poor availability in English until 2014. After being rereleased in France in 2013, it was rereleased in cinemas in the United Kingdom, and the first English-friendly DVD release was made there in April 2014. While the completed version has not been released on home video in North America, it was available for streaming on Amazon Instant Video and Vudu. Previously, the film had been often shared by animation fans online. A low-budget English-language release of the 1952 version, titled The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird, is in the public domain and available free online. In that version, Peter Ustinov narrates and voices the main role of the bird.