Age Range: 7

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Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins

Perfect for our youngest audiences, Academy Award winning director Torill Kove’s first feature film is a refreshingly warm and intimate tale based on beloved children’s book character Alfie Atkins. Seven-year-old Alfie dreams of owning a dog, but his father insists that he is too small for such a big responsibility. Undaunted, Alfie finds an unlikely ally in George, a kindly magician who performs tricks for the neighborhood kids and has just adopted a puppy of his own. If magic can make things appear and disappear, maybe it can help to make his dream come true! But it turns out, magic is not as easy as Alfie thinks, and when his dream finally does come true, it is in a most unexpected manner. Lovingly animated with thoughtful, honest character interactions, Hocus Pocus offers an emotionally and visually rich cinema experience for young moviegoers and their parents.
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Beyond Beyond

Inspired by Scandinavia folktales, Beyond Beyond spans epic worlds as it follows young hare Johan on a quest to find his mother after she passes from his world and into the land of the elusive Feather King. To keep them safe from the King’s reach, Johan’s father has ordered them to life on the high-seas. But when a rocky storm separates them, Johan uses the opportunity to venture to the kingdom in an attempt to bring back his mother. Along the way, he teams up with some unlikely conspirators, and discovers the connections between the world he knows and the one he’s always questioned. Artful landscapes and exquisitely detailed characters give wonderful dimension to Beyond Beyond, but it’s the profound tale of love and loss that guides this ship home.
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Moomins on the Riviera

Sixty years ago, when Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson launched the Moomin comic strip, little did she know it would reach 20 million daily readers in more than 40 countries. In celebration of her 100th birthday, French director Xavier Picard brings Jansson’s carefree and adventurous Moomin family to life, with delicately animated characters set within beautifully designed and colored backgrounds, and the comic’s traipsing storylines translated to the screen with just the right amount of absurdity and humor. As the story opens, disruptions in the tranquil world of Moominvalley prompt the Moomins to take a trip to the French Riviera for some much needed rest. Upon their arrival, they are introduced as “De Moomin” and taken to the fanciest hotel in town, where they are treated like royalty. Exposed to the luxurious life for the first time, Moomintroll’s beloved Snork Maiden becomes seduced by the lure of fashion and celebrity, while Moominpappa begins to hobnob with high-society art collectors. But the rest of the family seems less impressed by this superficial world and longs to return home.
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Long Way North

Though she is being groomed for proper Russian aristocracy, Sasha would much rather embark on adventures than attend fancy galas. When her grandfather disappears on his quest to conquer the North Pole, he becomes the laughing stock of St. Petersburg, and Sasha makes it her mission to restore the family legacy. Setting out on her own into uncharted waters, she joins a group of sailors as chilly as the icebergs that surround them. Together they face treacherous terrain and harsh conditions in order to find what’s been lost at sea. With unwavering courage and devotion, Sasha honors the path of those that came before her without losing the will to forge her own.
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Wolfy, the Incredible Secret

Though they’re from opposite ends of the food chain, Wolfy and Tom (a wolf and rabbit, respectively) are best friends. Wolfy has always believed he was an orphan, until one day a gypsy tells him that his mother is still alive and a person of importance in the distant dynasty of Wolfenberg, Land of the Wolves. Despite his fear of “the fanged ones,” Tom agrees to accompany his friend as they venture far from their peaceful countryside home. They arrive in the midst of Carne Festival — a grand meeting of the world’s most renowned carnivores — and Wolfy’s quest for self-discovery quickly turns into Tom’s quest for survival. This beautifully animated film is based on the wildly popular French children’s book series LouLou from writer and director Gregoire Solotareff, who also brought us our 2007 opening night film U.
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Mune

Plunge into a world of wonder, magic and mythology in this sumptuously animated CGI adventure about a land divided between the realms of day and night. As legend has it, the first Guardian of the Sun threw a harpoon into the cosmos and roped the sun to bring light and warmth to all of humanity. Then the Guardian of the Moon lured the moon to the Land of Darkness to provide a balance to the sun and supply the world with dreams. At a momentous ceremony to appoint the two new guardians, an accident seems to occur; the heir apparent is passed over, and the title Guardian of the Moon is bestowed on the waif-like Mune, a small and frightened forest faun who seems wholly unprepared to take on such a weighty responsibility. This news excites Necross, the nefarious ruler of the Underworld, a corrupted ex-guardian who decides to take advantage of Mune’s weakness and steal back the sun for himself. Now it is up to unlikely hero Mune and his friend Glim — a headstrong young girl with wax for skin — to save the sun and restore order to the world.
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Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran, is among the most popular volumes of poetry ever written, selling over 100 million copies in forty languages since its publication in 1923. The timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film intersperses Gibran’s elegant verses with stunning animated sequences by Festival favorite filmmakers Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), Bill Plympton (Guide Dog), and a host of award-winning animators from around the world. Set in a Mediterranean sea-side village, Kamila cleans house for exiled artist and poet Mustafa, but the more difficult job is keeping her free-spirited young daughter, Almitra, out of trouble. The three embark on a journey meant to end with Mustafa’s return home — but first they must evade the authorities who fear the truth in his words.
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Shaun the Sheep the Movie

Shaun the Sheep, the woolly stop-motion star whose vocal range is limited to bleats and baas, first appeared in Nick Park’s 1999 Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit adventure A Close Shave and went on to become the UK’s most beloved cartoon character. In his first feature film, Shaun tires of the everyday routine on Mossy Bottom Farm and concocts a plan to lead his flock in rebellion. But be careful what you wish for. Events rapidly escalate out of control and Shaun’s mischief inadvertently leads to the hapless Farmer getting taken away to the Big City, where a bop on the head renders him an amnesiac. Fortunately, muscle memory has kept the Farmer’s shearing skills intact, so he is able to find a new life has a celebrity hair stylist. But Shaun is intent on bringing him back to the farm where he belongs — if only he can escape the clutches of the fearsome animal catcher!
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The King and the Mockingbird

A pompous, cross-eyed king is in love with a painting of a shepherdess. But she has eyes for the dashing young chimney sweep in the next painting over — and so the two decide to elope, stepping out of their frames and into Grimault’s endlessly inventive and bizarre castle town, where elevators are beetles attached to telescoping antennas, buildings hang like barnacles from gargantuan Roman pillars, and the King gives chase in a throne-turned bumper car. This French animated gem originally began production in the late 1940s, but wasn’t completed until 1980.
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The Story of Percival Pilts

After his first walk on stilts, Percival Pilts declared not just that he’ll never again let his feet touch the ground, but that he’ll go as high as he can. True to his word, his ascent reaches uncharted territory.
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The Little Cousteau

A boy escapes his snow-covered city through dreams of deep-sea adventures like his hero, the legendary Jacques Cousteau.
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The Trumpeter

Despite obstacles, a trumpet player finds his inner voice. In doing so, he creates a wild, colorful freedom for his fellow musicians.
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An Object at Rest

A stone will encounter lots of obstacles over the course of a millennium, but is there any greater disruption than that of human civilization?
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Anatole’s Little Saucepan

Anatole is still lagging behind his small saucepan. It fell on him one day without a clear reason. Since then, it stuck around and prevents him from moving. One day, Anatole has had enough.
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Air-Mail

A young woman lives alone with her cunning cat, secretly in love with the boxer next door. thanks to her cat’s adventures, she gets closer to her crush.
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Leaving Home

When Father decides Richard is old enough to leave home, he sends him out into the world. However Richard keeps returning–every time in a more bizarre way.
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About a Mother

A loving mother comes to the rescue of each of her sons in this beautiful tale that illustrates the power of a parent’s generosity.
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Minoule

One determined cat goes to great lengths for a tasty canary.
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Two Friends

Even best friends can have trouble understanding each other when they are from two different worlds.
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Zoo Story

What happens when a little girl who is bored at the zoo suddenly notices a big gorilla?
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5.80 Meters

A herd of high-flying acrobatic giraffes takes to the pool.
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My Big Brother

Big brother is not just older, but physically gigantic.
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Imagination

While playing in her room, a young girl discovers wild worlds made of paper, plasticine, clay, and more.
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Tiny Tunes: Food

Our new favorite band performs a pocket-sized poem about our favorite subject: food!
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Eyes

There are things to fear in the dark.
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Wayne the Stegosaurus

He wears his bow-tie on his tail and likes to eat the daily mail. He’s Wayne the Stegosaurus.
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Zebra

One day the zebra ran into a tree.
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Submarine Sandwich

A new stop-motion food film from the director of the shortest film ever nominated for an Oscar–Fresh Guacamole. Note: Footballs are not intended for consumption!
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Crab Story

A surprising tale of crabs, pineapple, flotsam and jetsam idols.
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