Meet the Small Potatoes
Age: all
Zebra
One day the zebra ran into a tree.
Born in China
The visual splendor of the natural world and its extraordinary creatures is captured on a grand scale in Disney nature’s new True Life Adventure film Born in China. Follow the stories of three animal families—a doting panda bear mother and her growing baby; a jealous golden monkey and his new baby sister; and the elusive snow leopard and her two cubs —that populate various corners of China’s vast terrain. From the lush green thickets of the panda’s bamboo forest to the white-capped mountain lairs of the snow leopard, Born in China offers a remarkably intimate look at the challenges and charms of raising a family never before captured on film.
Panda! Go Panda!
We’re flashing back to a Festival classic that our youngest audiences may have missed! From the legendary team that formed Studio Ghibli (with original concepts and character designs by Hayao Miyazaki) comes two deliriously delightful animated featurettes. Seven-year-old Mimiko has somehow persuaded her grandmother to take off by train and leave her home alone. She’s quite capable of handling all duties of home and hearth, but gets more than she bargains for when PapaPanda and baby Panny turn up at her door. Their round bodies, wide grins, and off-kilter clowning offer the first glints of another charming neighbor to come. Infused equally with the amazing and the absurd, this seriously fun Totoro precursor is sure to win over new audiences and seasoned Ghibli fans alike. Panda, Go Panda, indeed!
Minuscule: Mandibles From Far Away
“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home…” the rhyme goes, but try heeding that when you’re a quarter of an inch long and home is 4,000 miles away! When accidentally boxed into a chestnut shipment, the ladybug of Minuscule is inadvertently shipped to a Caribbean isle. Its parents embark on an odyssey to find it while, on the island, beachfront developers are threatening native habitats. A wild ride ensues—it’s a bug-eyed ecological view made more eye-popping as a live-action animation hybrid shot in lush Guadeloupe.
Screenings on Sunday, March 3rd and Sunday, March 10th will be in 3D
Minuscule: Mandibles From Far Away
“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home…” the rhyme goes, but try heeding that when you’re a quarter of an inch long and home is 4,000 miles away! When accidentally boxed into a chestnut shipment, the ladybug of Minuscule is inadvertently shipped to a Caribbean isle. Its parents embark on an odyssey to find it while, on the island, beachfront developers are threatening native habitats. A wild ride ensues—it’s a bug-eyed ecological view made more eye-popping as a live-action animation hybrid shot in lush Guadeloupe.
Snake
Practicing yogis go from sun salutation to the pits in this entangling laugh of a class.
Slug
A shell of what he aims to be, this slug has made his own bed. Now he needs to figure out how to lay in it.
Sloth
A slow groove just may be the answer when your energy is low.
Penguin
You’ll go over the moon and under the ice for this brand new short.
I Want to Live in the Zoo
At home you’ve got to clean up your room, clear your plate, and finish up homework. Wouldn’t it be much more fun to relax and hang with some buddies at the zoo?
Elephant
With an endlessly trumpeting trunk, this elephant’s cool is about to blow.
Earthworm
You’ve hit pay dirt if you really believe that two heads are better than one.
Crocodile
A relaxing evening on the couch turns into a noshing nuisance for one peckish croc.
Crab
One’s slap is another’s tickle, but the crab and walrus work it out in a pinch, or two…
Bat
Whether hanging out all night or squawking all day, there’s no doubt that noisy neighbors can drive you batty!
Anglerfish
It’s bedtime for this anglerfish. When the lights go out, spooky shadows keep him from sleeping until help is reeled in.
Animal Jubilee
We’re thrilled to share the World Premiere of a brand new shorts program, Animanimals, by Julia Ocker, perennial Festival favorite and Audience Award winner (NYICFF 2015-16). If you adored last year’s reptilian snack-lover in Crocodile, you’ll go over the moon and under the ice for the brand new short Penguin and feel snappy in stripes watching Zebra, which are featured alongside a host of other awesome, animal-centric animated shorts!
Hilda
Join us for this exclusive world premiere of Hilda, adapted from UK author Luke Pearson’s captivating and best-selling series of graphic novels by Mercury Filmworks/Silvergate. Follow the adventures of bright and fearless blue-haired Hilda, her adorable deerfox Twig, and her artist mom as they travel from their home in a vast magical wilderness full of elves and giants to the bustling city of Trolberg. This vividly animated fantasy adventure is inspired by strange Scandinavian folklore and evokes the films of Studio Ghibli. The Hilda series will launch as a Netflix Original in Fall 2018.
Presented with support from
March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step
Twelve years after its first big splash, March of the Penguins returns in grand form with its inimitable narrator Morgan Freeman, and NYICFF offers the unique opportunity to see the film gloriously on the big screen prior to its HULU premiere March 23. The emperor penguins’ arduous journey is even more urgent in the face of climate change, and more impressive, featuring awe-inspiring imagery made possible by cutting-edge 4K cinematography and underwater camerawork. Now a new generation of black-and-white heroes steal the show, sometimes fuzzy, sometimes sleek, but ever charming, curious, dignified, skillful, and devoted. Follow parents and children alike as they heed nature’s call to bridge sea, land, and generations to survive.
presented with support from
Hilda
Join us for this exclusive world premiere of Hilda, adapted from UK author Luke Pearson’s captivating and best-selling series of graphic novels by Mercury Filmworks/Silvergate. Follow the adventures of bright and fearless blue-haired Hilda, her adorable deerfox Twig, and her artist mom as they travel from their home in a vast magical wilderness full of elves and giants to the bustling city of Trolberg. This vividly animated fantasy adventure is inspired by strange Scandinavian folklore and evokes the films of Studio Ghibli. The Hilda series will launch as a Netflix Original in Fall 2018.