Sheared
A wily sheep looks to dodge the shearing scissors in this homage to Saturday morning cartoons.
Film Tag: Animation
Luna
One fateful night a larva falls in love at first sight – but can a flamenco dance woo the beautiful Luna moth?
Vistas: Dancers of the Grass
Traditional hoop dance is explored using stop-motion animation in this fascinating look at a native Canadian ritual.
Sainte Barbe
In this expressive puppet animation from acclaimed director Claude Barras (My Life as a Zucchini), we meet little bald Leon, who loves his grandfather’s big, bushy beard, even before he discovers that his favorite facial hair has magical powers.
Cameras Take Five
This colorful, handmade, cameraless animation explores shapes and lines in this engrossing visual artwork.
The Sweater
When hockey rivalries reign supreme, Roch Carrier recounts the day when he must face his friends who are die-hard Montreal Canadiens fans…. in a Maple Leafs jersey!
Ancien and the Magic Tablet
This fender and genre-bending film takes us into the not-too-distant machine-driven future. Kokone should be diligently studying for her university entrance examines, but she just can’t seem to stay awake. Aside from stealing precious study time, her napping is even more distracting, as it brings on strange dreams with warring machines that hint at family secrets that have been dormant for years. She can’t ask her father, a hipster mechanic more talented and artful than his job requires, as he’s always busy modifying motorcycles and cars in flights of fancy. What are these visions that lead Kokone at once closer to and farther away from her family? Like all the best anime, the film revels in multilayered fantasy to show how sometimes opposites—waking and dreaming, the past and the future—are far more intertwined than they appear.
Rudolf the Black Cat
Rudolf enjoys a life of comfort and care in Gifu, Japan. Yet true to the adage, curiosity gets the best of the kitten, and he decides to explore beyond the four walls of his home. When he’s inadvertently whisked into the back of a cargo truck and lands in Tokyo, he befriends Gottalot, a seasoned street cat who possesses a crucial and unusual skill that will help him find his way home: the ability to read the human language. Rudolf’s journey is rich with Japanese culture, and his story celebrates the wonder of discovery—that magical moment when you realize you have the key to unlock the world.
Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess: Four Enchanting Tales
Renowned animator Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress) originally conceived of this enchanting collection of fairy tales in his signature silhouette style of animation as a series related to past Festival feature Tales of the Night (NYICFF 2012). A master projectionist and his two assistants bring life to four magical tales. Stories of a shape-shifting princess, a cat whose natural ability seems supernatural to some, a girl who learns to harness—not hide from—her fears to fight the most daunting of beasts, and a boy tempted by the promises of a sorcerer are full of rich imagery, plot twists, and charming characters. As always, Ocelot’s illustrations provide a stunning platform to explore the very art of storytelling.
Revolting Rhymes
Forget everything you thought you knew about Little Red Riding Hood. And Cinderella. And the Three Little Pigs… In “Revolting Rhymes,” Roald Dahl reimagined six classic fairy tales with his characteristically sardonic wit. Now his twisted tales come to life in two wondrously animated featurettes. These new stories have slightly rougher edges: a greedy pig banker pilfering Red Riding Hood’s hard-earned savings, a Cinderella less than thrilled with her post-ball prospects, and a Snow White who hightails it into the big city. And yet, compassion somehow miraculously holds on. Gallows humor, guffaws, knowing laughs, and sighs of relief all have their turn in this wicked and visually sumptuous tale, delicious enough to become a classic in its own right.
*Dark humor and some stylized cartoon violence.
Your Name.
The day the stars fell, two lives changed forever. Total strangers Mitsuha and Taki live their teenage lives in separate cities until suddenly, for reasons unknown, they switch bodies. Beyond all of the physical awkwardness of their strange, new bodies, they must learn to navigate each other’s social realms and habits as they continue to swap back and forth unexpectedly. Incredibly, they adapt and form an intense bond by leaving each other messages. But can they manipulate fate and the destructive forces of the heavens to meet in person? Written, directed, and animated by anime master Makoto Shinkai (NYICFF 2008’s 5 Centimeters Per Second) in his stunningly detailed signature style, the film’s world is one where teenagers are full of sensitivity in the best sense: open to every experience and exchange, and eager to truly know one another.
Window Horses
Rosie Ming wants nothing more than to live the life of a Parisian poet. Instead, the only child of a Chinese mother and Iranian father lives in Canada with her over-protective grandparents. She’s overjoyed to receive an unexpected invitation to a poetry festival, but has some misgivings upon realizing that it’s not in Paris, but in Iran. Culture shock upon arrival soon gives way to total fascination as she (and the audience) discovers the area’s rich artistry and storytelling. With the help of new friends, Rosie uncovers her connection to Iran, her inspiration, and her own artistic voice. Anne Marie Fleming’s adaptation of her own graphic novel beautifully mixes animation styles to create a testament to the value of identity and the power of art to bridge languages, cultures, and generations.
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!
My Life as a Zucchini
“Zucchini” may sound like a weird name, but after the accidental death of his mother, the nickname is all the nine-year-old has left of her. The kids at his new group home seem to understand and, though hesitant at first, Zucchini soon finds himself part of their close-knit, makeshift family. So upon the arrival of the winsome Camille, he is quick to offer his own warm welcome. But when Camille’s greedy aunt tries to take her away, Zucchini and his newfound friends must find a way to stay together. With its beautifully expressive stop-motion style, My Life as a Zucchini tackles sometimes heavy subject matter with a light touch, conveying the children’s perseverance through precarious circumstances through the matter-of-fact lens of childhood.
Note: Film includes references to characters’ difficult pasts including alcoholic, criminal, and abusive family members, as well as a childlike discussion of sexual situations.
Note: Film includes references to characters’ difficult pasts including alcoholic, criminal, and abusive family members, as well as a childlike discussion of sexual situations.
Weekends
Nominated for an Oscar and evocatively hand-illustrated, Jimenez’s film artfully relays the story of a young boy shuttling between dreams as well as his challenging new two-household reality.
Mogu & Perol
Whether their tastes lean umami or sweet, the duo here finds there is simply nothing more delish than a warm friendship.
Preschool Poets: Bullets
Brayden offers poetic yet to-the-point advice for laying down arms and anger.
Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems
Exquisitely hand drawn and based on the NYICFF and Academy-Award winning short, abstract and surreal visuals suggest eco-dangers tempered by Pig and a cast of hopeful characters.
Passing By
100 years of Amsterdam go by in street-style flash and dash in this memorably animated view of history.
Preschool Poets: Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Crumpy, and Mr. Bumpy
Young writer Alexa poetically describes feelings and how they can grow so strong, particularly when it comes to family.
Best Laid Plans
Follow twists, turns, lifts, and drops as a Rube Goldberg contraption takes viewers on a glorious ride to a circuitous conclusion.
Ride
Get into gear for hundreds of bikes getting ready to go in this frame by frame motorized fantasia.
Preschool Poets: Poem About All Different Things
Samuel serves up some poetic proclamations about life, as definitively drawn from the three-foot perspective.
Back to the Moon
Journey through early cinema, film magic, and love with Back to the Moon, an animated, interactive short celebrating the artistry of French film director and magician Georges Méliès.
Running Lights
A magical transfer of glowing energy and life is set into motion when one creature departs its earthly form.
Preschool Poets: Supergirl
Poet Penny sums it up best when she says “I would like to kick! ‘Cause that’s what a supergirl does.“
Power
The crazy machines that fuel the moving image get cleverly de- and re-constructed in this animated homage to Eadweard Muybridge.
Workout
A successful gym session is all about maintaining a good rhythm.
Bless You!
You might consider existence one giant cosmic sneeze once you are exposed to this vibrantly infectious animation.
Monsters Don’t Exist
A pair of frenemies hit the books during after school detention, but things gets wilder than they ever expected.