The Doonesbury Special (1977) Animation First 2021

Garry Trudeau  hooks up with Faith and John Hubley for an animated short film of his classic  comic strip. The film has the crew looking back on their lives.

Beautifully animated the film is a time capsule of when it was made. It's a film that could be done now, partly because its the work of the Hubley's who have since passed on, but also because no one would probably actually try to animate a strip like Doonesbury.

The film is a solid 20 minutes that show us the characters in a form that will delight fans of the strip and work for those who have never seen it. I remember when this film came out many people worried if it would date, and amazingly it hasn't.

What struck me about seeing the film for the first time decades is the animation itself. The Hubleys always turned out works of art, but this is something special as it uses well known characters and turns them into something special. Animators working today should take a look at the Hubley's work here and elsewhere to make their work today something that is unique.

Recommended

A pointer toward the African Animation Shorts Collection at Animation First

As part of Animation  First's African Animation sidebar they are running six shorts by African filmmakers. I am not going to go deeply into them  as I would have liked because of an error on my part and error on the festival website (the run time lists the whole collection is 38 minutes, it's twice that) left me with window where I would have no time to actually write up the collection properly.

That said there is some stunning work here with a look and feel all their own. It is definitely worth a look.

BLACK BARBIE
An African girl rejects a black Barbie. An excellent meditation on how "white" is considered better.

THE CORA PLAYER
A beautiful little romance that is filled with wonderful music

AFROPOWER
A very pointed and very good short about exploitation and colonialism

L'AMBOUBA
A woman goes shopping. 
A  bright and beautiful film with a great soundtrack.

FADE
Jaw dropping animation about a man who is fading. 
Forgive me the animation just stunned me. Some of this is just magnificent

PRINC LOSENO
Beautifully animated in stop motion fairy tale, The longest of the shorts (it runs a half an hour, it is full meal tale of kings and queens and kingdoms. A must see.

New French Shorts 1 and 2 at Animation First 2021

Here is a brief look at the films in the two collections of NEW FRENCH SHORTS playing at the festival. There are two links to reviews of two of the films which had recent full reviews

DISORIENTED
A son tries to help his father on a sinking boat and...
This is a blast. Its very funny

TO THE DUSTY SEA
A stop motion film about a broken family. 
This is a crushing film about damage people. Its a great film but its tough.

WHEN WE LEAVE
A film about the connections to the things we leave behind. Very good.

TRONA PINNACLES
A family goes to Death Valley. This looks good but didn't work for me.

SONG OF THE AGEL FISH
The story of two friends. This is a wonderful Look at Friendship

PURPLE BOY

PRECIOUS
A very tough film about two handicapped children. Its really good but heartbreaking

SOUVENIR SOUVENIR

INDES
A woman contemplates having a child. This is very nice.

AIRHEAD 
A woman berates a little man. This didn't quite work for me

RIVAGES
Stunningly beautiful black and white landscapes. What doe this look like on a big screen?

TADPOLE
A brother and a sister go off to play and something happens... This is a beautiful, if dark tale.

WINDSHRIEK
The wind causes weird, and wonderful things to happen to the letters in a book.

ARTIFICE
Oh my lord- this sting in the tale story of two brothers in Arabia will catch in your throat

AVERAGE HAPINESS
Stunning visuals spring from a talk on happiness data

FLOW
Almost experimental line animation of things in motion. I really wish I was seeing this on a big screen

BORIYA
A little girl goes exploring. This is charming and contains the sage advice "If you get bored walk the cow"

TRACES
Unbelievably beautiful black and white film about primitive hunters

MACHINI
More amazing animation that mixes 2D and 3D physical styles.

SONUS LE CANOPEE
Beautiful abstract art

EMPTY PLACES
The title says it all. This is haunting

XYU
A morphing body in a film best described as Bill Plympton on acid

My Life in Versailles ANIMATION FIRST 2021

 

A young girl whose parents were killed in a bombing goes to live with her uncle who is a caretaker at the Palace of Versailles. They are like oil and water and we have to wonder if they will ever get together.

Utterly charming tale is an absolute delight. I love that the film doesn't shy away from darkness, nt only in the how the parents died but also in how it views wards of the state. At the same time the film has a magnificent sense of joy and life that keeps everything light. You can help but laugh and smile.

I loved this film. It is an utter charmer and worth your time.

The Best of Annecy Film Festival collection is a must at Animation First

One of the best collections of animation I've run across in years, this collection of short from the Annecy Festival is worth the price of a festival pass (20 bucks) for Animation First by itself. Its so good I want copies of all of the films to revisit down the road. 

AWOKO'S 1970's
Annecy promo set in a funky 1970's

WADE
Life in a flooded and polluted city, the result of climate change. Sadly there are still tigers
Wow and then some animation tells a great story that is by turns spell binding, tense and frightening. Again- WOW.

GENIUS LOCI
A loner has a mystical night on the town
I have no idea what it means but the animation is amazing and at times hypnotic.

PILE
3D animation of life from the river on up. 
Spectacular world creation. Not sure if it adds up to much but its cool

HOMELESS HOME
black and white masterpiece fantasy. I desperately want to press this into the hands of many people I know.

PHYSICS Of SORROW
cycle of rebirth and life painted. This is a novel and tone tone poem and one of the most deeply felt and moving films I've seen all year. I truly need to see this again.

KINSHASA 2100
minute long explosion of sights and sounds

Brief thoughts on Aya of Yop City (2019) Animation First 2021

Based on a graphic novel by director Marguerite  Abouet AYA OF YOP CITY is the story of 19 year old Aya who wants to be a doctor. Her friends just want to dang out, dance, and be with the cute guys. When one of Aya's friends becomes pregnant everyone's lives becomes complicated

Bouncy and alive AYA is wonderful. Driven forward by a killer soundtrack the film is a charming soap opera.  I wasn't sure I wanted to see the film at first, but did so because it was playing at Animation First, but five minutes into the film I was smiling from ear to ear. Getting to find a wonderful little gem like this.

While not for little kids, the older kids and adults are going to love this gem of a film. I loved this film enough I'm looking forward to getting the graphic novels.

Recommended

The Plague Dogs (1982) Animation First 2021

A companion piece to director Martin Rosen's adaption of WATERSHIP DOWN is another realistic animated film about two dogs who escape from a medical testing facility. However because they are potentially carriers of bubonic plague the humans begin to hunt them. 

A hidden masterpiece. This is a film that most animation fans I know haven't seen. The reason is not that the film has anything wrong with it, rather it is the work for adults. It is a heartbreaking tale with blood, cruelty and sadness. Consider the fact it is based on an anti-vivisection tale. Honestly children would get nightmares. I know back when it came out animation in America was seen as a only a children's medium so they wouldn't play it. It had to stay in the limits of the art houses and as a result got lost.

This is a film you need to see. It is a stunner. It is a beautifully animated film that reveals the majesty of what animation could be. This is a work of art on the level of Studio Ghibli. It is a beautiful film that makes you realize that Martin Rosen should have made more animated films.

I absolutely love this film but I almost never watch it because it wrecks me terribly. (That is a rave)

Highly recommended the film is playing at Animation First which starts today.

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary (2020) Animation First

Remi Chaye's follow up to his classic LONG WAY NORTH is a look at a young Calamity Jane. On the wagon train to the west Jane's  unconventionality rubs everyone the wrong way, When she is accused of being a thief she runs away to prove her innocence.

This is decidedly a Euro-western. It doesn't feel like a film made in the US and we are better for it. And even though it feels like a European take on the American west the the film doesn't feel like a spaghetti western but more the early German westerns about Shatterhand that lead into the spaghettis. The closest American film would have been the wagon train sequence in the Coen Brothers' BUSTER SCRUGGS film.

Though honestly arguing what sort of western this reminds me of is kind of pointless since the western setting is less important than the fact this is simply a tale about a young girl finding her place in the world. Martha, soon to be Jane, simply is going out to right a wrong and prove to the world who she is. Its a solid tale that many young women, and even young men should see.

The visuals are stunning and I love that director Remi Chaye is developing his own path visually and storywise.

This is a definite treat for any animation lover and worth a look when it plays February 5 at Animation First (Its only playing the one night as the Opener)

Women Undercover (2020) Animation First 2021

God bless Animation First for running episodes from this magnificent  series. I have no idea how many episodes there be will total but I need them all as soon as possible.

Not to put too fine a point on it the three episodes of the series running at the fest are great. The series has a journalist interview female spies about their real life jobs in espionage. Its a blast that highlights both the boredom and the excitement of the job.

Guinevere is the opener and it introduces us to our host who explains how she came to interview the women. It also tells the story of one of the first women to work tracking Soviet spies during the cold war. It actually sets the stage for the other stories.

Martha is the story of an American spy who is married to her job. She relates the story of the hunt for Manuel Noriega in Panama and how she ended up getting him to surrender.

Yola is the tale of a Mossad agent who smuggled Jews out of Africa over three years.

The stories are all compelling and by the time the last episode ends you'll want more. Frankly the only thing wrong with the series is that the episodes only run six minutes so you can't curl up and get lost in them. If someone was smart they would turn them into features or hour long episodes.

An absolute must and one of the highlights of Animation First

ADDENDUM

The wonderful press office of the festival arranged for me to see the three remaining episodes in French (which is not my language) and they are just as good as the three I saw. While they are not playing at the festival I am going to mention them in case you were curious about the rest of the series.

Joanna is about how Hollywood helped get a Soviet mole to safety

Ludmilla is about a woman who went to Argentina  to look for Nazis

Gabriele is the story of a Stasi spy

King and The Mockingbird Animation First

With THE KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD playing Animation First here is a repost of my review from 2014 when a restored version played the New York Film Festival

My relationship with The King and the Mockingbird is a complicated one.

I first was made aware of the film via public domain VHS video tapes in the dump bin which carried the title The Curious Adventures of Mr Wonderbird. The film was in English with Peter Ustinov doing the narration and voices. It was a great looking film but kind of dramatically inert. It just didn’t work.

I then went back to the film after reading on it’s tragic history-It was directed by Paul Grimault who had the film pulled away from him and finished by others, then 30 years on he got the film back, chopped out about a third of what was there and put it back the way he intended it to be. I would occasionally revisit the film in the hope that I could see what all the shouting was about but sadly all I had was the crappy Ustinov version to go by. (Wikipedia on the film's history is here)

When the New York Film Festival announced that not only would they be screening the 1979 director lead reconstruction in the version that Gamut restored last year I jumped at the chance to see it. Finally I would get a chance to see the film in all its glory and the way it was intended to be seen.

My thoughts? It’s a wonderful film.

Based on the story of The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep by Hans Christian Andersen, the film tells the story of the kingdom of Tachycardia where the disliked King Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI rules the land. One night while he’s asleep the a painting of the king falls in love with a painting of the shepherdess, unfortunately she loves a Chimney sweep. The characters all break out into the real world, with the painted king usurping the throne of his real world counterpart. A grand chase goes on as the king chases down the shepherdess so he can marry her, because as they say that’s what happens in the stories. Helping the lovers is a mockingbird who hates the king in any form.

The film in the director approved version is great fun. Essentially a surreal chase as the king and his police force chase the lovers, the film has these wonderful weird moments as the police ride fish boats through canals, lions are calmed by music, people fall through trap doors and a giant robot wrecks everything. It’s like an artistic Looney Tunes cartoon with acid flashback moments. Once things are set in motion the film just goes straight on to the end without the trouble of a real plot to get in the way. It’s so breezy that you really won’t care things don’t really make sense.

The art is truly beautiful. The film really is a piece of fine art and should be held to be one of the great animated films. Its stunning to look at especially on the big screen. Seeing it cleaned up and restored and really big I kept mumbling “That’s so cool” over and over again.

And it moves better than before. Stripped of whatever was in the old version (I’m sorry I didn’t go back and look) this version moves like the wind. It just goes and goes and goes from one minute until the next.

To be honest the blending of old and new animation isn’t seamless. You can see it even if you’re not looking for it was there is a change is grain and in the animators hand. The newer animation is less detailed and there is a noticeable change in some of the secondary characters. Its not fatal, and after the first time or two you ignore it because you’re too caught up in the story to care.

This is a must see.

Outside a theater at the New York Film Festival in 2014 the way to a cinematic gem is marked

Josep (2020) Animation First 2021

This is a portrait of illustrator  Josep Bartoli focusing on his time in a French concentration camp after he fled Spain for France during the Spanish Civil War. While in the camp he befriended a guard who showed him kindness.

I really liked this film a great deal. Forgive me if my thoughts are a bit all over the place but my reaction to the film threw out all sorts of thoughts and feelings that I really don’t want to organize because in doing so I think I’ll remove some of the wonder of the film.

The film was made in part to remind people of the terrible things that happened to many people who fled into France from Spain. Most people don’t know about the camps, I didn’t and to see what was done years before the Nazis got up and running is shocking. It’s a brutal reminder that cruelty is basic human trait that we all must overcome. Additionally the film is a reminder that some people are good even in the darkest times.

If you want to fully appreciate the film take a few minutes and look up Bartoli's art on line. Get a sense  of what his drawings are like and then watch the film. While the film does use some of his drawings in the film as the art work the on screen character produces, the actual animation art itself is also reminiscent of his art style. The framing of sequences seem to match the sketches. Looking at the sketches after the fact made me go back to the film and rewatch several sequences. It gave me a greater appreciation of the artistic achievement of the film itself. Frankly until I saw the mirroring of the films art to that of its subject I couldn’t understand why the film was animated. I mean the film would be a perfect live action film until you see the marriage of the various art forms and it becomes clear that the film had to be animated.

The film is a stunner. It’s an unexpectedly powerful film about the human condition. While I don’t think this is for small kids due to its frank language and handling of mature subjects it perfectly fine for older kids. It is also an absolute must for anyone looking for a great historical drama

Peter and the Wolf (2006) Animation First 2021

Updated retelling of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf is a masterpiece of stop motion animation. Set in modern Russia it pretty much follows the story of young Peter going out into world despite his Grandfathers warning and encountering a wolf.

What makes this film so special is that the film has so many small touches that add life and magic to the oft told tale. Look at all of the facial expressions. These are not inanimate objects these are real people and real characters. Look at all of the eyes how alive they seem. Director Suzie Templeton has added a much needed element, danger, to the proceedings. In all the years and all of the countless times I've heard the piece I never really feared for Peter or his friends, here at last I do. Its an edgy retelling that is more emotive since Peter is in very real danger of getting hurt or killed. There is an edge and a weight to the proceedings that I've never experienced before.

Its not fair to compare this to the Disney version since they are two very different takes on the same story. Both valid, both excellent, but not rightly compared.

Make an effort to see this film, it is a classic.

Lisa Sanford on BAMBI (1942) Animation First 2021

With BAMBI playing at this year's Animation First as part of the Wes Anderson selected sidebar. Knowing I couldn't do it justice I turned to Disney expert Lisa Sanford.

Thank you Lisa

You think you remember the movie Bambi. If you recall anything, it might be Thumper the rabbit, or maybe Flower the skunk, and definitely the hunter and all that unpleasantness with Bambi's mother. You can't quite remember what happens after Bambi's mother dies - do Bambi and his buddies get lost in the forest and have adventures finding their way home? Move to the big city and issue parking tickets? Start a detective agency and solve crimes?  There aren't any instantly memorable songs in Bambi that are Disney standards like "Heigh-Ho" or "When You Wish Upon a Star." Maybe what you retain is refreshed by the gifs and the memes because you were so very young when you watched it.  Or maybe you never did.  You start to wonder if you've ever seen Bambi at all.

For a story that's light on plot, Bambi is a lot of things: a coming-of-age fable, an ode to nature, a tale of animal camaraderie, a love story.  Colorful classic characters such as the adorably candid Thumper the rabbit, the sweetly shy Flower the skunk and the graceful fawn love interest Faline round out our principle animal cast.  Additionally, a central and often unnoticed character in Bambi is the forest itself - its rhythms, its textures and sounds, its seasonal costume changes. With its mostly agreeable inhabitants, the forest is lively and yet calm all at once; the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

From a technical standpoint, Bambi is a master class in different types and techniques of animation.  Bambi's naturalistic style reminds me of an early, animated version of Walt Disney's "True Life Adventures" nature documentaries he made from 1948-1960. There's an elegance in the details of the animation: the awkwardness of Bambi's limbs as he learns to navigate the terrain of his world, the layers of the forest as seen through the multiplane camera, the synchronicity of raindrops, lightning and the musical score in a storm, the curls and swirls of the forest fire; the changing color palette of the seasons.  There are shots so lovely I wanted to cut them out and frame them on my wall.

The heartbreaking climax we all remember actually comes quite late - at 42 minutes, more than halfway through the film. It's somber and dignified, and personally I found it far less traumatizing than the "Baby Mine" sequence in Dumbo.

Bambi reminds us that while nature can be brutal, mankind can be far worse; it is the only Walt Disney Studios animated film where humans are the enemy. But it's also reassuring and life-affirming in that way that nature can be sometimes; to everything there is a season.  "Bambi" and "Thumper" are widely understood nicknames for deer and rabbit, respectively - just one example of how the film's legacy reverberates today. 

For a film best remembered for its emotional gut punch, Bambi has so much more to offer. 

Long Way North (2016) Animation First 2021

With THE LONG WAY NORTH playing Animation First as a companion to the director's film CALAMITY about Calamity Jane here is my review of the earlier film from when it played at the New York Children's Film Festival in 2016

Sacha, the heroine of THE LONG WAY NORTH is a spiritual sister to all of the great Studio Ghibli heroines. Her adventures destined to be one of the most talked about films at this years New York International Children's Film Festival because it is such so damn good,

Sacha is the daughter of a Count and Countess in St Petersburg Russia in 1882. Her grandfather is a great arctic explorer looking for a route to the North Pole. After he goes missing and is presumed dead Sacha discovers papers leading her to believe that the rescue parties had been looking in the wrong place. Running away from home she heads out to find a ship which will take her to her grandfather.

Though running only 80 minutes this film has more adventure than almost two other similar films combined. Firmly rooted in reality the adventures of Sacha are such that my the time they end you'll feel as though you've gone North towards the pole and back again.

Stretching from the homes and libraries of Petersberg, through the country side and a across the sea and the ice LONG WAY NORTH is film that never stops pushing forward. There is nary a wasted moment. Things happen constantly, from being left behind by a ship, storms at sea and some hairy adventures on the ice this film. There are some truly amazing set pieces, plus a dark turn or two that make you genuinely fear for everyone's safety. Will Sacha get home? Perhaps, but its not certain, nor is it certain anyone else will either.

A beautiful wide screen film this film is best seen as big as possible. I am envious of those of you seeing this on the huge screens at the SVA theater during the NYICFF since this film is going to suck you in and draw you along in a way that few animated films ever have done.

The characters are all beautifully drawn. These are for the most part real characters, even if they remain a bit too civil when the poop hits the fan.

Sacha is a wonderful heroine. Head strong and sure of her self. She is the sort of character I want to show young girls, especially my niece, as an example of a strong young woman who strives to do what she knows is right and what she feels she must. She is the a heroine whose sisters live at from Studio Ghibli's and are named Nausicaa, Mononoke, Chihiro, and Sophie.

The great part of her character isn’t the strength it’s the perseverance. Sacha keeps at it and doesn’t get discouraged. More importantly where the great Studio Ghibli films or the recent spate of Disney films will give their heroines one thing to overcome, here director Rémi Chayé gives her a boat load- she has to contend with her parents and society in St Petersburg, the set back of the ship leaving without her, having to learn to be a waitress, to have to deal with life on the ship, and then the potential life ending problems on the ice. Sacha doesn’t have one or two things to conquer, she has everything to beat- and she does it despite breaking down. Repeatedly we watch as she effectively curls up in a ball and cries herself to sleep, and yet every time she picks herself up and goes for it and she manages to be both certain and uncertain- “yes I have to do this- but I could be wrong and people will die”. I absolutely love that we have this example of a woman, nay human being, who keeps going despite getting having the crap kicked out of her physically and emotionally. I love that we have this wonderful example that hard work and sticking to one’s guns will pay off. This is a fully drawn and very human character, and possibly one of my favorite ones in any film, animated or live action.

LONG WAY NORTH is amazingly great. It’s an incredibly solid adventure film with a kick ass heroine. Its meatier than almost any live action similar film of recent vintage. It’s a film we kind of need to show little girls so they go out and do the great things of which they are capable.

Its also one of my favorite films of 2016.