NYICFF ’16: Little Door Gods

They are sort of like lawn gnomes, except they have serious action cred. Traditional Chinese door gods are either threshold figurines, or as in the case of the old school restaurant operated by Raindrop’s grandmother, colorful New Years’ posters portraying mythological heroes. They bring luck to those who hang them in our world and sustaining karma to the depicted demigods in the spirit realm. Unfortunately, the soulless materialism of our day and age has caused an economic crisis in the spirit world. The worlds will collide in Gary Wang’s animated 3D feature Little Door Gods (trailer here), which screened at this year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Raindrop’s grandmother has the last poster of two once popular door god brothers affixed to the entrance of her similarly once popular wonton house. In the spirit world, the handsome Yu Lei and the portly Shen Tu guard a mystical mountain, because that is the strange sort of gig that used to be readily available for door gods. Unfortunately, they have been put on probationary notice. They are required to attend mandatory retraining sessions and present themselves for a midnight roll call (evidently, these recessionary rituals have particular resonance on the Mainland, but Westerners definitely ought to get the general drift).

Meanwhile, a predatory nouveau riche fast food franchisee is conspiring to sabotage the restaurant Raindrop’s mother will soon inherit. She had a hard time of it in Beijing, so she wants to stay in her hometown and make a go of things, even though Raindrop feels lonely and isolated there. However, the little girl will forge a connection with both door gods when each happens to save her from a roving pack of rabid mutts. Yu Lei has come to unleash the Nian, a legendary monster that darned near destroyed both worlds before it was trapped behind three seals. He figures mortals might start to appreciate the gods again if they save them from the apocalyptic beast. It’s a really ill-conceived plan, but sometimes there’s no talking to a demigod. Shen Tu followed Yu Lei across hoping to dissuade from his mad scheme, but he gets sidetracked helping Raindrop and her mother save and maybe even slightly modernize the family business.

There is much that is familiar about LDG, but there are a number of neat little variations. Having the less dashing door god serve as the primary, uncompromised hero is a particularly nice change-up. Yet, it is the specific Chinese cultural currents, both ancient and contemporary, running through the film that really elevate and enrich it. Most viewers should easily pick up on the class inequities, bureaucratic arrogance, and contempt for tradition that combine to jeopardize our new favorite wonton house. The door gods themselves and the correspondence between the human and spirit worlds are also deeply rooted in ancient folklore.

First time helmer Wang’s animation team (several of whom were headhunted from Pixar and DreamWorks) has created some lively and reasonably expressive figures as well as a few truly eye-popping fantastical backdrops. It always looks as good as any Hollywood studio animation release and has a handful of Ghibli worthy moments.

Raindrop and Shen Tu are each also very sympathetic characters, who are easy to identify with, regardless of cultural backgrounds. Thanks to them, LDG could very well appeal to boys and girls equally well. It has a good heart, a healthy energy level, and some cautious criticism of China’s oligarchical crony-capitalism. Recommended rather affectionately, Little Door Gods should have a long festival life ahead of it, following its screenings at this year’s New York International Film Festival (which by the way, screens the terrific Case of Hana and Alice today and next Sunday).

NYICFF ’16: Phantom Boy

Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, NYPD beat cop Alex Tanguy will try to crack a case while he is laid-up with a broken leg. However, Tanguy will have help from a legitimate superhero. Yet, his secret weapon is also a scared little boy facing his own potential mortality. Alain Gagnol & Jean-Loup Felicioli riff on the film noir and superhero genres while keeping the human element front-and-center in the flat-out fantastic Phantom Boy (trailer here), which screens during the 2016 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Ever since young Leo was diagnosed with cancer, he discovered he could astral project. While resting from chemotherapy, he often leaves his body to help guide other patients’ wandering spirits back to their corporal selves. Most forget the experience when they awaken, but not Tanguy.

The hard-charging cop was ambushed by henchmen of a megalomaniacal villain who has taken New York hostage with a well-placed computer virus. Due to his bad rep, Tanguy’s captain refuses to listen to his intel, but crime reporter and potential love interest Mary Delauney is more than willing to follow-up his leads. Leo’s invisible projection will watch over her, feeding back warnings of potential danger to Tanguy through his sleep-talking body. Of course, there are limits to how long Leo can remain in his spectral form.

Much like in their Oscar-nominated A Cat in Paris, Gagnol & Felicioli’s super-stylish 2D animation lovingly evokes film noir, art deco, and comic art. They develop a number of sly gags, including the frequent interruptions of the super-villain referred to as “The Man with the Broken Face” as he attempts to tell his origin story.

Yet, it is the relationships that make Phantom Boy so poignant and endearing, particularly Leo’s quiet moments with his beloved little sister, Titi. It is also quite moving to watch through Leo’s spectral eyes as his worried parents attempt to put up a brave front for his benefit. Frankly, this film packs an emotional wallop, but it also takes care of its noir crime-fighting business with considerable panache. In fact, Gagnol’s closing line is absolute genre perfection.

Phantom is just a quality production from top to bottom, featuring expressive voice work from the likes of Audrey Tautou as the Rosalind Russell-ish Delauney and Jean-Pierre Marielle as the sinister mastermind. For extra, added seasoning, Phantom also uses various jazz recordings of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” as a recurring motif (you’d think they’d use “I Cover the Waterfront” considering how much action takes place on the docks, but so be it).

Altogether, it looks and sounds great and leaves viewers feeling like their batteries have been recharged. GKIDS has had quite a few Oscar nominations in the past, but Phantom Boy just might be able to sneak away with the prize next year. It really deserves it. Very highly recommended, Phantom Boy screens this Sunday (3/6) and Saturday (3/19) at the SVA Theatre, as part of this year’s NYICFF.

NYICFF ’16: Long Way North

In 1917, the North Pole will not seem like such a dangerous place to Sasha, the daughter of Count Chernetsov. However, in 1892, it is quite a cold and forbidding place for a fifteen year-old. Nevertheless, the plucky blueblood will head thereabouts in search of her missing explorer grandfather. In the process, she will learn quite a bit about life and self-reliance in Rémi Chayé’s Long Way North (trailer here), which screens during the 2016 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Sasha always had a special relationship with old man Oloukine—and it was not because the seafaring national hero suffered fools gladly. The Czar has offered a million ruble reward to any crew that finds his ship, the Davai (which roughly translates as “hurry” or “get’er done”), but it has yet to be claimed after a year, perhaps for good reason. When Sasha finally gets a look at her grandfather’s papers, she realizes everyone has been searching in the wrong place. Naturally, nobody wants to hear her theories, least of all the Czar’s snobby new science advisor, so Sasha sets off on her own.

Oloukine might have taught her about charts, but Sasha is in for a real education when she heads north. Having no money, she accepts work with an innkeeper as she awaits the ship that will take her through the Arctic Sea, where she expects to find the Davai. Sailors being superstitious sailors, the crew is not thrilled to have her on board, even when she proves herself during a crisis. As luck will have it, Sasha will have another opportunity to prove her mettle when an iceberg leaves them shipwrecked.

North is a lovely film in just about every way. Stylistically, it is sort of like a cross between classical marine oil paintings and the animation of Genndy Tartovsky. As a youthful protagonist, Sasha is wonderfully charming and endearingly irrepressible. Yet, her coming-of-age story is serious business. Still, a few tense moments and a tragic inevitabilities notwithstanding, most tykes will keep up with her story just fine.

Clearly, there is all kinds of “girl power” in North, but Sasha’s defiance of authority should appeal to boys just as well. She has a substantial growth arc, which is cool. In fact, it gives historically-aware viewers hope the grown-up Sasha will have the wherewithal to survive when the Bolsheviks starts executing “class enemies” such as her. (Yes, we had to take it somewhere dark.) Regardless, Long Way North is highly recommended for animation fans of all ages lucky enough to score tickets to its sold out screenings this Saturday (3/5), Sunday (3/13), and the following Saturday (3/19), as part of this year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival.

NYICFF ’16: April and the Extraordinary World

How would the world look if the Industrial Revolution never happened and petroleum energy was never developed? Far, far more environmentally ravaged than it is today. In this steampunky alternate universe, that steam power comes from trees and there are not a lot of them left. How did things get so bad? A mysterious agency has been abducting scientists, halting progress in its tracks. April and her family are some of the few researchers who have not disappeared or been pressed into the service of the House of Bonaparte emperor, but not for long. April will have to go underground to carry on the family research in Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci’s April and the Extraordinary World (trailer here), which screens during the 2016 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

It all started with April (or Avril)’s great grandfather, Gustave Franklin, but he will not last past the big bang at the beginning of the picture. Her grandfather Prosper (a.k.a. Pops) and parents will continue his research into an ultimate cure-all life-extension serum, but they must do so off the steam-powered grid. Unfortunately, Inspector Pizoni’s raid goes bad, leaving April a presumed orphan with only the family’s talking cat Darwin for company. He was an early test subject, but instead of immortality, he developed the power of speech, because that is how chemistry works.

Busted down in rank, Pizoni swears vengeance against the Franklin family, but he is probably the least of their worries given the wider mysteries in play. However, he manages to recruit a likable parolee to worm his way into Franklin’s confidence. Of course, the smooth talking Julius is in for considerably more than he bargained for, but the issue of trust will loom large if these kids are ever going to develop a serious relationship.

Even in today’s world of banal CGI wonders, it would be a tall order the render the scope and detail of the Franklins’ ominous steampunk world in a live-action tent-pole. Based on Jacques Tardi’s graphic novel, Ekinci and co-adaptor Benjamin Legrand fully establish the complexities of the alternate history. With the [un]timely death of Napoleon III, the disastrous Franco-Prussian War is averted and the not so enlightened Bonapartes remain on the Imperial throne. (On the plus side, the Paris Commune never happens either, sparing the French its lingering ideological toxicity.)

It is pretty cool to see a film suitable for family viewing reference the Franco-Prussian War and provide cameos for scores of scientists, including Einstein and Fermi. Francophiles will also be impressed by the big name French voice cast, including Marion Cotillard as Ap[v]ril, Jean Rochefort as “Pops” Prosper (he’s terrific), Bouli Lanners as Pizoni, and Oliver Gourmet as her father, Paul.

Stylistically, Desmares & Ekinci’s animation evokes the clean lines of Tardi’s comic art, but that allows them to render the steam engines and Belle Époque fashions and monuments with crisp precision. Even in an animated film, the narrative stretches believability, but the sophisticated world-building more than compensates. Highly recommended for steampunk fans of all ages, April and the Extraordinary World screens this Sunday (2/28) and next Saturday (3/5) at the SVA Theatre, as part of this year’s NYICFF, with a regular theatrical release coming from GKIDS on March 25^th.