NYICFF ’18: Zombillenium

Hector is becoming more human. He was a workplace safety inspector and now he is a zombie. It’s definitely an improvement. After years of bullying companies, he now finds himself at the bottom of the monster pecking order. However, Hector might just finally organize the passive walking dead in Arthur de Pins & Alexis Ducord’s Zombillenium (trailer here), which screens during this year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival.

As a widowed single father, Hector has not been doing right by his daughter Lucie. After promising to take her to the all-too-real monster-themed amusement park Zombillenium, he tries to wriggle out of it by shutting it down with workplace safety citations. However, the park’s general manager, Francis Von Bloodt will not stand for that, so he kills Hector and remands him into Zombillenium service as a zombie.

Oddly enough, it turns out Hector makes a good zombie. Thanks to his contributions, the zombie attractions start to gain popularity at the vampires’ expense. With the exception of the sympathetic Von Bloodt, this new turn of events does not sit well with the blood-suckers, so they start plotting, because they are monsters after all. Meanwhile, Gretchen the Nine Inch Nails-listening intern-witch (whose father is rumored to be quite an infernal one) will try to facilitate a reunion between the embattled Hector and his grieving daughter.

De Pins and Ducord cast the zombies-versus-vampires struggle in unsubtle class warfare terms, yet the militant labor rights messaging rather clashes with wonton abuse of government regulatory power displayed by Hector while still in human form. At least nobody sings “The Internationale,” but the filmmaker clearly would not mind if little ones in the audience jumped up to yell “¡no psaran!,” while pumping their fist. It’s a shame, because it drags down the fun quotient of an otherwise charming animated film.

If you can overlook the forays into propaganda, Zombillenium is an entertaining monster movie that tweaks the traditional legends and movie conventions in clever ways. The father-daughter relationship is rather sweet and touching, while the ambiguous chemistry that develops between Hector and Gretchen pays off nicely.

As a side note, Zombillenium had its only 3D screening at the festival last Sunday. Ordinarily, we consider 3D an underwhelming cash-grab, but in this case, it works unusually well. A good deal of the story involves the park rollercoaster and Gretchen’s witchboard, so there is all kinds of swooping and swooshing, which makes for a richer, fuller 3D experience than someone pointing a sharp stick at the camera.

Zombillenium is definitely a film for older kids, because there are some intense scenes, including the downtrodden zombies laboring like Sisyphus on the Conan wheel in H-E-double hockey-sticks. However, fans who know their Famous Monsters of Filmland and Drak Pack will get a kick out of seeing the classic monster archetypes updated for the postmodern era. Recommended despite its didactic excesses, Zombillenium screens again in 2D this Saturday (3/17), as part of the 2018 NYICFF.

Patrons of French cinema might also be interested in Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Romain Segaud’s Two Snails Set Off, a three-minute animated adaptation of the Jacques Prévert poem. It is more about creepy-crawly critters than creatures, but it displays the same Baroque-level of detail seen in Jeunet’s features, such as Delicatessen. It also features the voice talent of a platoon of famous French screen thesps, including Audrey Tatou and Irène Jacob. Brief but still recommended for the auteur’s fans, Two Snails screens as part of the Heebie Jeebies short block this Sunday (3/18).

NYICFF ’18: Big Fish & Begonia

To most of us, A Dog’s Purpose is a dog movie (and previously a dog book), but it also suggests there is more in store for us than one single go-round on Earth. When it became a surprise hit in China, it joined the success of the Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms book, film, and television franchise. Maybe crony-commie-capitalism and the fuerdai party scene just are not enough for a lot of Chinese yuppies as they get older. By taking inspiration from the Zhuangzi and other ancient compendiums of legend, filmmakers Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun further bolster the mini-trend. There is indeed another world beyond our own in Zhang & Liang’s Big Fish & Begonia (trailer here), which screens during this year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Compared to us mortals, Chun is a veritable demigod, but she is not immortal. Living in a magical realm, she must journey to Earth to observe mankind in the guise of a dolphin, as part of the requisite coming-of-age ritual. If she does not return after seven days, the portal will be forever closed to her. That appears to be her fate when Chun is ensnared in fishing nets, but the noble mortal Kun cuts her free, tragically drowning in the process.

Feeling responsible for his death, Chun cuts a deal with the keeper of the underworld to reincarnate Kun’s soul immediately. However, she must watch over the baby dolphin he now inhabits, until he can make the return journey. Much to anguish of the torch-carrying, friend-zoned Qiu, Chun’s affinity for Kun quickly develops into love. However, his unnatural presence in her world threatens to upset the cosmic balance.

So maybe it is a little like Shape of Water, but it predates the Oscar winner by at least a year. Of course, it does not predate Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, or the Orpheus myth for that matter, but it has a weird New Age vibe that is all its own. Regardless, the big news is Big Fish can totally hang with mid-level Studio Ghibli in terms of animation quality. There is no question this finest Chinese feature animation of the current era, probably going all the way back to Wan Laiming’s The Monkey King—Uproar in Heaven, thanks to the steady stream of genuinely arresting visuals Zhang and Liang serve up.

This really is an eye-popping world, but the narrative might be too woo-woo for its own good. Frankly, they never really establish how and why Chun and Kun fall in love, beyond his obvious sacrifice, nor do the levels of apocalyptic doom track smoothly from the tragic set-up. Arguably, it would all click better if they dialed down the cosmic elements and made it a simpler story of Chun trying to do right by Kun for reasons of guilt, compassion, and ecumenical humanist love.

On the other hand, the otherworldliness of BF&B makes it fascinating to unpack, especially since it was produced in a country whose government still equates religion with superstition. Just imagine how unamused the Gang of Four would be. Viewers will truly feel like they were immersed in a fantasy world, which is very cool.

The film’s ambition and the extent to which Liang and Zhang successful realize it on screen is also hugely impressive. This really raises the reputation of Chinese animation, as well as the stakes. You really have to see it to appreciate its scope, but it will be worth it for older animation fans. (Parents should be warned, it was hugely “divisive” among youngsters at its last NYICFF screening.) Recommended for sophisticated animation connoisseurs and audiences for reincarnation films, such as Along with the Gods and What Dreams May Come, Big Fish & Begonia screens again this Sunday (3/11) and the following Sunday (3/18), as part of the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

NYICFF ’18: Horus, Prince of the Sun

He is a young man of destiny, who will reclaim his legacy with the help of a sword that he dislodged from stone. These might sound like familiar fantasy tropes, but the Norse/Slavic flavor and Ainu inspiration would still make it rather distinctive. However, the adventure of Hols takes on enormous historical significance, because it represents the first feature length work of revered animator Hayao Miyazaki and his legendary collaborator Isao Takahata. It is a forerunner to so many beloved Studio Ghibli masterworks, but there is also plenty of ripping good adventure to enjoy in Takahata’s Horus, Prince of the Sun, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with screenings during the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Hols (or Horus or whatever) is young, but he has a bold spirit that impresses Rockoar, the unfortunately named stone giant (say it to yourself a couple times), especially after the lad manages to pull the legendary Sword of the Sun out of the giant’s shoulder. In fact, the giant prophesies greatness for the boy, but first he must re-forge the sword. He will also have to endure trials and tribulations, starting with the death of his father.

With his dying breathe, the old man urges him to find and rebuild their ancestral village up north that was destroyed by Grunwald, a wintery demonic figure. Recognizing a fantasy hero when he sees one, Grunwald first tries to coopt Hols and then leaves him for dead. He is unsuccessful at both. Soon thereafter, Hols saves a communal fishing village from a number of beastly threats. However, Grunwald will have more success when his siren-voiced little sister infiltrates the village, with Hols’ oblivious help, to insidiously undermine his position.

As a work of cinema analyzed from a strictly formalistic perspective, Horus is a well-paced fantasy, whose primary characters, Hols and Hilda, are quite psychologically sophisticated. There is plenty of action, including the motion-comic effect (panning and scanning over panoramic still tableaux) Takahata effectively uses to render the big battle scenes. Although it is not as visually rich as the work Miyazaki would do at Ghibli, there are still plenty cool images, most definitely including Rockoar.

However, to fully appreciate Horus, imagine seeing it when it was originally released in 1968. As a genre, fantasy was basically Tolkien novels and Hercules movies. Sword of Shannara had not been published yet. The first edition of Dungeons & Dragons had not yet been released. No Wheel of Time, no Game of Thrones, no Stormlight Archive. Nor had anime made much penetration into the western market yet, with the syndication of thin-edges-of-the-wedge Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets years away. It terms of what it was and what it led to, Horus is arguably an under-heralded milestone.

By the way, it is also fun. It zips along, but there are also some real emotional stakes. If you really want to go there, there are even parallels that could be drawn between Hols, Hilda, and Grunwald, with Luke, Leia, and Anakin Skywalker, but to really do it justice requires spoilery analysis of various lines, in various translations. (Nevertheless, it is exactly the sort of film Lucas would have inhaled in his film student days, so who knows?) The important thing is it holds up heroically. Highly recommended for any anime fan, Horus, Prince of the Sun screens again this Saturday (3/10) and Sunday (3/11) as part of the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

NYICFF ’18: Liyana

Freedom House unequivocally designates Swaziland as politically “Not Free.” Similarly, it ranks “Mostly Unfree” on the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Liberty. Not coincidentally, the nation also boasts the world’s highest rate of AIDS contraction. Obviously, the leaders (mostly appointed by the last reigning absolute monarch in Africa) do not care about the citizenry, but individuals can still make a difference, like the hands-on proprietor/social worker/surrogate family members of the Likhaya Lemphilo Lensha orphanage, whose residents will tell a partly fantastically and partly heartbreakingly realistic story in Aaron & Amanda Kopp’s Liyana, which screens during the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

The orphanage clearly follows in the progressive tradition of Hull House. It provides a safe haven for children, but it also offers cultural programming, such as South African storyteller Gcina Mhlophe’s workshop, whose young participants will tell the tale, with her prompting.

They are mostly boys, but their protag will be a girl, Liyana. Like them, she dealt with an abusive home life, before her despicable father succumbed to AIDS. After the subsequent death of her long-suffering mother, Liyana and her younger twin brothers are sent to live with their grandmother. Inevitably, the tragedies continue when the twins are kidnapped by human traffickers. However, the resilient Liyana sets out to rescue them, with only the family bull for company and back-up.

Indeed, trafficking and slavery is a very real threat to children throughout “developing” nations—Swaziland happens to rank 17 out of 167 on the Global Slavery Index. The Kopps and co-editor-producer Davis Coombe largely downplay the dangers that entails (mostly likely forced labor, but sexual slavery is not impossible), presumably anticipating a good deal of their audience would be young children. However, there are some distressingly vivid descriptions of domestic abuse, both within the story and from the storytellers.

In many ways, Liyana follows the template of the traditional quest fantasy. It also has a somewhat fantastical beast, but the real monsters are allegedly human. Of course, Liyana’s bull is much more expressive and cooperative than what you will typically find in a stock show. In fact, he is so cinematic, he will make many young viewers wish his scenes had been fully animated. Instead, the Kopps and artist Shofela Coker take an approach not unlike motion comics, but presumably the intent is to approximate the story-time experience of hearing the tale and then being shown the next picture. It works well enough, but some of the more dramatic passages would probably be better served with full animation (sure, that would cost more, but Abigail Disney is on board as co-executive producer).

It is nice to see these kids controlling their own story for a change. They deserve a freer, more transparent democratic capitalistic system rather than the corrupt authoritarian monarchy they now live under. The film is mostly nonpolitical, but it definitely raises questions why things are as they are. Recommended for families and NGOs, Liyana screens again next Sunday (3/11) at the New York International Children’s Film Festival and also screens Saturday (3/10) and the following Wednesday (3/14) at the AFI’s New Africa Film Festival.

NYICFF ’18: Zoo

The Republic of Ireland was neutral during WWII, but since it is part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland very definitely fought and sacrificed in the struggle against Axis tyranny. In fct, they paid a fearsome price during the Belfast Blitz. Compounding the tragedy, the civil defense authorities determined the Belfast Zoo’s predatory animals had to be euthanized, lest they be released into the streets by errant bombs. However, the son of a conscripted zoo veterinarian hatches a scheme to save its prized elephant in Colin McIvor’s Zoo (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

In many ways, the based (pretty faithfully) on a true story Zoo shames us for our hip, postmodern cynicism, starting right from the beginning, when Buster the pachyderm’s arrival procession through the streets of Belfast captures the city’s imagination (in a marvelously directed sequence). Alas, their enthusiasm will be quickly dampened by the Blitz. When his father is called up, Tom Hall loses his free access to the zoo, but he is still willing to pay. Unfortunately, there will be little left to see, when the staff starts putting the animals down.

Although Buster has a temporary reprieve, it is only a matter of time before his number comes up. Refusing to accept fate, Hall forges an alliance with Jane Berry, a quirky girl he sort of has a crush for, and Pete. the lunky but not so bad mate of the school bully. He definitely has a crush on Berry. They actually manage to pull off the elephant heist (thanks to the grouchy guard Charlie looking the other way), but they will need the help of widowed Denise Austin to shelter Buster.

Everyone considered Austin the neighborhood’s crazy cat lady, but there is more to her than that. Yet, McIvor is never heavy-handed when it comes to teaching moments. That said, there is a moment of heart-breaking tragedy that comes as a complete shock in a film with this many kids and animals. Nevertheless, you have to give him credit depicting the true nature of war—it’s absolutely no fun whatsoever.

Penelope Wilton (Cousin Matthew’s mother in Downton Abbey) is tremendous as Ms. Austin, taking small telling moments and just destroying us with them. Toby Jones is probably the biggest name attached to the film, but he also overachieves, wringing all kinds of poignant dignity out of the potentially cliched role of Charlie the zoo guard. The primary trio of youngsters, Art Parkinson, Emily Flain, and Ian O’Reilly are all impressively expressive and disciplined (frankly, Hall can be a bit of a doormat at times, but that is more of a problem with the script than Parkinson’s portrayal). Yet, it is Amy Huberman who quietly lowers the boom on viewers, as Hall’s mother Emily, an understandably overworked nurse.

There is a lot of honest, hard-earned emotion in Zoo. It probably skews younger due to the youthful main characters and their mostly innocent points-of-view, but it is as well-crafted as any Anglo-Irish period drama from the last ten years or so. This is a great year for live action films at NYICFF that adults can engage with just as much as kids, because Emelie Lindblom’s shockingly scary but wholly satisfying Room 213 is also on the slate. Very highly recommended, Zoo screens tomorrow (3/4) and Saturday (3/17) as part of NYICFF ’18.

NYICFF ’18: Musical Shorts—Jazzoo, Tintico’s Afternoons, Flip the Record

Ears of all ages can appreciate good jazz. In fact, there is an under-the-radar tradition of jazz children’s music going back decades. The late, great Phil Woods released a CD inspired by A.A. Milne in 2009. More awkwardly, Horace Silver released his Guide to Growing Up, with voice-overs by Bill Cosby back in the early 1980s. Of course, the classic examples would be Raymond Scott’s repurposed cartoon soundtracks. The Swedish jazz combo Oddjob followed in this tradition with their EP Jazzoo, which they have now adapted as an animated short film with director Adam Marko Nord. Jazzoo is one of three tremendously entertaining music-themed short films screening at the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Jazzoo screens as part of the Shorts for Tots program, but any adult who doesn’t start tapping their toes to Oddjob's groovy, up-tempo tunes is a total weirdo as far as we’re concerned. They will introduce us to a heaving, hot hippo who seeks some cooling relief with the help of one hardy little birdy. After that, a resourceful orange fish successfully plays a game of cat-and-mouse with a shark. A little koala cub figures out how he can bounce along with a kanga’s roo and then a gaggle of elephants party and get-down, to the annoyance of the wet blanket monkeys. It all goes zipping along, thanks to the colorful animation and Oddjob’s propulsive music, especially the crisply swinging muted trumpet of Goran Kajfes.

Similarly. there is no dialogue in Alejandro García Caballero’s Tintico’s Afternoons, but the music says plenty. A retired rumba-mambo bandleader still has the trumpet chops to accompany his old 78s, much to the delight of a mosquito combo, who play right along with him. However, when his old Victrola conks out, his spirit goes with it. Somehow, the ‘squitoes will have to find away to restart the music, which sounds fabulous. Old masters like Machito and Tito Rodriguez would surely approve of Daniel Hidalgo’s soundtrack. As an added bonus, the animation is also quite elegant and sophisticated.

In contrast, there is plenty of talking in Marie Jamora’s Flip the Record (trailer here), but the real communication will be done with turntables. Hip hop and turntablism was new and fresh in the 1980s and Vanessa is an early adopter. The music hits her on a deep level, but her DJing older brother just sees her as his annoying kid sister, whereas she sees herself as DJ Vandal.

Courtney Bandeko already has a number of credits on her resume—and it is easy to tell why from her performance as Vanessa/Vandal. She just radiates charisma and star power, but she looks believable behind the turntables, as well. Bandeko is terrific, but Jamora also includes some appealing eighties nostalgia (remember when watching Love Boat and Fantasy Island was the thing to do on a Friday night? Vaguely?), while incorporating colorful but loving scenes of life of in a conservative Catholic Filipino-American family. The passion for vinyl will do your heart good if you’ve ever done any crate-digging, but parents should be cautioned, there are one or two swear words, because this is hip hop after all.

Jazzoo, Tintico’s Afternoons, and Flip the Record would flow really well if they were programed together, but NYICFF has them split up in different (but logical) thematic blocks. All very highly recommended, Jazzo screens as part of Shorts for Tots on 3/3, 3/4, 3/10, and twice on 3/11; Tintico’s Afternoons screens as part of Friends & Neighbors: Mexico on 3/10 and 3/18; and Flip the Record screens as part of Girls’ POV on 3/4, 3/10, 3/11, and 3/17.

NYICFF ’18: The Highway Rat (short)

The BBC’s latest Julia Donaldson animated special is sort of like the fable of “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” but the freeloader is more criminal and predatory. He rides the highway, “occupying” the food all the other animals have harvested and saved—and yes, he is a rat. The old rogue will gorge himself in Jeroen Jaspaert’s The Highway Rat, which screens as part of the Shorts for Tots program at the 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Donaldson’s stories are certainly accessible for young viewers, but as usual, Highway Rat has a voice cast that will appeal to parents. Like previous Magic Light Pictures productions, including Room on the Broom and the Gruffalo and Revolting Rhymes films, Rob Brydon leads the vocal ensemble, this time serving as the narrator, in the Hans Conried tradition. It is none other than the old Doctor, David Tennant, giving voice to the rat—and what a rat he is.

We see plenty of the rat’s plundering. He really wants pastries, but he still chews up their vegetables, just out of spite. The situation is getting dire, but the duck has an idea. Usually, ducks aren’t so bright, but this one is different.

Frankly, it is a little surprising the festival isn’t playing up Highway Rat more, considering the voice talent involved and the Oscar track record of previous Magic Light/BBC specials. Regardless, this is an enjoyable film, with an admirable takeaway: hard work and productivity are more rewarding than parasitic redistribution. Plus, the comeuppance is kind of clever.

Clocking in at a broadcast-friendly twenty-five minutes, Highway Rat is definitely the centerpiece of the Shorts for Tots program. There are enough furry animals and the quality of the animation (not Studio Ghibli, but still colorful and faithful to Axel Scheffler’s original illustrations) is high enough to satisfy most animation fans. Highly recommended for family viewing, The Highway Rat screens this Saturday (3/3) and Sunday (3/4), as well as March 10^th, 11^th, 17^th, and 18^th, during this year’s NYICFF.