Poor Dounia desperately misses her father. You can blame Iran and Putin for
that, because they enabled and encouraged the carnage Assad unleashed on his
own country, particularly her hometown (as seen in her first film, Dounia:
The Princess of Aleppo). Fortunately, Dounia and her grandparents found
safe refuge in Quebec, where they have been largely welcomed by their new
northern provincial community. Her mother died in Syria, but they still hope to
be reunited with her father, whose fate remains unknown at the start of Marya
Zarif & Andre Kadi’s Dounia: The Great White North, which screens
during the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Dounia
and her grandparents never come out and say it, but it seems like they find it
weird that they must learn French after coming to Canada. Hopefully, the local
version of identity politics-tribalism never turns violent, because Dounia’s
family has seen more than enough of that.
Dounia
forged a fast friendship with Rosalie, the girl next-door, who also happens to
be the daughter of the school teacher. Even though she is starting to fit,
Dounia worries constantly over her missing father, so their classmate Miguizou
introduces them to her grandmother, whose Atikamekw wisdom might help the Dounia’s
spirit animal guide her father to sub-Arctic Quebec. That might sound like a
longshot, but this is a fable, not an expose or a white-paper report.
The
Great White North is
also a quickie, clocking in just under an hour, making it highly appropriate
for the under-10-year-old target demo. The animation might be a bit simple for
serious connoisseurs of the medium, but it captures the look and feel illustrated
children’s books.
If you want to be depressed, search X/Twitter for “Anne Frank” and
“ballpoint pen.” Then report everything that comes back for “violent event
denial,” because attempts to question the legitimacy of Anne Frank’s diary are
just another manifestation of Holocaust denial. A film about Frank should not
necessarily be timely, but in today’s climate, it is. Sadly, Ari Folman’s
latest animated feature takes on even greater significance, post-10/7 than when
it first started screening. Folman re-introduces Frank to viewers from a
different perspective, that of Kitty, her imaginary friend, in Where is Anne
Frank (produced with the cooperation of the Anne Frank Fonds), which
screens during the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Like
most intelligent pre-teens, Frank had an active imagination. She created Kitty
to serve as her muse in many of her diary entries. In a manner worthy of
superhero origin stories, Kitty will come alive when lightning breaks through a
window, striking the original diary displayed in the Anne Frank Museum. She
recognizes the building, but since she only knows what Frank told her, Kitty
has no idea what happened to her friend or the other residents of the famous
attic.
Initially,
she huddles in the corner, invisible, as zombie tourists shuffle in and out.
However, Kitty is shocked when Peter, a Dickensian pick-pocket starts talking
to her. As she approaches the diary, she becomes more visible to others. Or
something like that. Frankly, the rules of who can see her and when are vague
and inconsistently applied. Initially, this feels like a credibility issue.
However, as we watch the confused Kitty struggle with the unpredictability of
her new existence, it becomes another unlikely source of sympathy for her.
Regardless, Kitty will search all the landmarks of Amsterdam that bear Anne
Frank’s name to learn the fate of her late friend.
Through
flashbacks, Folman visits many of the incidents recorded in Frank’s diary, but
Kitty’s perspective gives them a fresh twist. It is sort of like seeing events
referenced in Virginia Woolf’s The Waves from Percival’s perspective, or
Charlie’s Angels from that of Charlie Townsend, depending on your
preference for high or low culture.
One
aspect that lands much differently post-10/7 is the way Kitty befriends and
champions a squatter community of Malian immigrants. Folman’s film reminds us
of the Jewish people’s history of progressive humanism. Yet, the world did not
reciprocate their compassion after Hamas’s mass-murder, gang rapes, and
abductions. Quite the contrary.
Retail analysts keep predicting the extinction of the department store. If that
happens, the Hokkyoku Department Store would then match its clientele. Somehow,
the store exists somewhere outside of time. Inside, humans wait on customers
who entirely consist of extinct species. The newest employee is a bit clumsy,
but she is earnest and conscientious. Nevertheless, retail is still tough work
in Yoshimi Itazu’s anime feature The Concierge, based on Tsuchika Nishimura’s
manga, which screens during the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Akino
once stumbled into the Hokkyoku as a little girl, finding herself dazzled by
the elegant concierge. Now life (or is it afterlife? The film and manga keep
discreetly vague on that point) has come full circle for her, since she was
hired as the Hokkyoku’s newest concierge. Her colleagues recognize her kind
heart, especially Eruru. Akino thinks he is a customer she literally keeps
stepping on, but he is really the president. He is also a great auk, so don’t
call him a penguin, even though he enjoys sliding across the polished floors of
the mall, as if they were ice flows (which is a pretty cute bit of business).
Unfortunately,
Toudou, the Snidely Whiplash-like floor manager is constantly on her case. The
pressure keeps mounting with each nearly impossible request, like the customer searching
for a discontinued fragrance. Fortunately, a lot of her co-workers are willing
to pitch in to help, including Eruru behind-the-scenes.
This Michael Morpurgo novel is sort of like Island of the Blue Dolphins with
primates. You can also think of it much like The Cay, but in this case,
the pre-teen boy is marooned with an elderly Japanese soldier and a dog (who is
definitely a trade-up from a cat). Either way, young Michael will learn a lot about
mother nature’s creatures and human nature in Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry’s animated
adaptation of Morpugo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom, which screens during the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival.
After
they both lost their jobs, Michael’s parents decided the responsible thing to
do would be buying a boat and sailing around the world, with him and his
sister. Their logic is hard to follow (isn’t school supposed to be important
for kids?), but this is a movie, so, fine, so be it. Yet, it turns out to be a
questionable decision when Michael and his dog Stella are washed overboard
during a storm.
Miraculously,
both Michael and Stella land on the beach of a remote desert island. Without
any visible means of foraging for food or fresh water, they would die were it
not for the provisions mysteriously left for them each morning. Despite his
mercy, Kensuke wants nothing to do with the boy and his dog. When they do
finally meet, Michael’s awkward clumsiness angers the old Japanese man.
However, an understanding grows between them, especially when Michael deduces
the fate of Kensuke’s family in Nagasaki. They will also join forces to protect
the island’s orangutans and gibbons from evil outsiders.
Morpurgo’s
story (from the author of War Horse and Private Peaceful) is very
much in the tradition of the aforementioned young adult novels, but the island
setting and the primate characters make it particularly well suited for an
animated treatment. The lush tropical environment and Kensuke’s Ewok-baroque bamboo
home are visually striking. The animals also look great. Honestly, it is hard
to go wrong when you give the audience a clever dog and a bunch of monkeys.
Puffins look like they share the same tailor as penguins and they have a similar
charm, but they are not as overexposed in pop culture. So far, the Netflix
series Puffin Rock, co-created by Irish animator Tomm Moore, has been
the best place to find puffins. After two seasons, the inhabitants of Puffin Rock
get a feature of their own in Jeremy Purcell’s Puffin Rock and the New
Friends, which screens as part of the 2024 New York InternationalChildren’s Film Festival.
Oona
is still a bright and curious young puffin, who often gets into adventures with
her friends, but always dutifully cares for her younger brother Baba. Even
after two full seasons, he still looks like he is freshly hatched. Mossy the
pygmy shrew and May the rabbit remain her besties, but she is about to make
some new pals.
Initially,
Isabella is rather standoffish when her colony relocates to Puffin Rock. The
narrator blames climate change, but viewers will suspect it was the rising
crime and punitive tax rates of blue-state puffin colonies that drove them out.
Regardless, Isabella is reluctant to putdown roots again. That includes making
friends.
In
contrast, Oona and her buddies form a fast friendship Marvin, a youthful otter
who also found his way to Puffin Rock. Quick thinking Oona realizes Mavin is
such a prodigious digger, he can help the expanded puffin colony dig warrens to
protect their new-comers from an approaching storm. Unfortunately, Isabella
will completely torpedo the plan and endanger the entire colony. First, she
misinterprets Marvin’s intentions when he burrows up near her mother’s egg, so
she removes it from the nest. That is a big puffin no-no. When the colony
freaks out over the missing egg, she is too embarrassed to come clean, so she
blames Marvin.
See
how much trouble unchecked immigration can cause. Of course, New Friends is
trying to make the exact opposite point, but at times, the narrative almost
contradicts its sentiments. It hardly matters though, because Oona is such a
likably plucky character. She is just a darned good puffin kid, which makes
spending time with her a pleasure.
As
was also true for the series, Chris O’Dowd’s narration is wildly charming. Although
omniscient and off-screen, his voice becomes another character. He has a touch
of blarney and a touch of sarcasm, but his tone is always gentle and warm.
These candies are actually good for you. We do not know whether they are sugar-free,
but they do wonders for the heart. It turns out they are the perfect pick-me-up
for a sad little boy in Japanese anime filmmaker Daisuke Nishio’s animated
short film adaptation of Heena Baek’s Korean children’s book, Magic Candies,
which screens today as part of the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Dong-dong
is too shy to make any new friends on his own, so he tries to convince himself
he is happy playing by himself. A wise old shopkeeper knows better, so he sells
the young boy a bag of magic candies. Dong-dong has no idea what to expect, but
when he starts munching on them, he discovers each has an unexpected power.
Soon he has a conversation with his beloved pet dog, listens to his over-worked
single-father’s thoughts, and receives a much-needed message from his dearly
departed grandmother.
Somehow,
the candies give him exactly what he needs. It is all really quite beautiful. Baek’s
book may have been written for a kindergarten audience, but its deceptively
simple and deeply wise story could make it a popular children’s-book-for-adults.
Nishio renders it into 3D animation with warmth and grace, retaining the spirit
of its fantasy and the look of the original illustrations.
Everyone knows the bond between dogs and humans can transcend miles and even
lifetimes (as in A Dog’s Purpose). In contrast, cats can largely take us
or leave us. Still, a busker’s former cat remembers him well and even misses
the street musician enough to search for him on the streets of London in Jac
Hamman & Sarah Scrimgeour’s half-hour short Tabby McTat, the latest
Magic Lantern & BBC-produced animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s
children’s books, which screens during the 2024 New York International Children’sFilm Festival.
You
can sort of think of this film as Once for cats. Old Fred can busk up a
storm, but he relies on Tabby McTat to chase off the pigeons and pull in the
tipping audience. One fateful day, Fred is hospitalized, after he is separated
from McTat while chasing the thief who made off with hat full of tips. Freezing
on the streets, an elegant house feline convinces McTat to accept shelter with
her cat-lady owners. Soon, McTat becomes part of the family, especially when
their first litter of kittens arrives, but he remains haunted by memories of
Fred.
Tabby
McTat is
a bit of a departure from previous Donaldson films like Zog, Room on the Broom, and The Smed and the Smoos, because it is essentially set in
the world that we know. Yet, that is partly why it is also one of the most endearing
Magic Lantern adaptations to date.
