The Blue Gnomes that live in a mountain are in charge of the “magic silver” that brings sunlight to every day. The Red Gnomes are farm Gnomes with low opinions of those uppity Blues. After the magic silver is stolen by a gnome , the theft brings out the best between the two gnome groups to restore the daylight. With gnome hats to die for and a sleigh chase Tarantino would envy, this is the film that broke opening-day box-office records in Norway.
Ever wonder where you go when you sleep? In this beautifully animated stop-motion film, six-year-old Milo finds himself transformed into an animated character and swept into Dreamland, a secret nocturnal world of enchantment and adventure. There he sets sail in a magic car/boat through deliciously bizarre dreamscapes (full of giant chocolate bunnies, birthday cake women, cotton clouds and papier-mâché mountains) on a mission to try to upend the schemes of the nefarious Habumar, creator of nightmares, who has threatened children everywhere by stealing the Sand of Dreams. This sumptuously handcrafted film is perfect for youngest audiences, with its playfully inventive characters immersed in brilliantly colorful dreamscapes. Knowing that it took one day to create an average of 2.5 seconds of film action can contribute to appreciating this film technically. It took three years to make.
It is safe to say you have not seen a film like this before. “EEP!” is based on a book with a familiar premise: An unexpected central character appears whose mere presence inspires the people she meets to reflect on their own lives to find more happiness. The ethereal and acclaimed actress Kenadie Joudin-Bromley takes this movie to another place. By using what some could see as a physical obstacle –primordial dwarfism – this Canadian eight-year-old creates a character you will remember lovingly.
In this imaginative and beautifully shot film, a bird watcher finds a little living creature in the grass under a tree and no adult bird around to claim her. He brings her to his wife, who insists this will be their child to raise. They name her Beedie and we follow her quick growth into bird/human maturity. When Beedie follows her instinct to flock with other birds, the attempts to bring her back bring many people together in wonderful, often comic, ways.
There are no special effects used for this tiny bird child — except her feathered arms. Beedie, played by Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley, has primordial dwarfism, suffered by less than 100 people in the world. Born at 2 1/2 lbs and not expected to live more than a few days, she has defied the odds.
Blonde, blue-eyed, white-skinned Azur and black-haired, brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar are lovingly raised as brothers by Asmar’s gentle mother, who tells them magical stories of her faraway homeland and of the beautiful, imprisoned Djinn Fairy. The boys are separated by Azur’s brutal father and do not meet again until they are young adults. Grown-up Azur, now a blind beggar, and Asmar, a dashing horseman, are reunited as adversaries on a dangerous quest to find and free the Djinn Fairy.
Exploring her grandmother’s old villa, 10-year-old Stella is suddenly catapulted 100 years into the past on a fantastic time journey. She lands in the same villa and meets Clementine, a girl her own age, whom she recognizes as her great-grandmother. But there is no time for reminiscing: The family faces ruin, the villa is to be sold, and Clementine must relinquish her dream of studying to become a doctor – unless, of course, the children find the Star of the Orient.
In partnership with RISD Museum and Gallery Night Providence, PCFF 2014 brought back one of 2013’s audience favorites for a command – and free! – performance. “Le Tableau” is set within the world of an idyllic but incomplete painting, long ago abandoned by its painter. In his absence, the figures in the painting have taken over the narrative to serve their own ends. After the screening, you will be invited to explore, with the guidance of museum educators, RISD’s own collection of All-Dones, Sketchies and Halfies!
REVIEWS:
“Enchanting! This consistently enjoyable, inventive and beautifully crafted tale is a color riot suitable for all ages! A constant feast for the eyes!” – Variety (8/12)
When 12-year-old fledgling detectives Santiago and Mariana witness the kidnapping of endangered Mexican wolf cubs, they spring into action to stop the traffickers and return the cubs to the local nature preserve. Staying one step ahead of the local authorities, our heroes must rely on teamwork, keen powers of observation and a little help from the animal spirits to get the job done!
Bored and all alone in the sky, the Moon Man hitches a ride to Earth on a passing comet. His arrival is mistaken as an attack from outer space by the Earth’s arrogant president. Meanwhile, the world’s children are unable to sleep without seeing the Moon Man in the night sky, leading our protagonist to enlist a sympathetic scientist to help with his return to his rightful place. The quirkiness and slower pace set “Moon Man” apart from the frenetic energy of so many other animated films. With nods to Rube Goldberg, Picasso and Escher, and delightful set pieces that use recordings by Louis Armstrong and Iron Butterfly, the picture unfolds with a sense of discovery that will draw young and old alike into the earthbound adventures of its unlikely lunar hero.
REVIEWS:
“Dazzling. The movie’s offbeat charm sets it apart.” -Sherri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
A playground fight leads to a journey of self-discovery in this delightful animation from Uruguay. Called to the principal’s office, 10-year-old Anina Yatay Salas (as named by her palindrome-loving father) is given a black envelope and told not to open it for the whole week she is suspended from school. Calling it the weirdest punishment in the history of weird punishments (she looked it up), our young heroine is tormented by what the envelope might contain and her active imagination conjures up all sorts of possibilities. Uruguay’s 2013 official submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
Played at 2014 PCFF to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of Japan’s masterpieces of animation.
One of the most endearing and internationally renowned films of all time, a film that Roger Ebert called “one of the five best movies” ever made for children, “My Neighbor Totoro” is a deceptively simple tale of Satsuki and Mei, two young girls who move with their father to the countryside while their mother convalesces in a nearby hospital. They soon discover that the surrounding forests are home to a family of Totoros, gentle but powerful creatures who live in a huge and ancient camphor tree and are seen only by children. Based on Miyazaki’s own childhood imaginings, Totoros look like oversized pandas with bunny ears, the largest of which takes the girls on spinning-top rides through the tree tops, introduces them to a furry, multi-pawed Catbus—a nod to Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat—and ultimately brings the two much closer together as sisters.
Beneath the film’s playfulness and narrative simplicity lie depths of wisdom. As with much of Miyazaki’s work, at its core “My Neighbor Totoro” is about humankind’s relationship to the Earth. The film is infused with an almost spiritual reverence for the power of nature (a philosophy tied to the ancient Shinto belief that every object in nature has a soul). Everything that surrounds us, from light-dappled tree groves, to the marvelous clouds, echoes the density and lusciousness of life. Protected by the Totoros, we know no harm will come to our two heroines in the forest’s sunlit glades and mysterious shadows. The girls may be awed by the power and majesty around them, but they understand instinctively that nature has no malice. The viewer is left with a sense of wonder at the beauty, mystery and preciousness of the world all around us.