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I had to tackle a lot of films during the New York International Children’s Film Festival. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give every film that I saw a big review, but I still wanted to show some support and love to the festival films that may be aimed at younger audiences. I know we fight and talk about how animation is not just for kids, but not every kid is going to start their animation journey with something like Son of the White Mare. It’s okay for kids to start with something not super intense and striking, and we need those types of films to have a good starting point for the more ambitious and thrilling experiences out there. Let’s get started!
Rosa and the Stone Troll
Review: This animated film from Denmark is directed by Karla Nor Holmback and written by Toke Westmark Steensen. It’s about a flower fairy who befriends a butterfly-like fairy named Silk, and must venture forth to overcome her loneliness and save the day from a villainous stone troll. While I am not fully fond of the rigging style used for the character movements, the visuals have a lot of charm to them with the children’s storybook designs of the characters and world. The painted backgrounds are lovely, and there are some cool-looking moments. It very much uses fairytale logic in its storytelling, and it’s aimed at a super young audience. Again, that’s not a bad thing, since young kids need their entertainment, but just don’t expect anything complex with this one. Its morals are solid enough about overcoming your fears with the help of your friends. At least for a film aimed at little kids, it’s not too loud and in your face with its characters, due to how it lets the film be quiet and uses the lovely background music to convey a mood, even if it’s just for a few seconds. I could have done without the fart jokes though. It might not reinvent the wheel, but any animated film with charm and whimsy is worth checking out at least once depending on when this gets released stateside.
Puffin Rock and the New Friends
Review: A brand new movie based on the popular Cartoon Saloon-produced TV show where Oona and her friends, old and new, must protect a new puffin egg from the environment and an upcoming storm. The charm of the original series is alive and well in this new installment, as it introduces us to new characters, places an emphasis on environmentalism, and illustrates the feeling of being homesick. It feels paced like a couple of episodes smashed together with many plots going on all at once, but the wonderful low-key charm of the show and Cartoon Saloon’s visual aesthetics make for another cozy installment of the popular kids’ franchise. It doesn’t hurt either that it has a wonderful watercolor look to the animation that makes this small-scale story feel much grander in tone and execution. When the storm blows in on the island, it looks like a Japanese ink painting, a truly special detail that I adore. Most think that you can’t do much with visuals and storytelling for media aimed at little kids, but give the project to the right studio and hand them a good timeline and budget. You can get something like this where it might fumble in the story and pacing, but still offers a lot of what makes Cartoon Saloon such a wonderful studio. It’s a cute movie with enough going on under the hood to make for a charming experience for a kid’s first animated feature. Oh, and Shout! Factory is going to be releasing it so that’s fun!
Dounia – The Great White North
Review: The follow-up to the previous film by directors Marya Zarif and Andre Kadi We now have Dounia living in a small town in Canada, where she learns about new cultures and hopes for her father to be safe and to see him again. While it feels like three plots from a nonexistent TV series put together, and it’s shorter than the previous film clocking in at under an hour, it’s a solid follow-up. It’s a cozy experience as the story commendably talks about how we might have different cultures, but we can come together to be friends with one another. Kudos to the film for having three different languages as well and not feeling like it needed to talk down to its audience about the situation that is going on in the world. It might not rock your world, but there is something admirable about a film that introduces a lot of concepts like the ones seen in this film to a young audience. We need more films aimed at young audiences to do that. Kids can handle a certain amount of topical subject matter without having to not talk about it or dumb it down to a nauseating degree. Dounia continues to be this adorable film series that I hope keeps getting better as they make more of them.
There is always going to be discourse around what we can and can’t show to kids and how children’s media should be talking up and not down to their audience. It’s a tricky balance since some kids will want to see The Super Mario Movie and love it over something that could be considered more intense like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It’s always going to be a kid-by-kid basis with what they can or can’t handle. If they can handle more than they are usually given, then let them watch some of the heavier stuff, but there needs to be films and shows made for everyone and every type of kid. Some may want zany action. Some may want something more laid-back and chill. Some may even want an animated film that talks about headier topics that they want to know at a young age. Some films and shows can balance out the experience, and all that the films and shows need to do is, when they are crafting the experience, to not talk down to the audience. It just shows that even with these three films aimed at younger audiences, there is still something fun and respectable about them, due to what they bring to the table. If you can find a way for your kids to see these films and want to start them on their love for animation journey, then give these a try.
The Other Side of Animation 