Covering the New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) - Animation #14
Greetings, animation fans! Mike and Cameron are back with a rundown of the virtual New York International Children's Film Festival, or NYICFF, which was held from March 5th to 14th! The festival was conceived back in 1997 and has grown and thrived since, with a focus on expertly curated, intelligent, diverse films for animation aficionados of every age. Our Captain and Guru have picked three to review: Nahuel and the Magic Book, a Chilean-Brazilian film; The Legend of Hei, a Chinese-produced animated film; and The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily, an Italian-French venture. Enjoy the episode!
For all your news updates, smash that play button and check out Cam and Mike’s take on the latest from the world of animation! Now, let’s get to the reviews, courtesy of The Captain himself:
Nahuel and the Magic Book (2020)
“Nahuel and the Magic Book is a Chilean-Brazilian animated feature, directed by Germán Acuña Delgadillo and co-written by Delgadillo and Juan Pablo Sepúlveda. The film follows Nahuel, a curious boy and the son of a fisherman who has a deep fear of the sea. One day, he stumbles upon a mystical book that seems to be the solution to his troubles. Little does he know, that book, the Levisterio, is sought after by the evil sorcerer Kalku, and it's up to Nahuel to face his fears and stop him once and for all. I first became aware of this film when it premiered at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, but haven't had the chance to see it until today during the New York International Children's Film Festival. One thing I can appreciate about animation outside of the US is the variety. Even though CG animation is becoming far more common today, there's still a place for traditional 2D animation. The only thing that stops Nahuel and the Magic Book from being perfect I can only assume is a smaller budget, leaving the animation feeling not quite "cinematic." Don't get me wrong, I love the art style and the character designs, they're very reminiscent of Miyazaki meets Hilda, I just think a slightly bigger budget could have helped to iron out the bugs. But what's more important is the story itself. This is a great fable about what it takes to face your greatest fears, and I adored Nahuel's arc throughout the film. The rest of his motley crew is great as well, including Fresia, a young healer and apprentice to Huenchur, and Ruende, a talking wolf who's also seeking revenge on Kalku. If you're into those classic fantasy adventure film from the 80's and 90's, then I can comfortably recommend Nahuel and the Magic Book.“ - The Captain
The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily (2019)
“The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily is an Italian-French animated film, based on the 1945 children's book of the same name by Dino Buzzati. The film is directed by Lorenzo Mattotti, and co-written by Mattotti, Jean-Luc Fromental, and Thomas Bidegain. Our story starts with Tonio, the son the bears King, being kidnapped by some hunters in the Sicilian mountains. Because of the harshness of a winter that threatens its clan with famine, the Bear King decides to invade the land of men (in the hope of finding his son). Thanks to his powerful army and the help of a wizard, he will succeed at both quests but he will soon find out that bears are not meant to live in the land of men. I enjoyed the hell out of this delightful little fable, from its unique animation style to its framing device as a story within a story. There isn't a whole lot to criticize with this film, except for one of the human antagonists who's a touch too one note, but that's honestly about it. I'll discuss this further with Cameron on the next Renegade Animation, but something I'm beginning to realize is that animation outside of the US has a lot more to offer than audiences seem to realize. France especially revels in the fact that this is a medium without limits, that no matter how silly your core premise may sound (such as an army of bears invading a kingdom in order to find a kidnapped cub), you can still tell a compelling narrative with plenty of heart, humor, and action.“ - The Captain
The Legend of Hei (2019)
“The Legend of Hei is a 2019 Chinese animated film, written and directed by MTJJ Mutou, and co-written by Kexin Peng. The film serves as a prequel to the anime web series The Legend of Luo Xiaohei, which was created by MTJJ in 2011. When cat spirit Luo Xiaohei's home is deforested by humans, he must find a new one. He runs into a group of other spirit creatures who take him under their wing with dreams of reconquering the land they say is rightfully theirs. However, they run into a human known as Wuxian who separates Luo Xiaohei from the other spirits and the two go on a journey, with the cat spirit learning to control his abilities as well as forming his own thoughts on whether or not he should ally with the spirits or the humans. Having not watched the series from which the film spun off, I fell madly in love with this world, and immediately wanted to see more as soon as I finished! One thing that works extremely well about The Legend of Hei is how they handle morality, i.e., the battle between good and evil. Each character sees themselves as the hero of their own story, and they're all given clear motivations. Stylistically, this reminds me of a mix between Studio Ghibli and Studio Trigger, with a slight hint of Masaaki Yuasa. Not too many films are capable of balancing such varied tones at once, and yet The Legend of Hei seemed to pull it off. The first half is a little more quiet and subdued, while the second half gets more intense and action heavy.“ - The Captain
That’s another episode of Renegade Animation, focused entirely on some excellent-looking foreign features! Suffice it to say, the NYICFF is now fully on my radar, and hopefully we’ll get to experience some of these gorgeous films on our own soon! Let us know how we’re doing in the comments below! Be safe, Renegades!
-Neoplasmic
