A FREE screening at the Minneapolis Central Library located at 300 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis of animated shorts for little ones, presented in partnership with the Friends of the Hennepin County Library
Papa Cloudy: Heartfelt Stories of a Gentle Cloud Mustachioed Papa Cloudy cleans and mends hearts in a laundromat. Crafty stop motion animation using felt, cotton balls, and cardboard. (D: Akiko McQuerrey, USA, 5 min)
Introduce a new generation to the International Film Festival! The whole family will enjoy an eclectic program of award winning short children’s films: animated, live-action, and documentary films from around the world.
China Fantasia A swirl of Chinese music, folklore, and colorful ink and wash animation. (D: Joe Chang, Bohong Qian & Fangxiao Zheng, China/Canada, 6 min)
Just days before his Bar Mitzvah on a train to visit his boring Uncle Shmuel,13 year-old Nono receives a secret message. Son of the world’s greatest police inspector, Nono must take on the assignment to solve the mysteries of his own past. Nono heads off on a caper to the French Riviera with a notorious criminal. Nono’s mission is to cross-examine everything he knows...and doesn’t. Adapted from David Grossman’s novel, The ZigZag Kid zigs and zags between coming of age quest and droll secret agent parody.
This beautifully animated fable was inspired by the true story of a giraffe gifted from the Pasha of Egypt to the King of France. From under a baobab tree, a village elder narrates this children’s tale: Maki, a Sudanese boy escapes an evil slave trader and befriends an orphaned baby giraffe. On a series of epic adventures from Sudan through Alexandria, Marseille, and the snow-capped Alps, the young boy and giraffe journey to France.
It’s not easy being the son of a Viking chief. Gifted with brains but not brawn, Wickie’s not sure he’ll ever feel like a ‘real Viking’. But when his father is kidnapped by Sven the Terrible, Wickie gets his chance. Sailing his crew to the Cape of Fear, Wickie is determined to rescue his father and to follow the runes of a mysterious book leading to the Palace of Eternal Ice, and the Treasure of the Gods. The Mighty Vikings venture to the legendary locale where powerful riddles protect the treasure.
From famed French animator Jean-François Laguionie comes a highly original feature set in the many worlds of an artist’s oeuvre. Inside an unfinished painting, figures establish a caste system based on how realized their images are as they humorously debate the artist’s intentions. Banished but determined to restore harmony to the capricious painted world, Claire, her beloved Ramo, and friend Lola journey to the edge of the frame. The trio stumbles into the Painter’s studio only to discover more vivid tableaus... but what has become of the painter?
Ivan’s Dream is every kid’s soccer fantasy--and a fun family comedy to boot! For the first time, a team of the biggest stars on the planet will play against an international selection of hand-picked children! Representing Spain, Ivan travels with the team to Mexico for the heavily televised charity match. Light romantic comedy and drama on and off the field at Aztec Stadium ensues amongst Ivan, his best friend Paula, the class bully, a FIFA representative, and the team’s coaches.
11-year-old Igor visits his ornithologist father and the two start a documentary project together capturing the birth of a young crane. As the Russian cranes migrate south to Africa, Igor’s father takes off to pursue the birds. When Igor’s mother announces her plan to move to Israel to pursue her musical career, Igor must also emigrate. Finding it hard to get used to Israeli life, the boy tracks the cranes via his father’s website. A new friend, Vered, starts following the crane blog and others come on board. Inspired to action, Igor creates a bird sanctuary.
They’re back! Catch up with the latest adventure of the coolest gang, the Crocodiles! The final film in the multi-award-winning trilogy (based on Max von der Grun’s popular 1977 book) ups the ante with awesome new headquarters, high speed go kart action, and an ingenious (and crazy) life-saving rescue. Fans of this series won’t be disappointed--adorable Hannes and his scruffy gang meet every challenge in the name of loyalty to each other and The Crocodiles!
Did you know that one of the earliest known versions of the Cinderella fairy tale was Chinese? Cinderella Moon blends Chinese cosmology and magical realism in a spectacular adaptation filmed in the Yunnan Province of China on the Tibetan plateau. In a majestic Kingdom, events on earth reflect the balance of the sun and the moon. When orphaned girl Mei Mei is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, the moon refuses to move in the sky. Aided by the bones of a magical fish and her mother’s bejeweled slippers, Mei Mei attends the Full Moon Dance.
