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This film is from the 2021 virtual New York International Childrenâs Film Festival.
Nahuel and the Magic Book is a 2020 Chilean-Brazilian co-produced animated film whose down-to-Earth yet wondrous approach to fantasy I really enjoyed. In certain ways, it reminds me of The Lord of the Rings, despite the markedly different setting of a more contemporary real-world setting.Â
Nahuel is a young boyâŚ
Youâre stuck inside, saving the world. So we asked a group of award-winning Pixar filmmakers to help self-isolating families plan the very best movie nights (and days, and nights, and daysâŚ). And we talked to childrenâs film specialist Nicola Marshall about the beauty of movies made for kids, especially now.
Children deserve to watch great films, but kids are famously honest viewers. Theyâll tell you instantly when they donât like something. And when they do, it pays off: in Academy Awards (this year, for Hair Love and Toy Story 4), in stone-cold cash (as Box Office Mojoâs Top Box Office Grosses by G-rating confirms), and in precious family memories.
But where to turn when you need a quality watchlist of family films? When you want a guaranteed banger that the whole family will love, or when you want to move your child to next-level-cinephile status with a choice that will floor them? The answer, to us at least, is obvious: Pixar to the rescue!
We asked a group of the renowned studioâs directors and story artistsâthe people behind WALL¡E, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Bao, La Luna, The Good Dinosaur, Purl, Cars 3, Toy Story 4 and moreâto show up in your hour of need, and show up they have, with personal recommendations that weâve split into three Letterboxd lists: All Ages, 7 to 12 Years and 12 Years and Over.
From two-minute shorts to the entire Harry Potter collection, thereâs something for every viewing window. From Charlie Chaplin to Greta Gerwig, the films cover a century of cinema; and from slapstick to horror, a multitude of genres.
Our filmmakers were remarkably restrained, nominating more Studio Ghibli films than Pixar movies, though they collectively agreed that Toy Story should most definitely be there. So weâll say it for them: please explore all the films of our contributing filmmakers: Angus MacLane, Domee Shi, Kristen Lester, Daniel Chong, Peter Sohn, Valerie LaPointe, Brian Fee, Enrico Casarosa and Andrew Stanton. Thanks, you wonderful people.
Since many of us at Letterboxd HQ are grateful parents, this feels like a good moment to reflect on the enormous importance of âfamilyâ filmsâso we pulled in our friend Nicola Marshall for a chat. Sheâs the founder of the Square Eyes film foundation, a curator of childrenâs film festival content, and a friend of the Henson family (not long ago, she created a live show with The Muppets and Flight of the Conchordsâ Bret McKenzie).
Like most of us, Nicola is currently in self-isolation, after the hasty wrap-up of the 23rd annual New York International Childrenâs Film Festival (of which she is an advisory board member).
Weâre living in an extraordinary time. How do movies help kids work out whatâs going on in and around their lives?
Nicola Marshall: Films are an essential way to unpack big feelings during big times. Like all of us, kids are expressing, and suppressing, all kinds of emotions right now, and are sponges for absorbing the emotions of the adults around them. Using a familiar medium to help unpack all weâre feeling, no matter how old we are, feels like a great plan to me. Art always supports processing and groundedness in uncertain times.
Whatâs your overall impression of the choices made by our Pixar friends for these lists?
These are brilliant, eclectic selectionsâwhat superb curators these remarkable Pixar creators are, right? An excellent mix of films made for young audiences, and titles bound to appeal to them.
Iâm thrilled to see, alongside some beautiful surprises and unknown gems, a lot of long-time personal favorites (Ernest & Celestine, Millions, Ponyo, The Muppet Movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Red Balloon, My Neighbor Totoro, The Kid, Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wallace & Gromit, Modern Times, The Iron Giant, The Phantom Tollbooth, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Monsieur Hulotâs Holiday, Yellow Submarine, Bicycle Thieves, Megan Follows as Anne of Green Gables⌠they go on!).
While the lists lean heavily on a canon of western-produced films, there are some terrific international cinema choices in the mix here (The World of Us, Good Morning), and a bunch of lesser-known historic titles Iâm super eager to check out (Preston Sturges marathon, here I come!).
YasujirĹ Ozuâs âGood Morningâ (1959).
Some of the Pixar directors included horror filmsâGet Out, Itâand some Hitchcock thrillers in their 12 Years and Over lists. These selections are for older teenagers, clearly. What are your thoughts on the role of scares in kidsâ viewing experiences?
Iâve always been interested in the psychology of frightening films. Personally Iâm too much of a big scaredy-cat for horror to be a genre that generally works for me (self-censorship all the way!), but there are a whole bunch of people out there who really love a good freak-out; kiddos included.
As a kid I think youâre always testing and readjusting your limits on where your fear boundaries are. One of the highly anticipated and super popular NYICFF collections each year is 'Heebie Jeebiesââshort films that go out of their way to freak and fright. Kids (and the adults who attend alongside them) adore this collection and the expectation of being spooked.
I think humans love experiencing extreme feelings in small doses, to feel alive, whether we have big sensation-seeking personalities or notâand seeing something terrifying on screen has a certain safety to it. I also think scary films in collectively tricky times offer catharsis and adrenal release, and give us permission to scream long and loud, when thatâs all we really feel like doing!
The New York International Childrenâs Film Festival wrapped up suddenly as the coronavirus pandemic began its march into the United States, but you did manage to screen much of the program. Other film festivals werenât so fortunate. Would you like to take a small moment to celebrate the main takeaways of this yearâs fest?
NYICFF was so lucky to share three of the planned four collective viewing weekends, just ahead of a swift city-wide shutdown. Iâm a tad biased, but I really do feel you only have to look to NYICFFâs annual programming to get a genuine sense of the state of the world for young people globally; the issues they face and what themes are currently resonating.
Our programming director Maria-Christina VillaseĂąor consistently curates a remarkable selection of films that speak to the experience of young people, valuing their views and voices, always insightful, and never condescending.
This year saw a number of filmsâfeature and shortâthat depicted stories of kids determined to make a difference and taking self-guided steps into activism and action. My faith in our future is pretty darn solid right now thanks to the optimism and commitment of these kidsâand the filmmakers giving voice to young audiences and speaking to big themes and shared cross-cultural truths.
Nicola Marshall.
What can the rest of the movie industry learn from all-ages creators and studios?
I wish that there was greater wider-industry acknowledgement of the massive contributions that content for family and kids audiences make in terms of moving the overall film industry forward, both artistically and societally. As well as showing us fresh, meaningful and authentic ways to tell stories, the genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion in this space is meaningful, often to the point where it feels completely natural, unforced and expected in content for this audience, rather than some kind of box-ticking effort.
What do you think this pandemic will offer the storytellers of the future?
I think we will come out of this time ready to offer stories with even greater connectedness and empathy. I think our collective slowing will allow, if we let it, an incredible development incubator. How we make our way through this uncertain time as adults and work through our relationship with fear and the unknown will hugely resonate with the kids weâre sharing our lives with. I think we can use art and story and myth and expression and feeling to navigate us all through.
For all those hunkered down with small people, what better time to share your favorite screen stories, and discover new films together. What we chose to watch and to share and to rewatch; to talk about and unpack our feelings around and distract ourselves with through this weird, big time will make a real difference to the kids in our lives, and their innate imaginative-storyteller selves, now and future.
Finally, what are your favorite Pixar movies?
Pixar has always excelled at making incredible films with grown-up sensibilities squarely aimed at young audiencesâtruly cross-generational cinema, my very favorite kind. I love WALL¡E for its seamless mix of art and heart, Brave for its representation of girl-strength, and Inside Out for exploring the shared humanness of feeling things deeply, and for reassuring us how valid and essential sadness is.
Related content
Pixarâs short films ranked according to Letterboxd community ratings.
Our 2018 interview with âPaddingtonâ and âPaddington 2â director Paul King.
Next month is going to be huge! Two shows that I worked on are going to premiere: Final Space and Hilda!  Hilda will have itâs debut at NY ICFF on February 25th. If youâre in New York, you should check it out. The director of the series, Andy Coyle, will be there for a âmaking ofâ panel. Â
I was really excited to see this picture posted on Mercury Filmworksâ instagram. I helped to storyboard this section of the episode. Itâs really cool to see it finalized. Â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Seems Tumblr doesn't know how to interpret Instagram's new slide shows, so here's a repost of Brazey being all over the New York International Children's Film Festival! And FYI, there's still 1 more weekend to check out the festival!