Director – Hayao Miyazaki – 1997 – Japan – Cert. PG – 134m ***** Groundbreaking, mythological, Japanese, animated epic – plays in the Annecy International Animation Festival 2026 which runs from Sunday, 21st June to Saturday 27th June Originally reviewed for What’s On in London when the film appeared in the Barbican’s 2001 Studio Ghibli […]
Director – Michel Fessler – 2024 – France – Cert. PG – 78m ***** The woods. A faun is born, looked after by its mother, and learns to fend for itself – remarkable live action adaptation of Bambi, shot with real live animals, is out in UK cinemas on Friday, August 15th It’s inevitable that […]
Director – Pierre Perifel Co-Director JP Sans – 2025 – US – Cert. PG – 104m **** A criminal gang of animals led by a wolf mastermind attempts to go straight but are extorted into doing one last job – animated feature sequel is out in UK cinemas on Friday, July 25th Like its predecessor, […]
Director – Keiichi Hara – 2022 – Japan – Cert. – 116m ***** Seven children are sucked via mirrors in their homes into a mysterious castle perched high above a sea, presided over by a wolf queen, and prowled by a hungry wolf at night – plays UK cinemas in the Japan Foundation Touring Film […]
Directors – Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado – 2022 – US – Cert. PG – 102m *** As he and others search for the legendary Wishing Star, the eponymous fairy tale character fears for his own mortality after losing eight of his nine lives – out in UK cinemas on Friday, February 5th It’s been almost […]
Directors – Masashi Ando, Masayuki Miyaji – 2022 – Japan – Cert. 15 – 113m ** The conquerors of a foreign land succumb to a mysterious plague there – out in cinemas on Wednesday, July 27th This starts off with clearly epic intentions by throwing line after line of convoluted plot at the viewer in […]
Director – Pierre Perifel – 2022 – US – Cert. U – 100m ****1/2 A group of criminal animals led by a wolf mastermind pretend to go straight to pull off their greatest job ever – animated feature previews Saturday and Sunday, March 26th & 27th, out in cinemas on Friday, April 1st It sounds […]
Director – Garth Jennings – 2021 – US – Cert. U – 110m **** The song and dance impressario tries to duplicate his local success in the entertainment capital of the world – animated sequel is out in cinemas on Friday, January 28th Following successfully putting on a talent show in his local theatre in […]
Director – Félix Dufour-Laperrière – 2021 – Canada – 72m **** A journey along an estuary traversing its archipelago, perhaps real, perhaps imagined, a trip into an obscure territory of the mind – from the Annecy 2021 Animation Festival in the Official Competition Contrechamp section Defying easy categorisation, this is a conversation between a woman […]
Subdue the forest WolfwalkersDirected by Tomm Moore and Ross StewartCertificate PG, 100 minutesPreviews from 26 October, released 30 October, then on Apple TV from 13 December The tree cutters attempting to clear the forest around the walled town of Kilkenny, Ireland, live in fear of wolves. They also believe in WolfWalkers – human by day, […]