Nikuko is a brash, jolly, scattered, and passionate woman in an otherwise sleepy seaside town in northern Japan. She’s also the single mother of 11-year-old Kikuko, who is her opposite in many ways. Kikuko is a string-bean of a young girl, pensive, quietly curious, and methodical in how she approaches life in this small harbor town. Nikuko embarrasses Kikuko as any mom of a preteen would, but Nikuko’s bold spirit makes her especially well-known in a town where Kikuko herself wants nothing more than to simply blend in. As Kikuko navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school, enhanced with touches of magical realism from her ever-present imagination, a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair’s tender relationship.
Santa Forgot, narrated by Stephen Fry, imagines a world where Santa is living with the effects of dementia and no longer visits children on Christmas Eve. But we believe in the power of research to change the future. Do you?
MTV Station ID.
Environmental PSA by Bill Plympton.
Two friends must figure out what to do when borders close before they are due to travel...
Years ago, when Abhijit was a boy, he learned his father was involved in extramarital relationships. He kept it secret for several years, until tension rose too high and he left for Cape Town. Time passes and Abhijit is called by his mother. His father had contracted the AIDS virus. It was up to Abhijit to be the bigger person to comfort his father, even after all he had done, in his last moments of life.
The narrator, an unnamed adolescent boy living in the present time in an unspecified part of Japan, begins to notice that he can see strange creatures that no one else seems to be able to see. As time passes, he ruminates over his relationship with these creatures, why he is able to see them, and what it says about the person he is. One day, however, he notices that one of these creatures seems to be behaving differently than before...
One day, Sayuri's family tells her it is time for her to strike.
A man working in a fish cannery has a guilty conscience and begins to imagine he is a murderer. In his delirium/dream the fish try him for murder in a crazy court-room scene at the bottom of the ocean, which incorporates the 'Information, Please" radio routine, and also has a fish-jury who sing a little ditty called "There's Nothing On the End of the Hook." Re-released to theaters again in 1954, before Columbia sold it to television stations.
Indonesia, 1965: hundreds and even thousands of people are arrested without warrant. Some did come back, the others lost without trace. Svet, one of the survivors of the Indonesian dark history recounts the memory she had of her father, whom she believes to be responsible for the 1965 tragedy.
Jenny Cohen isn't like all the other little girls, she's a tomboy. And when a new boy arrives at school, she thinks the only way to get his attention is to change who she is. Jenny quickly learns the importance of staying true to oneself.
The very first images in the film set unprecedented standards in East German animated film: a Buñuelean eye that fills the entire screen, real-life sequences of fleeing animals and a sound collage running contrary to what is seen on the screen. This also extends to the protagonist of the film, a head on a foot without a body or arms who pads wearily through the depressing surroundings. Upon seeing various figures in the sky, he begins to copy their movements. To his surprise, he himself manages to grow wings and takes to the skies. But his attempt at flight ends in a sobering manner however, as it is revealed that flying creatures are just restricted in their range.
Everyone who enters a crime scene leaves something behind and takes something away. "Something Left, Something Taken" is an animated dark comedy about a vacationing couple's encounter with a man they believe to be the Zodiac Killer.
The imagined perpetrator in a famously unsolved true-crime case, “Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm”, is confronted about his past by an unearthly Bison in this Stop-Motion animated short film.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff: When a troll threatens to eat up the billy goats who want to eat the grass on the other side of the bridge, the biggest billy goat is the one who teaches the troll a lesson he'll never forget. The Three Little Pigs: When the wolf eats up the first and second little pigs, he'll learn the hard way that he shouldn't mess with the smartest pig of the three little pigs.
Based on the traditional American folksong, this compelling tale recounts the daring adventures of one family's escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad. This touching story captures all the drama of a perilous flight to freedom. Narrated by Morgan Freeman.
A mysterious figure with special reality-warping powers battles the forces of madness only he can see and fight.
In a basement, Mr. Resistor, who's made out of wires and spare parts, goes in search of some new arms.
Sponsored as part of the Electricity Council's 'Understanding Electricity' campaign, Play Safe is a series of three hard-hitting fillers designed to highlight to children the potentially fatal consequences of playing near overhead electric lines and substations. The carefree attitude of the youngsters as they fly their kites and radio-controlled planes in the open air is undermined by composer Harry Robinson's electronic soundtrack, which pulsates with menace throughout.
This is the story of a small Japanese boy whose only interest is drawing pictures of cats...even while everyone else in the village is struggling to defeat a mysterious demon that plagues the countryside. Although first seen as entirely useless, it is the boy's peculiar talent that ultimately restores prosperity to the land. This haunting and enchanting folktale about finding your place in the world resonates with deep respect for and appreciation of Japanese culture.