The oldest extant animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) was made by Lotte Reiniger using the silhouette technique she invented. Reiniger manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under the camera to create an Arabian Nights world of delicate, filigree backgrounds and intricately jointed figures. With the assistance of Aladdin, the Witch of the Fiery Mountain, and a magic horse, the title character battles the evil African sorcerer to win the hand of Princess Peri Banu. Working from surviving nitrate prints, German and British archivists have lovingly restored the film: the backgrounds are tinted in delicate pastels rather than the black and white of previously available versions. Included with the film is Katja Raganelli's pretty documentary on Reiniger, which erroneously insists Prince Achmed was the first animated feature "in the history of cinema." Unrated: suitable for ages 8 and older; minor violence. —Charles Solomon

Alê Abreu An amazing Brazilian animation that truly exemplifies the power of imagery and music as a combination that has more than enough to portray a powerful and deep message. It shows an adventurous quest that illustrates the issues of the modern world through the eyes of a child. A cautionary tale of globalization, The Boy And The World teaches above all the dangers of the massification of the economy, of the mind, and of the soul.

Wes Anderson This is the story of Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his wild ways of hen heckling, turkey taking, and cider sipping, nocturnal, instinctive adventures. He has to put his wild days behind him and do what fathers do best: be responsible. He is too rebellious. He is too wild. He is going to try "just one more raid" on the three nastiest, meanest farmers that are Walter Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), Nathan Bunce (Hugo Guinness), and Franklin Bean (Sir Michael Gambon). It is a tale of crossing the line of family responsibilities and midnight adventure and the friendships and awakenings of this country life that is inhabited by Fantastic Mr. Fox and his friends.

Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Brad Bird Iron Giant ~ Iron Giant

DVD

Hiroyuki Imaishi A futuristic firefighting mecha service is created to protect the world.

Hiroyuki Imaishi A futuristic firefighting mecha service is created to protect the world.

Daniel Janke In the village of Carcross, in the Tagish First Nation, Grandma Kay invites the local children into her kitchen and tells them the traditional tale of how Crow brought fire to people. As the story unfolds in this animated short, we also meet 12-year-old Tish, an introspective, talented girl who feels drawn to the elder’s kitchen. Here, past and present blend, myth and reality meet, and the metaphor of fire infuses all in a location that lies at the heart of this Native community’s spiritual and cultural memory.

Norman McLaren Although his name is a hardly a household word, Norman McLaren ranks among the most significant figures in the history of world animation. Other artists created films; McLaren created ways of making films. He drew scratched and painted images directly onto blank film stock for "camera-less animation." He combined slow-motion photography and multiple exposures to reveal the patterns created by dancers' movements in Pas de Deux. He moved actors and full-sized props in Neighbors, his Oscar-winning parable of human aggression: Two friends turn into homicidal maniacs when they vie for possession of a single flower. He demonstrated the underlying structure of musical forms visually in Canon, and created artificial sound to accompany many of his films.

In 1941, Canadian Film Commissioner John Grierson invited McLaren to head up the newly founded animation unit of the National Film Board of Canada. McLaren spent the rest of his life at the NFB, pushing the boundaries of animation and providing a place where talented artists from Canada and other countries could explore personal visions of what an animated film could be.

The Master's Edition offers not only all of McLaren's extant films, but experiments, tests, and outtakes. Each film has been carefully restored to correspond as closely as possible to the artist's vision: The prints have had dust and dirt removed, but flaws that resulted from the limited technology McLaren employed have been preserved. New documentaries by Donald McWilliams and other Canadian experts provide introductions to McLaren's work and often arcane techniques. This handsomely packaged seven-disc set, which includes a booklet in English and French, is certain to be the definitive edition of the films Picasso once described as "something new in the art of drawing." (Unrated, suitable for ages 8 and older: tobacco use, stylized violence in a few of the films) —Charles Solomon

Hayao Miyazaki A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Hayao Miyazaki An animated fantasy-adventure. Set one thousand years from now, the Earth is ravaged by pollution and war. In the Valley of the Wind lives Nausicaä, Princess of her people. Their land borders on a toxic jungle, filled with dangerous over-sized insects. Meanwhile, two nearby nations are bitterly engaged in a war and the Valley of the Wind is stuck in the middle.

Hayao Miyazaki As of 2001, PRINCESS MONONOKE is one of only two films to ever break $150 million at the Japanese box office — the other is TITANIC.

Hayao Miyazaki Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop—until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment—the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features—animated or live action—offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. —Charles Solomon

Hayao Miyazaki Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki made this gorgeous, delightful feature about two young sisters who move to rural Japan and start having magical advenures with a giant, friendly forest spirit called Totoro. The enchantment spreads as the girls are introduced to such wonders as a "cat bus" (a big bus that looks like a cat), but the film is also just as winning for the ordinary things Miyazaki captures: meeting neighbors, getting to know a new house from the perspective of excited children, etc. Little kids love this movie, and adults can easily appreciate it, too. Voices have been dubbed into English. —Tom Keogh

Hayao Miyazaki Welcome to a world where anything is possible! Academy Award winning director Hayao Miyazaki (2002, Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away) and legendary filmmaker John Lasseter together with Disney bring to life a heartwarming and imaginative telling of Hans Christian Andersen s classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid. A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship and discovery before Ponyo s father, a powerful sorcerer, forces her to return to her home in the sea. But Ponyo s desire to be human upsets the delicate balance of nature and triggers a gigantic storm. Only Ponyo s mother, a beautiful sea goddess, can restore nature s balance and make Ponyo s dreams come true. Ponyo will delight your family with its magnificent animation and timeless story.

Tomomi Mochizuki As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.

Michel Ocelot In a little village somewhere in Africa, a boy named Kirikou is born. But he's not a normal boy, because he knows what he wants very well. Also he already can speak and walk. His mother tells him how an evil sorceress has dried up their spring and devoured all males of the village except one. Hence little Kirikou decides, he will accompany the last warrior to the sorceress. Due to his intrepidity he may be the last hope of the village.

Mark Osborne A little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to prepare her for it. Her neighbor, the Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of the Little Prince.

Nick Park, Peter Lord Chicken Run ~ Chicken Run

Pete Docter, Bob Peterson At a time when too many animated films consist of anthropomorphized animals cracking sitcom one-liners and flatulence jokes, the warmth, originality, humor, and unflagging imagination of Up feel as welcome as rain in a desert. Carl Fredericksen (voice by Ed Asner) ranks among the most unlikely heroes in recent animation history. A 78- year-old curmudgeon, he enjoyed his modest life as a balloon seller because he shared it with his adventurous wife Ellie (Ellie Docter). But she died, leaving him with memories and the awareness that they never made their dream journey to Paradise Falls in South America. When well-meaning officials consign Carl to Shady Oaks Retirement Home, he rigs thousands of helium balloons to his house and floats to South America. The journey's scarcely begun when he discovers a stowaway: Russell (Jordan Nagai), a chubby, maladroit Wilderness Explorer Scout who's out to earn his Elderly Assistance Badge. In the tropical jungle, Carl and Russell find more than they bargained for: Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), a crazed explorer whose newsreels once inspired Carl and Ellie; Kevin, an exotic bird with a weakness for chocolate; and Dug (Bob Peterson), an endearingly dim golden retriever fitted with a voice box. More importantly, the travelers discover they need each other: Russell needs a (grand)father figure; Carl needs someone to enliven his life without Ellie. Together, they learn that sharing ice-cream cones and counting the passing cars can be more meaningful than feats of daring-do and distant horizons. Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc. ) and Bob Peterson direct the film with consummate skill and taste, allowing the poignant moments to unfold without dialogue to Michael Giacchnio's vibrant score. Building on their work in The Incredibles and Ratatouille, the Pixar crew offers nuanced animation of the stylized characters. Even by Pixar's elevated standards, Up is an exceptional film that will appeal of audiences of all ages. Rated PG for some peril and action. —Charles Solomon

Stills from Up (Click for larger image)

Lotte Reiniger German animator, a pioneer in silhouette cartoons whose work was based on the traditions of the oriental shadow theatre. Started with the Max Reinhardt Theatre Company in the late 1910's. Made her first full-length animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926). During the 1930's, worked in Canada and in Britain (for the GPO Film Unit). Most of her output consisted of short films. Among many shadow plays for the BBC, she turned out her first silhouette colour work with Jack and the Beanstalk (1955). She absented herself from the cinema for ten years following the death of her husband and collaborator, Carl Koch. In her later years, she lectured in shadow animation in Europe and the U.S

Wolfgang Reitherman Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem with most of the film—the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Children will like it, but they won't cherish it. —Keith Simanton

Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.

Toronto Animated Images Society The Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) in conjunction with Cinematheque Ontario and Christopher Cutts Gallery, is pleased to announce the premiere of Eleven in Motion: Abstract Expressions in Animation, a commissioned project of eleven new animated works inspired by the art of the Painters Eleven. The premiere screening takes place November 11, 2009, 8 PM at the Cinematheque Ontario and will be attended by all eleven filmmakers from across Canada. The screening is free to the public.

Following the premiere, the new animated works, alongside paintings by the Painters Eleven, will be on display at the Christopher Cutts Gallery from November 18 – 25, 2009. The gallery opening takes place November 18, 2009, 6 to 9 PM.

There will be an artists’ talk on Tuesday November 17, 2009 from 7 to 9 PM at the NFB Mediatheque with all the participating artists.

New Works by:

Rick Raxlen (inspired by Harold Town)
Patrick Jenkins (inspired by Kazuo Nakamura)
Élise Simard (inspired by Alexandra Luke)
Richard Reeves (inspired by Walter Yarwood)
Nick Fox-Gieg (inspired by Oscar Cahén)
Félix Dufour-Laperriére (inspired by Jack Bush)
Ellen Besen (inspired by Tom Hodgson)
Steven Woloshen (inspired by Jock Macdonald)
Pasquale LaMontagna (inspired by William Ronald)
Craig Marshall (inspired by Ray Mead)
Lisa Morse (inspired by Hortense Gordon)

Jeff Chiba Stearns Follow the adventures of the Super Nip as filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns explores his cultural backgrounds growing up a mix of Japanese and Caucasian in a small white-bred Canadian city, Kelowna. What is it like growing up a hapa in Canada? This short classically animated film looks at particular periods in Jeff's life where he battled with finding an identity being a half minority - from his childhood origins to the epic showdown against the monster truck drivin' redneck crew. "What Are You Anyways?" is a humorous yet serious story of struggle and love and finding one's identity through the trials and tribulations of growing up. Awarded the Best Animated Film at the ARPA International Film Festival 2005.

Jeff Chiba Stearns

Isao Takahata A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.

Suzie Templeton, Tony Fish An animated retelling set to Prokofiev's suite. Peter is a slight lad, solitary, locked out of the woods by his protective grandfather, his only friend a duck. In town, he's bullied. When a wolf menaces the duck - as well as grandfather's fat cat and an ill-flying bird that Peter has befriended - Peter bravely tries to tree the wolf. Grandfather, the townspeople, and the hunters who have antagonized Peter figure in the dénouement.

Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, where Fiona's parents are King and Queen, to celebrate their marriage. When they arrive, they find they are not as welcome as they thought they would be.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi In a secret world hidden beneath the floorboards, little people called Borrowers live quietly among us. But when tenacious and tiny Arrietty is discovered by Shawn, a human boy, their secret and forbidden friendship blossoms into an extraordinary adventure. Featuring the voices of Bridgit Mendler and David Henrie and comedic all-stars Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett, and based on the award-winning novel The Borrowers, The Secret World Of Arrietty will delight families of all sizes!