Popular Animation Movies on Kanopy - Page 14

An Optical Poem

1938

An Optical Poem

1938
6.6
A dance of shapes. A title card tells us this is an experiment in conveying the mental images of music in a visual form. Liszt's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" is the music. The shapes, all two-dimensional, are circles primarily, with some squares and rectangles, and a few triangles. The shapes move rhythmically to the music: receding from view or moving across the screen. Red circles on a blue background; light blue squares; white rectangles. Then, a red background of many circles with a few in the foreground. Red gives way to blue then to white. Shapes reappear as Liszt's themes re-occur. Then, with a few staccato notes and images, it's over.
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs

2019

Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs

2019
5.8
Summer adventure story about two kids who spend summer in city suburb, where together with talking dogs they rescue the romantic wooden-house neighborhood from reconstruction.
The Pot That Juan Built

2004

The Pot That Juan Built

2004
Juan Quezada, one of Mexico's most famous potters, used his creative gifts to transform his impoverished village of laborers into a thriving artists community. Learn about his life and work through glowing artwork and poetic language.
Palm Rot

2015

Palm Rot

2015
8
A Florida crop-duster gets more than he bargained for when he fishes a case of vials out of the swamp.
Forming Game

2010

Forming Game

2010
This animated short from Malcolm Sutherland is an engaging dance of shapes and sounds. The "game" is played by opening the box, unfolding the board and placing shapes on it that you manipulate with your hands. There are no winners or losers in this game; the fun is in the creative way the forms unfold. Features a score by Luigi Alleman and music by Ravi Shankar.
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

1998

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

1998
6.5
This film illustrates the life of the film director, Shui-Bo Wang in The People's Republic of China. We learn of the life of the director in his own words and images from a child steeped in the values of Chinese communism exemplified by Chairman Mao, to a young man striving to live up to those ideals both as an artist and a soldier.
The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin

1981

The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin

1981
6.6
Cinderella has to stay home while her evil stepsisters go to the ball. You know the rest except everyone here is a penguin (even the mice that become the "horses") and the lost slipper is more like a swimming flipper.
Egg

2018

Egg

2018
6.4
A woman is locked in her home with an egg, which she is both attracted to and scared of. She eats the egg, she repents. She kills it. She lets the egg die of hunger. EGG is a poetic short film based on a small yet significant moment of the director’s own life. It portrays a moment of shame, defeat and yet of victory.
Ryan

2004

Ryan

2004
6.6
Centres on Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who in later years lived on skid row in Montreal following a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Spit It Out

1992

Spit It Out

1992
An ironic look at the limitations of words. An early exploration in film animation.
Chico & Rita

2010

Chico & Rita

2010
7.1
Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.
Gulliver's Travels

1939

Gulliver's Travels

1939
6.2
Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.
Chicken Little

2010

Chicken Little

2010
A bold and colorful retelling of the classic tale of the not-so-bright little chicken's encounter with an acorn and gravity. Children will be delighted as crazy-eyed Chicken and all his panicked friends run away from the sky and right into an eye-catching surprise. With delicious illustrations, wacky text and a spectacular finale, this is a colorful and comic extravaganza.
The Last Day of Autumn

2019

The Last Day of Autumn

2019
6.3
Winter is approaching, and the last day of the red-yellow-brown glow of autumn is a good time for the animals in the forest to organize a very special race. Ardently they construct buggies from discarded materials, and as the weather turns frosty, the race is on for the hare, fox, hedgehog, bear, and others. With mutual caring, the forest animals ride toward the finish line and their wintering grounds.
Tatsumi

2011

Tatsumi

2011
6.4
Animated film based on the life and stories of Manga writer Yoshihiro Tatsumi who revolutionised the art form with darker, more adult stories. The film animates several of his stories.
Lucky Ducklings

2014

Lucky Ducklings

2014
A true story about a mama duck and her five ducklings that had to be rescued from the town storm drain during an early morning walk. This delightful new classic has an inspiring environmental message.
The Little Prince: A Star Is Born

2023

The Little Prince: A Star Is Born

2023
8.5
80 years are gone since The Little Prince was released. Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was also a pilot, and we follow his last four years from his US exile to when his plane in 1944 disappeared over The Mediterranean without any trace.
Death of the Pollinators

2021

Death of the Pollinators

2021
A film by Robert Kolodny using poems and sounds of Cecilia Vicuña and auditory landscapes of musician Ricardo Gallo, telling the story of the death of the Earth's pollinating insects.
Rocks in My Pockets

2014

Rocks in My Pockets

2014
7.8
The personal story of a woman struggling with an inherited illness, as told by Signe Baumane, the Latvian director-animator living in New York City. With humour and courage, the director sets out on a challenging journey to discover her family’s best-kept secret. Featuring five stories about the courageous women in Signe’s family and their battles with madness, visual metaphors, surreal images and director’s narration.
Walking

1968

Walking

1968
6.3
A cinematic portrait of people walking in their individual ways.