Three to see at LFF if you like... animation

Three hot tickets at this year’s BFI London Film Festival for all animation fans great and small.

Justin Johnson

Mune

Mune (2015)

Mune (2015)

What’s it about?

Mune is about a faraway world where the most important jobs are the Guardians of the Sun and Moon who are responsible for ensuring the balance of day and night. Mune is a young faun who finds himself winning the Moon Guardian role, but before long chaos ensues as people and circumstances conspire against him. Mune must travel to the worlds of Nightmares and Dreams if he is to find a way forward.

Who made it?

Director Alexandre Heboyan worked as an animator on Michel Ocelot’s Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest (2006) and on the Dreamworks films Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) and Kung Fu Panda (2008). Iconic Disney animator Glen Keane (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) helped with some of the creative visuals on the film.

What’s special about it?

It’s great to have something in the Festival that should appeal to younger children as well as older. Mune is visually very appealing and has been made for a fraction of the cost of similar American productions. We are playing the English language version.

Adama

Adama (2015)

Adama (2015)

What’s it about?

Adama is set during the First World War and depicts the journey of young Adama, who follows his brother from the safety of his village in Africa and across war-torn Europe where he has been positioned in the frontline trenches to fight a war that they don’t understand or have any knowledge of.

Who made it?

Simon Rouby has moved from the art world into film and this is his first feature film. He is an exciting talent and definitely one to watch in terms of future projects. Adama won an award at the 2014 Annecy Animation Film Festival for best work in progress.

What’s special about it?

This is an important story based on the real-life use of troops from Africa in the First World War. It’s a compelling, absorbing film with rich animation and an exciting and moving tale at its heart. It combines 2D and 3D animation to create a realistic visual effect that successfully works in painting a convincing picture of this little-known part of history. It is suitable for audiences of 10+.

The Boy and the Beast

The Boy and the Beast (2014)

The Boy and the Beast (2014)

What’s it about?

A boy runs away from home in the human world and ends up in the beast world, where he lives with and is mentored by a grumpy, selfish bear-like beast. The beast has designs on becoming the new lord of the land but must win a contest to do so and reluctantly takes on the boy as his apprentice.

Who made it?

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the great animation directors working in Japan at the moment. His previous films have included The Girl Who Leapt through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009) and LFF favourite Wolf Children (2012). Each film is so different to the others but shares the same highly accomplished animation style and beautifully created characters.

What’s special about it?

The Boy and the Beast was only released in Japan this summer and I am thrilled that we are screening it at the Festival. It’s a visual treat and the relationship between boy and beast is enthralling, funny and exciting. The creation of the two complementary worlds, the quality of Hosoda’s writing, and the overall aesthetic make it one of the LFF’s must see animated titles.

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