Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Animated Inspiration: "Short Peace" and "Ernest & Celestine"

"Short Peace"

It's a good month for animation in Michigan!



This Friday, April 18th, the anime anthology "Short Peace" will be opening in theaters here in North America. "Short Peace" consists of four films:

"Possessions" by Shuhei Morita (nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film),
"Gambo" by Hiroaki Ando,
"A Farewell to Arms" by Hajime Katoki, and
"Combustible" directed by Katsuhiro Otomo -- who also oversaw this project according to the film's Facebook page.

While I can't speak for the other three films, "Possessions" was spectacular and it sold me on seeing the rest of the anthology. Fortunately for me, not only will the Maple Theater in Bloomfield, Michigan be showing this anthology, but it's also within a reasonable driving distance.

A listing of theaters across the country that will be screening "Short Peace" can be found at the distributor's website: Eleven Arts. And according to Crunchyroll.com, this anthology will be released on DVD and BluRay after it completes its theatrical run.



Additionally, if you're anywhere near Three Rivers, Michigan, there's a fantastic movie that's playing from now until the 25th at the Rivera Theater. I saw "Ernest & Celestine" at the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema (WFAC) last November and it was truly delightful! This is a fantastic movie to take the kids to. With all due respect to Disney and the creators of "Frozen", in my opinion, this is the film that should've won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, so if you have the time, check it out.