Posts Tagged ‘Annecy’

Arco (2025) Annecy Cristal Award winner

Dir: Hugo Bienvenu | with the voices of Alma Jodorowsky, Swann Arlaud, Margot Ringard Oldra, Oscar Tresanini, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel, William Lebghil, Oxmo Puccini | Animation 82’

Bursting with colour and lively images this French animated film is set fifty years into the future, in 2075, where electricity bills are a thing of the past. Each house generates its own energy.

But loneliness still exists in this utopia. Iris, a lonely ten-year-old is wandering through the woods one day when she sees a mysterious boy in a rainbow cape fall out of the sky. He’s Arco, a time-traveller who plummets into her world from his own future where crossing oceans of time is entirely possible, although not recommended for kids. Iris takes Arco under her wing and helps him recover from a traumatic journey and return to his origins where humans have moved to the sky to live in large capsules set amongst the tress. 

Nuclear families still exist over four billion years into the future. And Arco, who lives with his parents in a stylish glass bubble, defies his father and he flies into trouble. There’s a touch of ‘beam me up Scottie’ about this delightful yet complex sci-fi anime that works on two levels appealing to kids and the adults alike rather like the Studio Ghibli fare.  

Arco has a magical connection with nature and especially birds who roost on his arms and he communicates with them by chirping, just like they do with each other. But there not everything in this Garden of Eden is lovely. The Devil lurks amongst the bushes in the shape of three baddies in brightly coloured suits. They are desperate to find Arco and steal the special gemstone that gives him the power of time-travel. So a classic race against time drives the narrative forward in this easy-on-the eye film with its lush visual allure. @MeredithTaylor

ARCO WON THE TOP PRIZE at ANNECY FILM FESTIVAL 2025

The Wild Robot (2024) Annecy Animation Festival 2024

THE WILD ROBOT and its DreamWorks team were greeted by a hyper enthusiastic crowd at this year’s Annecy Animation Festival as first clips of Universal’s long-awaited release, due to arrive in cinemas this Autumn, finally hit the big screen.

Inspired by Titus Wong and Studio Ghibli and based on Peter Brown’s 2016 bestseller The Wild Robot is directed by Oscar-nominated Chris Sanders and brought to life by DreamWorks’ 54 animators and 10 artists as a powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.

The main focus is kindness and empathy as a tool for survival in a Bambi-style parable. Refreshingly, there are no real villains or cultural associations just a bunch of feral forest animals with tender and relatable emotional beats that will appeal to all audiences.

The DreamWorks creative team with Margie Cohn (President) and The Wild Robot’s director Chris Sanders (both far right)

Joined by a lively cast of Bill Nighy and Pedro Pascal, Lupita Nyong’o voices ‘Rozzum 7134’, a robot that’s clueless and vulnerable when she blows off course and lands on a remote island totally unprepared for what comes next.

The film also features the voice talents of Emmy winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, Matt Berry (The SpongeBob Movie franchise) and Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction).

The Wild Robot combines a timeless quality with a message of hope when ‘Roz’ is forced into a motherly role of guiding a fledging gosling in its first days of life.

Blending 2D and 3D images the DreamWorks design-team have created a unique aesthetic with painterly handcrafted images and with an original score by Chris Bowers. @MeredithTaylor

THE WILD ROBOT in UK cinemas from 18 October 2024 

 

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