I have always, and will always, adore animation. TV shows, movies, shorts, you name it; if it's animated, I'm on board. Of course, with any genre, there will be the flops, and there will be artistic treasures. Below are three such gems produced in the animation industry.
1. "Kirikou et la Sorcière" (1998).
Dir. by Michel Ocelot
"Kirikou et la Sorcière" ("Kirikou and the Sorceress)" is a French animated film that takes place in a village in West Africa. This beautiful story is made all the more powerful with the incredible visuals produced by Rija Films, Studio Exist, Les Armateurs, and Paul Thiltges studios. The story begins with the birth of Kirikou, a boy who can walk as soon as he breathes air and can speak from within his mother's belly.
As a newborn, Kirikou begins to ask his mother questions about the way they live, and in her answers, he learns that their village is terrorized by the sorceress Karaba, who cursed the nearby spring to dry and killed all but one of the young men of the village. Karaba demands gold and other finery from the villagers, and those who fail to please her are severely punished.
The movie depicts a scene where Karaba demands a 'magic' hat be handed over to her. The infant Kirikou quickly crafts a lookalike out of leaves from a nearby bush, which he leaves for her. Furious after being tricked, Karaba sends her emissaries to the village to scour for hidden treasures. They find a gold necklace in a woman's hut, and as punishment for hiding it, they burn her hut to the ground.
Kirikou sees the injustices Karaba inflicts on the villagers and decides that he will figure out a way to end her reign of terror. He encounters many of Karaba's evils incarnate, and in conquering them saves the lives of many of his fellow villagers. The more of her obstacles he overcomes, Kirikou comes to learn a truth about the origin of Karaba's evil that allows him to free them all from its clutches.
"Kirikou et la Sorcière "is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
2. "The Secret of Kells" (2009).
Dir. by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey
"The Secret of Kells "is a French-Belgian-Irish animated film set in Kells, Ireland sometime in the 17th century. The film was animated by Cartoon Saloon, using styles and colors inspired by more traditional Irish/Gaelic art. The film's opening sequence depicts Viking raids on Irish villages, and a lone man escaping by boat on a stormy sea.
On Kells, we meet Brendan, a young apprentice in the monastery, and several other Brothers who are all at work constructing a wall around the village. The construction is headed and supervised by Abbot Cellach, Brendan's uncle. The Abbot, a stern and grim man, believes firmly that a strong wall will protect the village from merciless Viking raids, and forbids anyone from setting foot outside the walls.
While the Abbot is giving Brendan a lecture about the wall, Brendan sees a man arrive in the village-- we recognize him at the man who escaped in the boat-- Brother Aidan of Iona. Fascinated by this man and curious about the Book of Iona, Brendan spends time listening to Aidan's stories and eventually goes outside the walls to find ink for him.
Outside of the walls for the first time, Brendan is both afraid of and enchanted by the wonders of the forest around him. As fog begins to fall, Brendan becomes surrounded by wolves. When it seems like all is lost, a howl rings out through the woods, chasing the wolves away. Out of the fog appears a fae girl: Aisling.
Though at first, she wants Brendan to leave the forest, Aisling guides him through the wood to find the berries he needs to make ink. Returning home with the berries, Brother Aidan begins teaching him and encouraging him to draw and write for the book. The other brothers of the monastery eagerly watch them work in secret, against the will of the Abbot.
As threats of the raiders grow nearer, and he learns more about Aisling and her fears, Brendan must overcome fear and illusion to survive and better understand the world. He learns over time of the importance of understanding and preserving culture while sharing the goodness of humanity.
"The Secret of Kells "is available to purchase on YouTube and Google Play.
3. "In This Corner of the World" (2016).
Dir. by Sunao Katabuchi
"In This Corner of the World" is a Japanese animated film set in the cities of Hiroshima and Kure from the 1930s to the 1940s. Fumiyo Kōno's graphic novel illustrations were brought to life through Animatsu, Genco and MAPPA studios, the details of which were praised by elderly audiences in Japan as historically accurate and true to the times.
The story follows Suzu Urano, a girl with her head in the clouds who has a talent for drawing. She is so clueless that she was kidnapped by an ogre while running an errand, but due to her quick-thinking, she saves herself and another boy who was also captured and they both make their escape home. We almost immediately see her kindness, as in the first 10 minutes, on a visit to her extended family's house, Suzu gives her kimono to a girl she saw who was dressed in rags.
A few years later, Suzu receives a proposal of marriage from a man she doesn't recognize. Unsure about how to proceed, Suzu gets swept up by the families' decision-making and finds herself wearing her wedding dress on a train out of Hiroshima bound to Kure.
Once the ceremony ends, Suzu finds herself busy with housework for a new household, as well as well as mandatory local service on Rationing Duty in the midst of WWII. Though timid, Suzu winds up making friends with her new neighbors and begins to find her place in the new city.
One day, Keiko, Suzu's shrewish sister-in-law moves in with her kindhearted daughter Harumi. Living with the additional stress of constant criticism and extreme rationing, Suzu begins to develop a bald spot and depression.
As the war rages on, food and materials become more scarce, and air raids become a constant presence in the city. Suzu struggles to stay resilient as their situation keeps worsening and eventually must come to face-to-face the gruesome, unforgiving horrors of war. Even after facing the worst, Suzu must find her place in the world, and cope with her trauma by embracing the countless beauties that can be found in even the darkest of places.
"In This Corner of the World" is currently available to stream on Netflix.
