Animation is Film 2024

Animation Is Film! I’ve been going to this amazing festival ever since it started in 2017. Los Angeles needs a festival that respects & celebrates animation as the works of art that they are.

The festival began with the US premiere of THE COLORS WITHIN, from Naoko Yamada, director of the phenomenal A SILENT VOICE. Couldn’t make it to that, but I did attend the 15th Anniversary screening of REDLINE, one of the coolest, most insane anime films ever made.

Next, I saw the US premiere of MIYAZAKI, SPIRIT OF NATURE, an excellent new documentary about Hayao Miyazaki, exploring his connection to nature & his childhood experience during WWII. While it doesn’t feature a new interview with Miyazaki himself, it does include fascinating new interviews with Toshio Suzuki, Goro Miyazaki, author Susan Napier & more. And it features a lot of great archival footage of Studio Ghibli, much of which has never been officially released outside of Japan.

Finally, the North American premiere of THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE! After the tragic cancellation of the COYOTE VS ACME movie, it’s a miracle to see a feature-length Looney Tunes movie, thankfully coming to cinemas. Be sure to go see it to show WB that we still care about the Looney Tunes! The film is hilarious, with dynamic duo Porky & Daffy trying to save the world from alien invasion. Of course, chaos ensues. Packed with hilarious gags & brilliant physical comedy, it’s everything you could hope for.

I wish I could’ve seen the animated short film AN ALMOST CHRISTMAS STORY by David Lowery (THE GREEN KNIGHT) but it will be available on Disney+ soon. And while I didn’t see them at the festival, I have seen FLOW and MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, and they are 2 of the best animated films of the year, absolutely stunning.