7.8
Children fight against the strict rules and regulations they face during their time in a Communist Young Pioneer camp.
6.6
Following the international triumph of THE RED BALLOON, Albert Lamorisse turned to feature filmmaking with another delightful tale of a boy and a balloon. Making spectacular use of Hélivision—an innovative aerial photography technique he developed—Lamorisse takes us on the breathtaking odyssey of a young boy (played by his son, Pascal) who sneaks aboard his inventor grandfather’s experimental new hot-air balloon for a voyage across France. Soaring above cathedrals and castles, the Mediterranean and the Alps, STOWAWAY IN THE SKY celebrates the natural world and ponders, with surprising existential insight, the place of human beings within it.
3.9
Director Ishiro Honda returned again for the first Godzilla movie expressly for children. Economizing by reusing effects shots from other films in the series, All Monster Attack tells the story of Ichiro, a lonely latchkey kid who finds solace in his dreams of befriending Minilla, the titular progeny of Son of Godzilla, whose parent is also often absent. In this thoughtful, human-scale story, boy and monster learn together what it means to grow up.
7.1
A beguiling mix of natural history and science fiction, this early feature by Karel Zeman follows four schoolboys on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth. Hewing closely to the scientific knowledge of its era, JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME brings its prehistoric beasts alive through a number of innovative techniques—including stop-motion, puppetry, and life-size models—creating an atmosphere of pure wonderment.
7.2
Possessed of the timeless perfection of a fable, this tale about the unique bond between children and animals is Albert Lamorisse’s ode to the awe-inspiring majesty of nature. Amid the vast flatlands of the Camargue in the South of France lives White Mane, a magnificent wild stallion who refuses to be broken by men and instead forms a connection with a young boy, with whom he embarks on a daring quest for freedom. Fully capturing the rugged beauty of its marsh setting, this extraordinarily photographed treasure of children’s cinema—which won the Grand Prix for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival—speaks to the hearts of all creatures yearning to live untamed.
7.2
Restored in 2010 by the Cineteca di Bologna /L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with the Ritwik Memorial Trust, the National Film Archive of India, and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. Additional film elements provided by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
6.6
Featuring narration by celebrated poetic-realist writer Jacques Prévert, Albert Lamorisse’s first fiction film established his stylistic and thematic signatures: elegant simplicity, storybook-like voice-over, and empathetic concern for children and animals. Filmed on the Tunisian island of Djerba, this spirited adventure follows two boys—one poor and good-hearted, the other wealthy and spoiled—who go from rivals to friends as they set out to save a donkey from thieves. From the start, Lamorisse’s gift for bringing forth the inner lives of his nonhuman characters suffuses his art with an otherworldly magic.
6.7
This Korda brothers film is the definitive version of Rudyard Kipling's classic collection of fables. Sabu stars as Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, who can communicate with all the beasts of the jungle, friend or foe, and who gradually reacclimatizes to civilization with the help of his long lost mother and a beautiful village girl. Deftly integrating real animals into its fanciful narrative, Jungle Book is a shimmering Technicolor feast, and was nominated for four Oscars, including best cinematography, art direction, special effects, and music.
6.4
Robert Flaherty and Zoltán Korda shared best director honors at the Venice Film Festival for collaborating on this charming translation of Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book” story “Toomai of the Elephants.” A harmonious mix of the two filmmakers’ styles, Flaherty's adeptness at ethnographic documentary meeting Korda's taste for grand adventure, ELEPHANT BOY also served as the breakthrough showcase for the thirteen-year-old Sabu, whose beaming performance as a young mahout leading the British on an expedition made him a major international star.
7.1
Clumsy Harold Hall (Harold Lloyd) is a young movie fan with a burning desire to be in pictures—but no real acting experience or ability. A mix-up in the casting office, however, brings him one step closer to his dream of stardom when he’s invited to make a screen test in Hollywood—where he proceeds to wreak hilarious havoc all across the studio backlot. Lloyd’s third talkie became his most commercially successful thanks to the clever use of sound and ingenious gags conceived in part by “Nancy” cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller.
