We here at Movie Ink are contentedly childless mole people, but our keen powers of observation have taught us that keeping adolescents thoroughly amused during a lot hot Texas summer is of paramount importance to any parent who wishes to stay sane until the school year starts. Some relief has come via the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Lone Star Film Society, who have partnered to provide a special selection of free daytime screenings for children ages three and up. The series runs August 7-9 at the museum (details here). Programming will feature:
August 7 :
10:30 am – 11:00 am (Ages 3-7)
Giraffes Can’t Dance (8 min), Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (11 min), Diary of a Fly (11 min)
Giraffes Can’t Dance: Gerald the giraffe longs to dance like everyone else, but his legs are too skinny, and he just can’t seem to get it right. At the Jungle Dance, all the other animals make fun of him, and he almost believes he is a failure, until one friend’s encouragement shows him how his uniqueness can make him the best dancer of all.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble: The Duncan family is beside itself when son Sylvester turns himself into a rock to escape the jaws of a hungry lion. Magic and suspense, along with wonderful music and animation, bring this classic’s children’s story to life.
Diary of a Fly: The day-to-day existence of a little fly that wants to be a superhero and who is not afraid to dream big, really big!
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Ages 8-12)
Jazztime (26 min), Fight The Night (2 min), After Hours (5 min), Cloudmaker (6 min), Road’s End (2 min), Manantial (5 min), Departure of Love (3 min) The Making of Departure of Love (3 min)
Jazztime: Set in Harlem in 1919, two girls – one white, one black – form a lifelong friendship through a chance encounter and the jazztime music of young “Fats” Waller. Narrated by Ruby Dee.
Fight The Night: A young boy awakes in the middle of the night to find a dark shadow looming over his head. Leaping out of bed the boy fights his imaginary manifestation of his fear.
After Hours: Based on a true story about an overworked animator who is haunted by one of his characters. The film is a horror-comedy love story with elephants, and a playful look into the (exhausting) creative process.
Cloudmaker: A comedy about a girl who makes cloud and a bird who swallows clouds. Their stalemate comes to an end one day when the girl starts making black clouds. It turns out that your enemy really can be your best friend.
Road’s End: A mysterious man stranded in the desert by a car accident is picked up by a helpful stranger.
Manantial: A woman and her grandson walk together to a piped spring to get water. The boy can feel his grandmother’s pain and nostalgia when she sees the small dirty water tap, and decides to bring what was once a spring, back to life.
Departure of Love: Inspired by the silent film comedy of Buster Keaton and the 1920’s. A man tries to stop his love from leaving. Won the 2010 Student Academy Award Gold Medal.
The Making of Departure of Love: A look at the process through which Jenna Bors and her team were able to create Departure of Love.
August 8:
10:30am – 11:00 am (Ages 3-7)
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (9 min), The Emperor’s New Clothes (26 min)
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: Wilbur is different from the other Naked Mole Rats in his Colony, because he wears clothes (and he likes it!). But what will happen when Grand-pah, the oldest, wisest, and most-naked Naked Mole Rat ever, discovers Wilbur’s secret? A gentle story about not quite fitting in and expressing one’s own individuality.
The Emperor’s New Clothes: This is the classic story of the vain emperor who is so swayed by the importance of clothes that he does not realize he is being fooled.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (Ages 8-12)
Abel’s Island (30 min), A Leg Up (2 min), In Dangerous Species (3 min), Gretel Hanzel (2 min), Deng Long (2 min), Robo-San And Wan-Chan (9 min), Address is Approximate (3 min)
Abel’s Island: The saga of Abelard, an elegant and romantic mouse, whose determination and resourcefulness enable him to escape from a deserted island and return to his beloved wife.
A Leg Up: A robot deals with its jazzy leg and learns that it can fly.
In Dangerous Species: Aboard a spacecraft a lowly janitor jumps eagerly behind the ship’s controls during the captain’s bathroom break and quickly discovers that the captain’s job is much harder than it looks.
Gretel Hanzel: It is a modern retelling/take of the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel.
Deng Long: A Chinese man wants to light up the lanterns in front of the house for the evening. What should be a simple task becomes difficult when he runs across some unexpected issues. See what happens when he tries to shed a little light on his problem.
Robo-San and Wan-Chan: Robo-san and Wan-chan, a robot and robot dog, play a game of Frisbee on a distant planet. Robo-san throws the Frisbee too far and Wan-chan flies after it, getting lost. Robo-san has to go on an adventure across the planet to find his lost dog.
Address Is Approximate: A lonely desk toy longs for escape from the dark confines of the office, so he takes a cross-country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can – using a toy car and Google Maps Street View.
The Making of Address Is Approximate: The process through which the creators of Address Is Approximate created the stop motion animation.
August 9:
10:30 am – 11:00 am (Ages 3-7)
Curious Garden (10 min), Curious George Rides a Bike (11 min), First the Egg (5 min)
Curious Garden: One boy’s quest for a greener world…one garden at a time. A little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. An enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations.
Curious George Rides A Bike: Fans of the ingenious little monkey will not be disappointed as he embarks on a wild series of adventures in a traveling circus. First the Egg: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? A book about transformations — from egg to chicken, seed to flower and caterpillar to butterfly. An entirely fresh and memorable presentation on the concepts of growth and creativity.
First the Egg: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? A book about transformations — from egg to chicken, seed to flower and caterpillar to butterfly. An entirely fresh and memorable presentation on the concepts of growth and creativity.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Ages 8 – 12)
Pumpkin Circle (20 min), The Name of the Game (17 min), Monster (2 min), Live Outside The Box (5 min), The Aeronaut (2 min), Hunted (2 min), Sorry I’m Late (3 min)
Pumpkin Circle: A bug’s eye view and a bird’s high view of the miraculous cycle of nature unfolding in a backyard pumpkin patch. English version narrated by Danny Glover. Spanish version narrated by Luis Valdez.
The Name of the Game: In this live-action musical set in 1947, a 12-year-old, baseball-loving tomboy seeks acceptance from her mother.
Monster: An elephant man from a traveling circus escapes his caravan after it hits a bomb and finds the world in chaos accompanied by more explosions and death. When he realizes that everyone else in the area around him has already died, he creeps back in to the cell he came from and desolately awaits his death.
Live Outside The Box: The leading character Simon is a workaholic without any social contact. Gradually his world becomes smaller and smaller and even at the very end, there is nothing left in his world but only his work. This severe impact finally wakes him up and now Simon has to find the right way to bring his life back before everything is too late.
The Aeronaut: A man attempts to conquer the sky with his homemade contraptions.
Hunted: It all starts when a naive native tribesman wanders into a hunter’s campsite…
Sorry I’m Late: A guy is late to his house when his bike ride turns into an adventure that includes the ocean, the sky, and a cool car.
movie ink™ 
Discussion
No comments yet.