Festival’s youth offerings are charming and challenging
Movies aren’t just for grownups. This Sunday, kids and their parents piled into The Bookshelf Cinema for a Guelph Film Festival screening of “Sunday Morning Cartoons.” Many of the animated shorts were chosen by local artist Garth Laidlaw.
There’s nothing like watching a movie in a room full of kids, who spend as much time explaining the films to one another (“The baby pulled out the plug!”) and fighting over snacks (“Are you going to eat that popcorn, or what?”) as they do watching the screen. While kids might be joyfully unaware of cinema etiquette, Laidlaw stressed that they shouldn’t be underestimated as discerning viewers.
“Kids are emotionally far more complex than is outwardly present on their bodies and faces,” said Laidlaw, who self-published his first children’s book, Sayni and the Windowjet Brothers, last year.
The shorts in the Sunday showcase — many of them from the National Film Board — varied in length, style, and tone. While most of the films kept the audience giggling, others strayed into darker territory. A surreal film by Dutch animator Paul Driessen featured a hanging (“That’s a little bit old for a kids movie!” as one kid commented), and the closing short depicted a character dealing with his father’s death.
“Things like [that] are part of life, however dark,” said Laidlaw.“I don’t think darkness like this is inappropriate. I think something that valorizes war or violence is far worse, and we see plenty of that for kids daily.”
Presenting dark subjects in animation might be even more effective than discussing them explicitly.
“With the use of cartoon, metaphor, and humour, you can present complex material to kids and they’ll actually consider what it means in a more approachable way,” said Laidlaw.
In selecting animated shorts for the festival, Laidlaw tried to focus on substance, quality, and nuance, picking the films that made him “think, or wonder, or dream.” Laidlaw continued, “I like the ones that make kids interested in the world in some way. There are plenty that just entertain, cashing in on cheap laughs. The ones that make kids think a bit differently will stay with them.”
The Guelph Film Festival presents another selection of animated shorts on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Illustrations courtesy of Free Stock Photos