The London International Animation Festival Sydney Opera House 2025

 

Image from Gunpowder (France)

The full title of this event is 

The London International Animation Festival - 
celebrating a world of animation for kids

Blurb from the Sydney Opera House: In need of an escape from the Summer sun? Join us for the return of the London International Animation Festival for kids. Our Playhouse has been transformed into a cinema for you and the family to enjoy the best independent animation from across the globe. From stop-motion, claymation, 2D and 3D CGI and everything in between, get comfy in your seats and ready to travel to faraway lands and mysterious planets. Grab some popcorn and get involved in the fun free foyer animation play activations before or after your movie session as we roll out the red carpet for this big screen celebration. This carefully curated programme for our littlest film critics contains the most wonderful animated short films from all around the world. There will be talking animals, heartwarming friendships, fun adventures and wondrous tales to spark everyone's imagination.

Let's unpack this - International - yes - there are films from France, Hungary, UK, Japan, Slovenia/Croatia, Belgium, Germany, USA, Russia, New Zealand, and Lithuania. Celebrating the world - no - Who is missing? There were no films from Australia this year but we do have talented animators as evidenced by the new film release of Magic Beach. There was only one film from South America, and only one from Japan with none from other parts of from Asia. Also nothing from Middle Eastern Countries. I mention them because in past years the Opera House hosted a brilliant film festival for kids called "Little Big Shots" and some of the best short films (live action and animation) at that event were from Iran and Afghanistan. Sadly, I think "Little Big Shots" has now closed but it did run for more than ten years especially in Melbourne.

I was also surprised most of the films were made before 2020. I wonder if this an older selection on loan by the Opera House from the UK Festival. I did read that in the UK The London International Animation Festival screens around 300 independent animated films of every technique, style and genre across London venues for 10 days from late November to early December every year for all ages including a children's selection. 

Anyway, putting all of that aside I did thoroughly enjoy the nine films in the section designed for children aged 6-10. Many also have fabulous music to accompany these mostly 'silent' stories. 

Tickets and session times here (17-19 January 2025). Over the three days, four sessions are available per day 

• 10am & 12pm: Recommended for ages 2 - 6
• 2.30pm & 4.30pm: Recommended for ages 6 - 10
• 7pm: Recommended for ages 10 - 14

Here are the films I saw for ages 6-10 from the 2025 event:

• Spring Jam is based on birds and music and especially Brandenburg' Concerto no. 4 in G major.
• Hedgehog (this is the whole film on YouTube) is a very poignant film featuring a young boy who loved hedgehogs but who had a very dysfunctional and even violent home situation. 
• Gunpowder (trailer) (whole film here) is actually about tea - Phileas travels to China to find some tea and while he is there he encounters a very dangerous dragon.

• Good Heart features a cave family where mum seems to do all the tasks. Finally, everyone has to move into the cave to escape the rain. 
• In Cat Lake City (trailer) a mother duck and her two ducklings keep taking over her towel when all she wants to do is to lie beside the swimming pool. 
• Senses sets up two scenes side by side - one full of colour and the other black and white. Everything is okay until a brightly coloured and slightly crazy frog arrives.

• How much does the cloud Weight was an interesting silent film with a terrific twist in the final scene. 
• Mr Night has a Day off is a clever exploration of night and day. When Night touches things they turn black. We all laughed when he touched a small blue car and it turned into a very large black car!

There was also a bonus film about a fish that needs to find a container of water called Water Path for a Fish or Camino de Agua Para un Pez (El Salvador).

You can see the 2024 selection here. If this topic interests you here is the 2023 kids event held in London.

Be More Pippi and Celebrate 80 years of Pippi Longstocking

 

Our anniversary campaign encourages everyone to be more like Pippi! 

Use your own Pippi power and make the world a little better.

 Follow Pippi on Instagram. Here are some resources for your Pippi party. 

Pippi Longstocking is turning 80 this year! If you know my name, you know I have a small connection with Astrid Lindgren. Of course, Lindgren was her married name. Her husband was Sture Lindgren. Her full name was Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (Ericsson). In 1958, Astrid Lindgren received the second Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Rasmus på luffen (Rasmus and the Vagabond).

Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) was published in November 1945 with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman.

Image Source: The Japan Times

Pippi books illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman

Bookseller blurb: Pippi Longstocking is nine years old. She has just moved into Villa Villekulla where she lives all by herself with a horse, a monkey, and a big suitcase full of gold coins. The grown-ups in the village try to make Pippi behave in ways that they think a little girl should, but Pippi has other ideas. She would much rather spend her days arranging wild, exciting adventures to enjoy with her neighbours, Tommy and Annika, or entertaining everyone she meets with her outrageous stories. Pippi thinks nothing of wrestling a circus strongman, dancing a polka with burglars, or tugging a bull's tail.

Did you know Pippi's full name is: Pippilotta Victoriaria Tea-cosy Appleminta Ephraim’s-daughter Longstocking.

“Her dress was curious indeed. Pippi had made it herself. It was supposed to have been blue, but as there hadn’t been quite enough blue cloth, Pippi had decided to add little red patches here and there. On her long thin legs she wore long stockings, one brown and the other black.”

“Her hair was the same colour as a carrot, and was braided in two stiff pigtails that stood straight out from her head. Her nose was the shape of a very small potato, and was dotted with freckles.”

There are three Pippi books. The series has been translated into more than 70 different languages. 

• Pippi Longstocking (1945)
• Pippi Goes On Board (1946)
• Pippi In The South Seas (1948)

Astrid Lindgren also created three picture books: Pippi’s After Christmas Party (1950), Pippi on the Run (1971) and Pippi Longstocking in the Park (2001).

In March, 2025 Penguin Random House will release a new audio version of Pippi Longstocking. 

You can read the story of how Astrid Lindgren came to write Pippi Longstocking for her daughter Karin. I have a connection with this famous story. My father's sister (maiden name Lindgren) named her daughter Karin!

In 100 Best Books for Children, Anita Silvey praised the character as "the perfect fantasy heroine — one who lives without supervision but with endless money to execute her schemes." It is not a surprise to learn that other lists of the top 100 children's book also often include Pippi Longstocking. 

Champion of fun, freedom and fantasy and long happy thoughts, Pippi is an inspired creation knit from daydreams. Kirkus Star Review

Quotes from Pippi Longstocking:

“Don't you worry about me. I'll always come out on top.”

“She always slept with her feet on the pillow and her head far down under the covers. ‘That’s the way they sleep in Guatemala,’ she explained. ‘And it’s the only right way to do it. This way, I can wiggle my toes while I’m sleeping, too.‘”

“In the orchard was a cottage, and in this cottage lived Pippi Longstocking. She was nine years old, and she lived all alone. She had neither mother nor father, which was really rather nice, for in this way there was no one to tell her to go to bed just when she was having the most fun, and no one to make her take cod-liver-oil when she felt like eating peppermints.”

“Pippi was a very remarkable child, and the most remarkable thing about her was her strength. She was so strong that in all the world there was no policeman as strong as she. She could have lifted a whole horse if she had wanted to.”

Astrid Lindgren died in 2002 aged 94 but you can find out so much from the comprehensive website and of course if you visit Sweden there are places that link with the book and with other books by this famous author and a museum too. 

Astrid Lindgren is also connected with IBBY:

In 1952 Jella Lepman, a courageous and visionary woman, organized a meeting in Munich, Germany, called International Understanding through Children’s Books. Many important authors, publishers, teachers and philosophers of the time attended the meeting and as a result a committee was appointed to create the International Board on Books for Young People – IBBY. A year later in 1953, IBBY was registered as a non-profit organization in Zurich, Switzerland. The founding members included: Erich Kästner, Lisa Tetzner, Astrid Lindgren, Jo Tenfjord, Fritz Brunner, Bettina Hürlimann and Richard Bamberger.

And a major award for Children's Literature is named after Astrid Lindgren. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the largest award of its kind. The global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. Our Australian Indigenous Literacy Foundation (2024) were recent winners and in the past we celebrated Australian authors - Shaun Tan (2011) and Sonya Hartnett (2008).

If you enjoy meeting Pippi Longstocking, other books with similar themes or a similarly wonderful heroine are:

Gooney Bird Greene

The Girl who Brought Mischief

Waffle Hearts

The House Trap by Emma Read

Claude and his sister Amity are moving to a new part of the country. Claude was Deliah's best friend but over the last year while they were both in Grade seven things have changed. This is so confusing for Deliah. Now Claude seems to be friends with an awful bratty boy named Sam. 

On the day the story begins the four kids are sent out of the house to 'play' but with the added warning not to go into Badwell Woods. Of course anyone who has read a book with a premise like this will expect the kids will ignore this warning and go into the woods. Somewhere deep in the forest they find an old mansion. It looks neglected on the outside but the inside is very strange. There is even a container of ice which holds drinks but clearly no one is home. Then the door slams shut and the four of them are trapped. This house is full of tricks, puzzles and danger. These four children have to find a way to mend their relationships and solve a series of puzzles and yes, at times, it feels like their lives are really in danger. Along the way they meet a young ghost named Hypatia. It was her father who made all the traps and puzzles back in 1930. In subsequent years other kids have also been trapped in this house. Claude, Deliah, Amity and Sam meet two of them who have been stuck in the house for twenty years. The other kids have all disappeared.

Read an extract on the Chicken House webpage. Here is the very brief blurb: Deliah, Sam and Claude follow little sister Amity inside a mysterious mansion. But no sooner have they found her than the floor beneath their feet starts to twist and turn: the house rearranges itself like a giant Rubik's cube. To escape, they must solve the puzzle and the century-old mystery of a girl who disappeared ...

Reviewers liken this book to Jumanji and in fact that famous book is mentioned at one point. I did know all the kids would be safe but there are moments in this story where the dangers they encounter are truly terrifying. I suggest this book for readers aged 10+. Oh and these are modern kids from 2020 but conveniently they all have to leave their mobile phones at home. Sam smuggles his in his pocket but mysteriously it does not work in this strange house. 

A fabulous twist on a timeless haunted house adventure ... (It's) Scooby-Doo meets The Mysterious Benedict Society via Escape Room. Full of friendship, teamwork and logic versus instinct - all wrapped up in a book with thrills, heart and bags of atmosphere. Perfect for readers aged 9 and up. GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY AND UTTERLY SPLENDID.' Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables. Reading Zone

Emma Read's no holds barred use of descriptive language allows the reader to see, hear and even smell the malevolence of Manvers Hall. Many female readers will relate to the main character, Deliah; she loves maths and riddles but is often mocked and considered 'nerdy'. It's wonderful, therefore, that Deliah's penchant for puzzles is the group's salvation; a powerful embodiment of feminism and a strong reminder to be happy in the skin that you are in. Reading Zone

Here is the website for Emma Read.

Companion books:

Floors

Her Perilous Mansion

Small Change for Stuart

Out of the Wild Night

The Parker Inheritance

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Great Fox Illusion

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Sisters of the Lost Marsh by Lucy Strange

When you begin this book you need to carefully read the Curse:

Be sure the first girl marries well,

The second in the home to dwell.

A third maid can do little harm

If set to work upon the farm.

Four and five must both be wed

Or six will bury you stone dead.

There are six girls in this family. Their mother has died after giving birth to the last three girls - triplets. Father or Dadder is very superstitious. The family live with their beautiful wise grandmother in her home and they work hard to maintain her farm. Their father is more interested in appearances and expects all the girls to obey him and do their chores without question.

Looking at the first line of the curse, Dadda has betrothed Grace to a local much older landowner - Silas Kirby. Just as an aside I seem to have read other books where the bad or evil man was named Silas. Grace has no interest in marrying this man but her father has already taken delivery of a handsome horse and so the deal is now unbreakable.

Then the fayre arrives:

"No one knows when the Full Moon Fayre will come. It might as well be called the Blue Moon Fayre, Grammy says. Sometimes it comes twice a season, and then not for years and years."

I imagine you are beginning to put his puzzle together. And now I can add books are forbidden in this community but Grammy has some and the girls can read and they have listed to all manner of folk and fairy tales including the story of the Marsh King. Maps are also banned.

Back to the curse. The second sister is Freya. She is destined to stay home and look after Dadda but she is secretly in love with the boy who will be her partner at the Springtide Fires. But it is the third sister who drives this story. Willa is the wild child. She is sure her Dadda hates her but she has no idea why. Then Grace disappears after going to the Full Moon Fayre and Willa decides it is up to her to follow the route taken by the fayre so she can find and save her sister. Willa has a map, a compass, the horse that Silas gifted named Flint and her head is full of stories and warnings about the possible dangers of this journey.

The writing is impressively beautiful and sophisticated without sacrificing the reader-friendly clarity of the straightforward narrator. Willa’s innate goodness and iron will carry her through adventures and physical trials, pitting her against superstitions and fairy tales alike. ... So engrossing a tale and world that readers won’t want to come up for air. Kirkus Star review

Strange is a gifted storyteller who masterfully balances good and evil, dreariness and hope. She incorporates a few perfectly timed doses of horror that will entertain middle grade readers without overwhelming them. Book Page

It’s a rare thing, when a book hooks your interest wholly and completely from the very first page, but Sisters of the Lost Marsh really achieved that. I absolutely didn’t want to put it down until I’d devoured every last word. It was atmospheric, slightly spooky at times, with a gentle hint of magic running throughout every page. I adored it with every fibre of my being and didn’t want it to end. That Book Girl

I read Sisters of the Lost Marsh in one sitting. The story just races along and the marsh and the dangerous mire feel so real - the setting of this book feels like another character. 

Lucy Strange has written a beautiful, haunting novel, an eerie and luminous mix of gothic mystery, folklore and fairy tale inspired by the landscape of Romney Marsh. This isolated setting of mist, salt marsh, ditches and lost villages is brilliantly and atmospherically evoked. Books for Keeps

I think this book will greatly appeal to keen readers aged 10+. It might also lead to an interest in finding other books about witch trials and curses such as these:

The 13th Floor

The Beatryce Prophecy

Wilder

The Witch's Boy

Fire Girl

What drew me to this book? I knew the author's name - I have read a few of her previous books (see below) but more importantly I really like the cover. Oh, and Sisters of the Lost Marsh is published by Chicken House and they consistently produce fantastic books. Read an extract of Sisters of the Lost Marsh. 

Once you have read one book by UK author Lucy Strange you are sure to want to find more. 

Our Castle by the Sea

The Secret of Nightingale Wood

The Ghost of Gosswater

Magic Beach by Alison Lester

Magic Beach is now a movie BUT ... begin with the book - then see the movie - you and your young child will really appreciate this experience so much more if you are familiar with the book by Alison Lester.

After reading the iconic book by Alison Lester, nine children and a dog find themselves on the titular Magic Beach. They explore caves, build giant sandcastles, poke around rock pools and converse with sea creatures. This is where their animated imaginations begin… James dives with horses in the waves, sandcastles are built and destroyed in terrible wars, pirates smuggle treasure, and dreamtime serpents fly through the sky and shed their scales. The dreams of these children are limitless and reflect the uninhibited nature of being a child at the beach. The children awake from their animated imaginations to find themselves back in real life, but the beach will be in their heart forever. Movie Insider

One of our local cinemas hosted an event this week to launch the movie of Magic Beach. Sadly the advertising was a little misleading. 

Join Alison Lester, author of the classic children’s book Magic Beach and director Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, The Dry) for a special meet & greet preview screening of the new movie MAGIC BEACH. You’ll have the chance to say hello with your family and hear them introduce the film.

I expected a Q&A session between Alison Lester and the movie director - Robert Connolly. They did talk very briefly but I had so many questions and I left with these unanswered. The event was billed as a 'meet and greet' and I wrongly assumed this meant some sort of chat or interview. Here are my questions:

• Were the movie animators given a choice of which page from this 32 page picture book they would like to explore?
• Did the director have a list of animators or a list of animation styles he wanted to explore for this book? The movie uses many different forms of animation - such as digital, Claymation, and stop motion.
• Were the beach scenes filmed at the real 'Magic Beach' which is in Victoria?
• Apart from the general popularity of the book, which was written over thirty years ago, why did the director or screen writer select this book?
• What were the decisions that had to be made considering this book is not a really a narrative - it is just a set of connected scenes explored with gentle illustrations and a lyrical text.
• What went into the decision making to alter the order of scenes in the book?
• Did the director have to compromise or make changes to his original plans so the movie could be given the all-important G rating?
• Was Bigsy paid for his performance? 

Movie description: Take a trip with the ones you love through a unique mix of live action, entwined with extraordinary animated adventures that bring you to a dreamy seaside world where anything is possible. Featuring timeless characters, MAGIC BEACH is a captivating blend of reality and fantasy that inspires people of all ages to feel the sand beneath their toes and find wonder in the world around them.

In this radio interview Robert Connolly talks about Magic Beach. And also in this ABC television interview.

Alison Lester said: Magic Beach, published in 1990, features 10 children playing by the ocean and their rich imaginary adventures that have them fighting dragons, riding horses through the waves and spying on smugglers. Like all Lester’s children’s books, it leaves plenty of room for readers and listeners to use their own imaginations, which was the same approach she wanted in the movie adaptation. “I think generally we tend to fill our kids’ lives up with stuff so that they don’t have any time to be bored and imagine,” she says. “And it’s such a precious thing to be able to do that, just to take the time to be outside and letting it happen instead of everything just being fed into you.” Sydney Morning Herald

You can view the official trailer here.

Ten animators bring Alison Lester’s beloved children’s book to the screen, crafting a magical mixture of live action and animation that is destined to become a family favourite.

Animators credits

Susan Kim Danta        animator/director: Mermaid's Tale

Pierce Davison            animator/director: Castle V Castle

Jake Duczynski            animator/director: Gilay Gabinya

Emma Kelly                 animator/director: The Horses

Anthony Lucas             animator/director: The Smugglers

Simon Rippingale        animator/director: Henry's Dream

Kathy Sarpi                 animator/director: Tangerine Boat

Susie Shapones            animator/co-director: Princess Belinda

Marieka Walsh            animator/director: Princess Belinda

Eddie White                 animator/director: Kingdom of Fish

Lee Whitmore              animator/director: Doggy Day Dreaming

Animation by Marieka Walsh

Princess Belinda

Anthony Lucas

The Smugglers

Simon Rippingale

Henry's Dream

I discovered the child who plays the part of the pirate who finds a treasure box in a cave is the grandson of Bert and Patti Newton and he is making his movie debut.

It is wonderful that young children can now enjoy this book in three formats - as a book (even as a board book for very young children); as a stage play (by Finegan Kruckemeyer) and now as a movie. I love also really appreciate that the movie allows children to experience so many different forms of animation. And this might be a first movie which is more of an experience or a series of vignettes than an actual continuous story or narrative. 

It was interesting to see the response when the movie director Robert Connolly asked these three questions:

• Who has read the book? Nearly every hand went up.
• If you are an adult who heard the book as a child? 
• If you are a child, put up your hand if this is your first movie experience. Note this is a longer movie than I expected at 76 minutes. I would say it is perfect for children aged 5+.

It was good to view the movie with a huge audience of young children. I think everyone gasped when the real Bigsy appeared on screen - but he is looking so old now. 

Read a review here

Image Source: Storybox Library

You can see a full list of all the books by Alison Lester here.

30th Anniversary edition

Meet the Illustrators The Fan Brothers

Ocean Meets Sky Source: Fan Brothers

I’d also love to see publishers taking more chances on stories that are perhaps challenging or unconventional in some way. As a kid, I was always attracted to the more unusual books, which acted as a springboard for my imagination. I wonder if some of those books would even be considered today. I understand there are always economic considerations and questions of marketability, but I think there’s a real danger of missing out on something incredible by playing it too safe. I’d consider The Barnabus Project to be a pretty unusual book because of its themes and long page length, but we were lucky that our publisher, Tara Walker, believed in us enough to take that leap.  The Art of the Picture Book

I am so excited that The Fan Brothers designed the poster for the 2026 IBBY Congress which will be held in Ottawa because surely that means they will be included in the program and also hopefully this Congress will have a bookshop and all of their fabulous books will be for sale including a couple of titles that have not yet reached us here in Australia or that have been given prohibitive prices in our stores.

Take a look here to see another Moose illustration by The Fan Brothers.

Eric Fan received his formal art training at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. His work is a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques, using ink or graphite mixed with digital. He has a passion for vintage bikes, clockwork contraptions, and impossible dreams. 

Terry Fan received his formal art training at Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada. His work is a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques, using ink or graphite mixed with digital. He spends his days (and nights) creating magical paintings, portraits and prints.

Devin Fan is an artist, poet and youth worker who has a passion for nature, adventures and kung fu. The Barnabus Project is his first children's book and marks the first time he has worked with his brothers Terry and Eric to write and illustrate a picture book together.

They made their picture book debut with The Night Gardener (2016), which was named an ALA Notable Children's Book.

The earliest seeds of the story can probably be traced back to our childhoods. Our dad has always had a great love of trees, nature, and bonsai, having grown up in the Taiwanese countryside. I think living in Toronto, he missed that and compensated for the cold Canadian winters by turning our house into something of a jungle. There was even a parrot flying free in the house. We ended up basing the character of the Night Gardener on him.

In 2018, the Fan Brothers published Ocean Meets Sky and it was shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.

Ocean Meets Sky

The Fan Brothers collaborated with their youngest brother, Devin Fan, on his book debut, The Barnabus Project (2020) and this book won the Canadian Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration. 

The Barnabus Project

When we were first thinking about Barnabus all those years ago, we were fascinated by recent advances in bioengineering and what it might mean for people in the future. We were concerned about the dystopian implications of the technology, and in the decades since I think it’s become even more relevant. With the rise in social media we’re also constantly bombarded with images of “perfection”. It’s a debilitating, harmful concept that’s almost impossible to not be affected by. Advertising plays into the same feedback loop by constantly reinforcing and amplifying those same impossible standards.

Lizzy and the Cloud

Read some interviews:

• Let's Talk Illustrators #162: Devin, Eric, & Terry Fan (aka The Fan Brothers)
• Picture Book Summit podcast 2024 (11 minutes)
• The Reading Realm - Here they talk to Ian Eagleton and Jon Biddle about their work, their passion for music and travel and the transformative power of our imaginations…
• KidLit411 Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Eric Fan and Terry Fan
• Twenty by Jenny
• The Picture Book Buzz 
• Max's Boat - Interview with The Fan Brothers, It fell from the Sky

It Fell from the Sky

• Dad Suggests - An Interview with Eric Fan of The Fan Brothers
• Just Imagine podcast with transcript

Find the Fan Brothers on Instagram; Eric Fan on Facebook; Terry Fan on Facebook; and here is their website where you can see inside all of their books - this is well worth exploring.

You can see their t-shirt designs here. 

This is their newest book:

Meet Barnaby: he's half mouse and half elephant, with just a dash of flamingo . . . and fully trained! When he's brought home to be pampered and cared for by his very own little girl, life is perfect . . . until a new, even more perfect pet comes on the scene. Suddenly Barnaby is no longer the most perfect pet around, and his little girl doesn't seem interested in him anymore. Feeling unappreciated, Barnaby runs away and finds himself swept up on a wild journey through the city and an emotional search for home in a tale of love found, lost and found again.  See inside here. 

Besty Bird talks to The Fan Brothers about Barnaby Unboxed.

Books by other authors with Fan Brothers illustrations: