Chuck Jones: Last News

This eye-catching, dimension-traveling adventure might be aimed at kids, but there’s plenty here for adults who grew up believing the possibilities of animation might be endless. Now that Disney has done its best to persuade us otherwise, Benoît Chieux’s fabulous Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams is here as a palate-cleanser, tucking away a tender story of love and loss in an insanely imaginative psychedelic brainstorm. If Matt Groening and Miyazaki took magic mushrooms and watched The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine together, they could conceivably come up with a movie to match this.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic Those dismayed by the cancellation of the big-budget “Coyote vs. Acme” — a high-profile casualty of the recent Hollywood trend towards pulling the plug on near-completed projects — may find consolation and then some in “Hundreds of Beavers.” That is, if they become aware of it, of course.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Pete Docter, Pixar’s creative chief officer, is hoping the animation studio’s 27th release, “Elemental,” will draw families to movie theaters this weekend. Peter Sohn‘s film is a story about immigration, families, duty and love. Not only does Docter say the visuals are “a spectacle,” but believes it should be experienced with an audience. Docter, who has been with the studio since the beginning and was upped to CCO in 2018, has come under criticism recently that Pixar has lost its magic touch. Here, Docter sits down with Variety over Zoom to discuss Pixar’s approach to programming, Cannes, “Elemental,” and what’s next for the studio.

Ben Croll Barreling across a rugged 2D terrain marked by the inky lines and earth tones of the page, a young Native American boy named “Anuki” made his industry debut at a Cartoon Forum pitch session last week in Toulouse. Produced by Pierre Meloni and directed by Yulia Aronova and Eloïc Gimenez, the fast-paced short-form development project marks the latest effort from venerable French studio Folimages – the animation house behind the Oscar-nominated “A Cat in Paris” and last year’s Annecy prizewinner “Vanille.” Now, Folimages is back with a comic book adaptation that feels, in so many ways, like the scenes from page brought to vivid life. Fully embracing the graphic style of creators Stéphane Senegas and Frédéric Maupomé’s source comic – a bestselling, five volume series that has quickly become a modern and ubiquitous touchstone across France – “Anuki” follows the adventures of a mischievous boy living in a mythic and pre-modern natural landscape.

Clayton Davis If there’s a film that screened in the mountains at the Telluride Film Festival, and grew legs with attendees, it was Mike Mills’ “C’mon C’mon” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann and Woody Norman. The A24 feature debuted at the famous Chuck Jones theater on the fest’s opening day, which has become a bit of a good luck charm since movies like “Lady Bird” (2017) and the best picture-winning “Moonlight” (2016) played in that coveted slot.

Norton Juster, author of the acclaimed modern classic children’s books The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line, died last night. He was 91.