★★★★ Poupelle of Chimney Town was sweet and delightful, a 2021 delight that flew under the radar with its sweet celebration of Halloween and... trash. Telling the story of chimney sweep Lubicchi and his magical garbage-made best friend, Poupelle, that first film had some heartwarming, Ghibli-esque magic. When I heard there was a sequel produced, … Continue reading Berlinale 2026: Chimney Town: Frozen in Time
AIF 2022: Unicorn Wars
★★★★ For some reason, Unicorn Wars has evaded me several times, despite screening at various different festivals that I was covering. Finally, I was able to check out this animated gem for the Animation is Film Festival! Effortlessly epitomizing everything I loved about gleefully demented cartoon Happy Tree Friends, this Spanish feature crams in more … Continue reading AIF 2022: Unicorn Wars
AIF 2022: Summer Ghost
★★★★ How exactly did a fourty-minute long Japanese animated film about ghosts have me crying by the end? I can safely say that Summer Ghost was not what I expected, but in the best way possible. It details the friendship between three strangers potentially brought together by fate in incredibly vidid detail. Each character is … Continue reading AIF 2022: Summer Ghost
Animation is Film 2021: Poupelle of Chimney Town
★★★★ Poupelle of Chimney Town is an absolutely delightful story of a young introverted chimney sweep named Lubicchi and the magical pile of garbage that becomes his new best friend. Set in Chimney Town—“a world of day and night wrapped in smoke”—where the sky is completely covered, the prospect of ‘stars’ is simply a fairytale. … Continue reading Animation is Film 2021: Poupelle of Chimney Town