Foosball broke all box offices records in its native country Argentina and lucky for us New York International Children’s Film Fest had a chance to show us what the fuss was about.
Big personalities are the star of this fast and funny foosball (and soccer) story. The movie’s CG animation alone is reason to see it, easily on par with what we have seen come out of a big studios in the U.S.
And the winner for Best Hair at the New York International Film Festival goes to . . . Anina!
Anina is a charming film from Uruguay. And happened to be on my most wanted list from last year’s international animated film releases.
The style in Anina will strike you first as you can plainly see. It has a cut paper-quality complete with angular and somewhat awkward motion. The layers of a scene as well as the colors and washes bring a folksy simplicity to the movie which is carried through in the narrative.
To continue my analogy from the post about the heart, mind, and soul of a convention it is time to look at the brain of NYCC: The panels.
Panels are the part of the convention most likely to stimulate your mind and maybe teach you something. Unlike your average anime convention all the panels at NYCC are done by professionals. The upside is the overall quality is higher as you have people who theoretically should be experts on what they are talking about. Some panels still end up being real stinkers for one reason or another but overall if you step into a room you can bet that you are going to be entertained.
The downside is everyone is shilling something on any panel you’re at. There are very few panels that are pure theory or uncut fandom. Even when they are they plugging something then are working on that they want you to buy. I don’t really have a problem with that. I mean I plug the blog whenever I do work on another site so I can’t fault anyone talking a bit about what puts food on their plate. I only saw one panel last year that was just an unapologetic commercial for an hour but that was an unfortunate exception to the rule.
I only mention that because some people have a real problem with the commercialism as opposed to the “purer” fan experience of a fan run convention. But if you have that attitude you are in the wrong place.
At most conventions I spend a majority of my time in panel rooms, and I still spend plenty of time in them at NYCC, but it feels more like a piece of the convention as opposed to most of the convention for me.
The thing I enjoy most at NYCC is that I can go from webcomics to video games to classic cartoons all in a weekend. The panels most reflect the eclectic quality of the convention. I do however lament the lack of anime content that wasn’t simply screenings or industry panels. As such most of my attention was elsewhere.
Reverse Thieves 