While our predictions of Rise of the Guardians and Frankenweenie possibly getting into the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) did not come true, TIFF did surprise us with their announcement today that Finding Nemo 3-D and Hotel Transylvania will have their world premieres as part of the Kids programme. These are two huge animated films that are sure to get families partaking in the festival. Check out the full TIFF Kids lineup with descriptions below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
TIFF 2012 runs from September 6 to 16. Follow all of our coverage of the festival at criticizethis.ca/tiff.
Ernest & Célestine (North American Premiere) Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier, France/Belgium/Luxembourg
Giant bears and tiny mice don’t tend to mingle much, but when Ernest and Célestine cross paths, the two become inseparable friends and embark on an adventure of a lifetime.
Finding Nemo 3-D (World Premiere) Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, USA/Australia
Academy Award-winning film Finding Nemo returns to the big screen in thrilling Disney Digital 3-D for the first time ever. Teeming with memorable comedic characters and heartfelt emotion, this stunning underwater adventure follows the momentous journey of an overprotective clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) and his young son Nemo (Alexander Gould) –– who become separated in the Great Barrier Reef when Nemo is unexpectedly taken far from his ocean home to a fish tank in a dentist’s office. Buoyed by the companionship of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish, Marlin embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero of an epic effort to rescue his son –– who hatches a few daring plans of his own to return safely home.
Hotel Transylvania (World Premiere) Genndy Tartakovsky, USA
Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters — Frankenstein and his wife, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more — to celebrate his daughter Mavis’ 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem — but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis. A considerable portion of animation on Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania was completed out of the newly-expanded Sony Pictures Imageworks’ offices in Vancouver.
Igor & the Cranes’ Journey (World Premiere) Evgeny Ruman, Israel/Poland/Germany
During his involuntary migration from Russia to Israel, 11-year-old Igor faces many challenges, just like the baby crane Igor observed hatching while he was still together with his dad in Russia. Their close and caring watch over the crane’s journey helps both father and son accomplish their adventure!
For information on ticket pricing and to purchase tickets, visit tiff.net.
Top image: A scene from Hotel Transylvania. Courtesy Sony Pictures.
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