Non-US animation guidance!

[oyceter]

Help! I was looking around a DVD store here to scope out what dramas are out on DVD (contemplating buying Dal Ja's Spring if I can figure out if there are English subtitles), and I discovered a company that seems to put out a lot of non-US, non-standard-anime animated films on DVD. I snatched up Kirikou and the Sorceress and Kirikou and the Wild Beasts like that, given how cheap the former was comparatively ($15 vs. $30) and how the latter isn't available in the US. I am definitely going back to get this, as it has Ocelot's Azur and Asmar, which is also not available in the US, and the non-Asterix ones look interesting as well. (Or will I like Asterix too?)

But they have a whole catalogue of stuff I've never heard of! I randomly spot-checked, and most don't seem to be available in the US. So before I get carried away, if anyone's willing to go through lists and pick out the English titles, let me know if you've seen any of them?

I'm particularly wondering about Escape from Carthage, which looks like the first Tunisian animated film; Gin-iro no kami no Agito; Little Longnose, despite the 1990s Disney-esque animation; and Tristan and Isolde, also despite the 1990s Disney-esque animation.

Anyone? Bueller?

Comments

[estara.livejournal.com]

Kethylia doesn't like Origin at all, I think the gist was too much beautiful animation not enough substance
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/origin-spirits-of-the-past/dvd

In the way of Korean animation I could recommend Oseam and My Beautiful Girl, Mari (which won the 2002 Annecy Animation Award, I believe)
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4495
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/buried-treasure/2007-07-12

Nils and the Wild Geese is a classic children animation from a children's book by a Swedish Author, I believe. It's the same animation style as Heidi, Sinbad, Marco, etc.

Pettson and Findus are based on more children's books from Sweden, a small cat has adventures with his owner in their house in the countryside. He's a very cheeky cat.

Le Roi et L'Oiseau is an animated French Fairy Tale and one of the more famous French animations. I really liked it, but it has a European style animation.

Alosha (Alyosha) ought to be a Russian fairy tale, I believe... haven't seen it.

By the way, the Kirikou animations also won some awards and they're made by Africans from a country which used to be colonised by France, I believe.

Carlson on the Roof is based on another book by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Carlson is sort of a boy spirit who can do anything and he makes friends with a normal human boy. He has a hat which makes him fly.

Little Longnose is der Kleine Muck which is a German fairy tale from the time of the Romantics, so it's 19th century, and seems to have been developed by the Russians. There's a site link on your catalogue
http://karliknos.spb.ru/eng/mult
I remember it not being very popular in Germany.

Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Nutcracker and Mouseking is a German production I've never heard of or seen in the cinema, hmmm.

From what I can see, this is mainly animation from various European countries (mostly France and Scandinavia) with some odds and ends thrown in.

[oyceter]

I LOVE the first Kirikou and have been dying to see the second. I think the director himself is actually white, though he spent time in Africa and made sure to use African artists, musicians and actors in the first Kirikou, which makes me very happy.

Thanks for the notes! It looks like Origin and My Beautiful Girl Mari are available in the US, so I'll probably Netflix them first, but I'll keep an eye out for Oseam and Le Roi et L'Oiseau for sure!