Entries for Magnolia Awards | Love and Growth, Eternal Themes of Parent-Child Animations

What does family mean to a child? Of course, it is more than just a "harbour" for rest. A seeding base from which everyone ventures into the vast world, what it serves to provide is the greatest chance for children to inherit all the noble characters of mankind. Among the entries for the animation unit of this year's Magnolia Awards, there is a plethora of finely made parent-child animations that are fully informed of such merits: MOOMINVALLEY SEASON 3 tells about the curiosity about the world and the exploratory mind that never sway; THE SMEDS AND THE SMOOS is about the ability of love and tolerance; MASHA AND THE BEAR teaches children and even adults what’s true meaning of loving caring and support; SIMON SUPER RABBIT depicts how imagination fosters creativity; RAINBOW CHICKS 8 praises the expected power of friends who love and help each other; AMY AND GULU'S TREASURE HUNT enlightens children with knowledge through interesting treasure hunting games; EMILY THE MUSICAL PRINCESS SEASON 2 allows children to perceive the beauty of art through music and dance, and grow up happily. These quality works sow the seeds of hope in children, instill them with the courage to meet with the sophistication of the world in the future, and let parents understand the meaning of life continuation through company.

MOOMINVALLEY SEASON 3 

(Finland/UK)

A complete novel adaptation of Tove Jansson's much-loved work. The protagonist of the series, the curious and idealistic Moomin, together with his extraordinary family and whimsical friends, takes us on an adventure into the magical world of Moomin Valley. Most of the episodes revolve around Moomin’s home and the valley, a paradise-like place that is far from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Sometimes, they’ll make their way beyond the valley into vast wilds, boundless dark forests, mysterious remote islands and lonely grim mountains.

THE SMEDS AND THE SMOOS 

(UK)

Janet and Bill meet in Woods and they fall in love. Disapproved by their families, the Smeds and Smoos who have been at odds for generations, they flee to a distant planet. Their elopement leaves the two warring families with no choice but to compromise on their differences and work together to find the two.

MASHA AND THE BEAR 

 (Russia)

The film tells the adventures of a naughty and simple little girl Masha and her caring friend, a retired circus bear. Their friendship is a metaphor for a child's journey into the world around, where Martha's adult friends offer her care and support along the way. A hit with families across the globe, this animation entertains kids and adults in a clever way while teaching everyone that true friendship, caring, support, and the freedom to create constitute the value in life that never fades.

SIMON SUPER RABBIT

 (France)

As an animated TV series beloved by children all over the world, the new season explores the fancy world where Simon and his friends appear as superheroes. Following Simon, now the Super Bunny, we find ourselves in an imaginary game world. With fresh storytelling and twisted pictures, it retells the story of the adorable bunny in a thrilling new world, inviting kids to discover their own power to imagine and create.

RAINBOW CHICKS 8

 (China)

In RAINBOW CHICKS, there is a cloud island in the immense blue sky. As indicated by its name, this island is known by layers upon layers of clouds, and also fantasies and wonders. Nestling there are seven chicks in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Each chick has its own personality, as well as its own house and hobbies. They play together, explore together, and frolic together... Everyday life is full of joy and warmth. But sometimes there will also be troubles, disputes, loss and sadness. But these will never threaten the friendship between them, who help each other, and love each other. Be it difficulties, misunderstandings or crisis, they’re always together to face everything bravely with their wisdom and strength, and also the hope for the sun and rainbow of a new day.

AMY AND GULU'S TREASURE HUNT

 (China)

Amy is a lively and curious little girl, and Gulu is a chubby creature with a bear-like appearance. The two little explorers, Amy and Gulu, have gotten a magical "Treasure Book", which is a collection of all kinds of treasures. However, to understand it and to find the treasures, they must solve the riddles on the book. Amy believes that as long as they can find all the treasures in the book, she and Gulu will become the best explorers.

EMILY THE MUSICAL PRINCESS SEASON 2

 (China)

This work is about the story of Emily, the princess from the Kingdom of Music on the magical Paradise Island, who grows together with another six princesses with different personalities in happy gatherings or brave adventures. Emily has an amazing musical power. In each episode, the princesses will hold different themed parties, but there will always be some problems during the preparation. However, the princesses will unbosom themselves through music and dance, to learn how to get along with each other, and finally solve the problems.

Even adults would enjoy themselves in the innocent world of kids. Being well-produced, the above excellent animations for this year's Magnolia Awards share the same theme of love and hope. And the warm theme and audio-visual experience, complementing each other, have brought us these masterpieces that provoke thoughts.

Please stay tuned to find out the winner in June.