Screening: Saturday, May 2, 12pm
Directed by Roger Allers
Starring (voices of): Quvenzhane Wallis, Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, and John Krasinski
Running Time: 85 minutes
Synopsis: Director Roger Allers (The Lion King) assembled an array of internationally acclaimed animators to realize episodes from the classic text by renowned Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran, which are woven into the tale of a mischievous young girl (voiced by Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis) who attempts to free an imprisoned poet (Liam Neeson). As their story unfolds, several of Gibran’s most cherished essays — on love, work, children, marriage, and freedom — are brought to life in vibrant vignettes directed by some of the world’s foremost animators, among them Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels), and Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi (sequence directors on Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
What the Critics Are Saying:
“A work of essential spiritual enlightenment, elegantly interpreted by nine of the world’s leading independent animators, all tied up and wrapped in a family-friendly bow by “The Lion King” director Roger Allers.”
-Peter Debruge, Variety
The Chicago Critics Film Festival 