#Fantasia Fest

[thecosmiccircus]

Fantasia Fest 2024 Review: ‘Penalty Loop’ Reinvents Timeloop Cinema

Before Shinji Araki’s Penalty Loop played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Fantasia International Film Festival, audiences were treated to the classic advertisement for Nongshim noodles not once but twice. At first, I didn’t grasp why this happened (although the real ones know the ad played an endless number of times in front of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy last year). Then I realized that the…

[rickchung]

Aporia (dir. Jared Moshé) x Fantasia 2023.

Moshé questions our collective wishes and regrets about the past through his characters' clear desires. Aporia takes a typical Twilight Zone-esque sci-fi premise and stretches it philosophically without making its ideas too complex on a limited indie film budget. It's also a fascinating take on extending theoretical ideas into our practical world through the process of chain reactions.

[blerdyotome]

Steam Next Fest 2024 Games to Keep on Your Radar

This summer has been packed full of game releases, announcements, and game fests! Between Summer Games Fest and Steam Next Fest, there are plenty of demos to keep you busy well into next year. With all the goodies, I made sure to care out some time to check out a few demos from Steam Next Fest and I found quite a few gems! So, here are my thoughts on some of the demos I played from this year’s…

[zorlok-if]

are we going to summer camp with Tommy?

Nope. Our resident genius summoned a demon right before leaving for a couple weeks. He is foresight incarnate.

[fuckyeahelijahwoodfan]

Elijah is having fun at Fantastic Fest 🤗 serving drinks

[g4zdtechtv]

Cinematech’s Trailer Park - B-Project Ryusei*Fantasia (Switch/PC)

Take these idols from Boyz II Men.

[duranduratulsa]

US3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

90's Fest Song of the day: Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3 · Official Music (1993) from Hand On The Torch #us3 #cantaloop #flipfantasia #handonthetorch #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas3rdannual90sfest

[battlemagefilms]

We’re back for another This Week in Fantasy Movies! This week features a bunch of anime and Disney news, Fantasia Fest awards, and an EXCLUSIVE interview with George R.R. Martin’s producer!

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

The wonderful Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death, Flight of the Conchords) stars in the sci-fi comedy Relax, I'm From the Future.

Relax, I'm from the Future had its world premiere last month at Montreal’s Fantasia Fest, and will be opening in North American theaters and on VOD September 22, 2023, via Blue Fox Entertainment.

[gonagaiworld]

Il progetto cinematografico Mononoke avrà 3 film; il secondo film verrà proiettato il 14 marzo 2025 Il primo film ha vinto il prestigioso premio Satoshi Kon al 28º Fantasia Int'l Film Fest in corso. Info:--> https://www.gonagaiworld.com/il-progetto-cinematografico-mononoke-avra-3-film-il-secondo-film-verra-proiettato-il-14-marzo-2025/?feed_id=462116&_unique_id=66a67472c1e58 #GekijōbanMononokeKarakasa #KenjiNakamura #Mononoke #モノノ怪

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Long post incoming...

I guess I'll try to be more reasonable and put things into perspective.

I also happened to come out of FURIOSA earlier today, which to me felt like a nice antidote to what Hollywood tends to pump out when it comes to big franchises. A prequel that really expands the Wasteland world of MAD MAX without feeling like a Glup Shitto-fest. I was pretty much glued the whole time, astounded at what it was going for, the big swings it took and - in my eyes - greatly succeeded at. You can tell creator/director George Miller loves this world, and wanted to expand it meaningfully with both this and MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, after 30 years of the series being a trilogy. And apparently without anyone getting in his way, at that. Rare for a big action film.

Did you know Miller, who also directed the likes of... THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, LORENZO'S OIL, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY (and pretty much was a huge part of the original BABE), the HAPPY FEET movies, and THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING... Did you know one of his favorite films is Walt Disney's PINOCCHIO? Which had a massive influence on him and his work?

Oh yeah, PINOCCHIO... The second-ever Disney animated feature film, a film designed to be like its European fairy tale-inspired predecessor - SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS - but double that, with its more sprawling story and larger budget. More multiplane shots, whole scenes in the ocean, all that hand-animated, meticulously hand-painted water...

And it was the exact opposite of SNOW WHITE when first released in February 1940. While reviews were generally positive, not really as glowing as SNOW WHITE's reception, it was largely impacted by World War II breaking out across the Atlantic. It couldn't play in the European countries where SNOW WHITE made tons of money, and the money it managed to make in the ally territories - the UK and France - wasn't going to cut it. Its American gross was solid, certainly in the shadows of the huge hit that was out at the time - GONE WITH THE WIND... But again, it couldn't cover the film's astronomical costs. Unthinkable for a film, whose opening song, is pretty much synonymous with Disney today... Once a big flop, now it's absolutely definitively Disney...

The Disney studio would continue to lose a lot of money during this period. FANTASIA did not appeal to audiences, and BAMBI also lost money. Only the relatively-cheaper DUMBO managed to make back its shoestring cost, in addition to appealing to audiences more than the experimental dialogue-free epic and the more lyrical, dramatic forest tale. Disney was deep in debt, and spent the rest of the decade making and releasing movies known as "The Package Features". Anthologies composed of short films/featurettes, with some sort of loose linking device for them. Disney wouldn't return to doing a singular type of story following one set of characters until CINDERELLA, released in February 1950 to critical acclaim and great box office.

Some animation fans and historians divide the Walt years into two halves, the Golden Age covering the streak that began with the runaway success of STEAMBOAT WILLIE and ended with World War II's impact on the studio's first five feature films. (Or six, if you count the hybrid THE RELUCTANT DRAGON.) The Silver Age, covering everything thereafter up until Walt's passing, typically marked at the posthumous 1967 release of THE JUNGLE BOOK. Again, in terms of features. I'd mark it at December 1968, when the 2nd Winnie the Pooh featurette - THE BLUSTERY DAY - was released. The wartime losses took so much out of the studio, that Walt and Roy O. Disney reached some compromises, which - to some - affect the features going forward.

Films like CINDERELLA and PETER PAN avoided the elaborate multiplane effects and minute details of PINOCCHIO and BAMBI, making up for it in their striking art direction and filmmaking choices. The storytelling is also something of a shift. Few of those films attempt to wear the frightening elements of SNOW WHITE and PINOCCHIO, the kinds of scenes that Walt often got angry letters from parents over. After BAMBI, not counting the package features, the death of a major "good" character was pretty much hands off as well. For example, during production of LADY AND THE TRAMP, singer/actress Peggy Lee begged the filmmakers not to kill off Trusty at the end of the picture, following his accident with the dogcatcher wagon. Walt and co. complied. By the time you get to the '60s, Walt's final years among the living, you're a country mile from the early films. THE SWORD IN THE STONE and THE JUNGLE BOOK are very lax "characters exist" kinds of movies, the latter having some danger in the form of the impending encounter with Shere Khan. Otherwise, they are much lighter in tone, much more fun-loving, like romps.

Over the years, I've come to really appreciate those later films for the things my 20-something year-old self tended to criticize them for. When really, it's just a matter of fact. Change happened, maybe had to happen, in order for the Disney studio to survive and keep making animated feature films. Few other studios during the Golden Age of Animation could afford such a luxury. The Fleischer brothers certainly gave it a shot, with GULLIVER'S TRAVELS in 1939 and MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN in 1941, but the falling out between Max and Dave coupled with distributor Paramount's neglect of MR. BUG put a stop to that. Feature-length films would be made in other countries using techniques other than traditional animation, though some studios in America would later get in on it once again - albeit with lower-costing methods.

But when Walt was around, it was really only him producing feature-length animated films on a regular basis. And to keep going with that, and not just making more money off of only the re-issues of SNOW WHITE and such, he and his crew ultimately changed course and... Well... I'll say it, I feel they still put in the hard work on a bad day. Even the films of the '50s and '60s that I don't like as much as some others, there's still... Say, a Milt Kahl head swaggle or something great from Frank & Ollie in there. Or a great score, or a good sense of pace, the late great Robert and Richard Sherman absolutely going off with a banger song somewhere, very inspired background art, etc. No slouching! Something like THE JUNGLE BOOK is very much as important to me as PINOCCHIO.

I've come to love all of it, really, even with perceived flaws or the results of the studio changing gears. The work of the animators, artists, musicians, etc.... They pulled the weight and then some, and even the more "middling" films of decades past hold some sort of special place...

Maybe this situation applies to the apparent mandates that Disney executives are compromising Pixar with.

Pixar went for many, many years without a box office loss. THE GOOD DINOSAUR, which was made during John Lasseter's 11-year reign, was the first film to lose money for them. It was released *20 years* after TOY STORY came out, and it's their 16th overall film. I remember the media trying to chalk it up to the film's troubled production, which is a silly sentiment, because TOY STORY 2 and RATATOUILLE were similarly-rough, rocky roads. That one just... Didn't appeal, no matter what work and effort went into it, and I also think STAR WARS 7 opening mere weeks later kinda cut into it as well. It was kinda tossed off by Disney's marketing department after INSIDE OUT debuted earlier that year.

But, it was viewed as a minor dent in the armor. CARS 3 didn't really break even when released in the summer of 2017, but that was a CARS movie, so a lot of people kinda just shrugged at that. John Lasseter was then slowly ousted from the Disney company as a whole months later... Not because of that film, or GOOD DINOSAUR, but because he was exposed by the Me Too movement that erupted in fall 2017. Lasseter abdicated his leadership roles at Pixar, Disney Animation, Disneytoon, and Imagineering, right before the release of COCO that autumn. With Pete Docter taking over as CCO of Pixar in June 2018, perhaps all eyes were on him. Unlike Lasseter, Docter was only running Pixar. Not WDAS, not Disneytoon (which was swiftly shut down upon Lasseter's exit), and no major presence in the parks apparently... How would he take on such a task?

Docter, I feel, had something going there. Lasseter's Pixar became what Ken called Sunnyside Daycare in TOY STORY 3, he turned the place into a pyramid and he put himself on top. So many directors and animators exodused out of Pixar in the early 2010s, notably Brenda Chapman, who had words upon being taken off of her film BRAVE. All of Lasseter's goodwill completely vanished after it was learned that he made many women at the studio - and at WDAS - very uncomfortable, and when it was very clear that he only favored his TOY STORY colleagues and wasn't keen on letting women nor PoC direct films at his studio. Docter sought to reverse that, and to let the filmmakers tell stories that meant a lot to them. Much in the same way he, Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, and Brad Bird did when Pixar was relatively new to making features. It truly was like old times, and I myself was very excited about that.

And it seemed like the sky was the limit... What could go wrong? ONWARD was cut right off, in its second weekend, by the pandemic. SOUL, LUCA, and TURNING RED went straight to Disney+ in the U.S. and most other territories, and their subsequent limited theatrical debuts - expectedly - didn't do great. I see that situation as similar to World War II cutting right into Disney's animated features in the 1940s, impacting the studio/distributor's ability to give them a wide release (at the time, Disney was not big enough to be their own distributor, it was RKO Radio Pictures who were handling the releases of the movies)... and the way the world is now, how expensive it is to take a trip to the movies, what a gamble it is... Animated movies aren't guaranteed smash hits anymore, unless you're something like Mario or Minions, or some entry in a beloved franchise. Remember how PUSS IN BOOTS 2 literally had to claw its way up to such a winning gross and record multiplier? If that had cost the same amount of money as ELEMENTAL had cost to make? It'd be considered a big failure.

LIGHTYEAR was Pixar's big return to theaters, a summer bow in 2022 that was part of the studio's beloved TOY STORY franchise. It opened great, too. $50m! Quite above what other animated movies had been opening with from 2021 to now... But the legs were terrible, word of mouth was sour, audiences just didn't seem to like it. A rare swing and a miss. Pete Docter pulled a "Walt Disney responding to ALICE IN WONDERLAND's disastrous release circa 1951", taking the blame for the film's box office woes. ELEMENTAL opened blah, but had incredible word of mouth. Even Disney boss Bob Iger seemed happy with its slow-burn ride to $500m at the worldwide box office, until he wasn't... Now that's a failure, along with SOUL, LUCA, and TURNING RED... Which all didn't get to enjoy full theatrical releases due to a worldwide crisis that's actually still going on...

So now, the corporate logic is... Those movies all failed because they're too "autobiographical", the filmmakers' respective catharses being told through 90min animated movies apparently doesn't appeal to audiences... and that in order to be financially successful again, Pixar needs to make films with more "general" appeal. Pete Docter is not John Lasseter, and I feel the press takes advantage of that. Docter apologizes for films not appealing, whereas Lasseter - when his CARS 2 got panned by most critics - defended critical missteps with his chest. It's as if he still ruled at the end of the day and no one could touch him - given his four leadership roles within the company, while the quieter Docter... Not so much. I get the sense that Disney execs can push him around and the press can easily label him a weak leader, while John seemed invincible. Iger, for example, was aware of his erratic, gross behavior at awards ceremonies well before Me Too caught up with the Hawaiian shirt man... And he was very concerned, but... Lasseter kept his job for another decade, almost unscathed.

I get that studios often have these sorts of "Well, we've had trouble, what should we be making then?" moments. I feel that singling out the three films that went straight to streaming during a pandemic, and another that was high budget and was operating in a much different theatrical landscape than before, is not it, though. SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, and ELEMENTAL were liked by most audiences. They got good to great reviews. They were all nominated for Oscar.

This isn't like how FANTASIA and BAMBI were perceived by critics and audiences in the early 1940s. The mixed-to-negative reactions to those films back then must've played a part in Walt and Roy focusing on relatively safer films in the future. For example, CINDERELLA leaned into what audiences loved about SNOW WHITE, 12 1/2 years prior, and was one of Disney's huge hits of that decade that also did exemplary in re-issues. There's a reason the two big flops of the '50s, for Disney Animation, were the more experimental films - ALICE IN WONDERLAND and SLEEPING BEAUTY. Nowadays, both of those movies are beloved and like PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, and BAMBI... Are synonymous with Disney, often ranked among the best, cream of the crop. The time isn't always right for certain movies...

But things are often unfair in these big entertainment conglomerates, who are run by money hoarders who only think in the moment... and if Pixar's gonna try to do this "general appeal" thing, they would still have to let filmmakers have all the fun that they can feasibly have with the stories. The current iteration of Disney Animation is buckled under so much executive interference, and test screenings where 7-year-olds dictate what goes in and what doesn't, and... Well... Look at their resulting output. How they still try to do the job passionately and not merely just pass the grade. It's like I'm watching them struggle to get their creativity out on films like RAYA, STRANGE WORLD, and WISH. It's, to me, much like where things were for them circa 1980-82.

And after nearly 30 years of making features, maybe Pixar might enter such a phase themselves, as executives place the blame squarely on the filmmakers for their own failures and uncontrollable outside circumstances... Like I said, we'll have to see how they navigate this particular set of rules. Does it work out for them? Does it create movies that audiences mostly don't care for? Who knows... Maybe I myself will like the movies still, maybe I won't even notice a difference... Maybe this is will all be moot, every sentence of it... But we'll see...

[k-looking-glass-house]

"It's gonna be a hot summer!"~

Please take care of you and everyone around you during high temperature!

K Port Fest after party~ SR card

Summon Line: Waiiiiiitttt, waaaaiiiit!! I shaiiid waiiit, pleasheee! Huh!! Ah thank you, you are a very nice child! Groooovy!!: Told you my shpecial cocktail and high shugar concentred double waffle is the besht! Home: Hnnn, that ambiance remindsh me of Sham's city! You should vishit Jubilee Port too shometime! Home Idle 1: Thish bashket? Yesh I am shupposhed to help Sham by shelling products! No I didn't shell anything, look like I forgot ahahah! Home Idle 2: Waffle, waffle, I love waffle!! K loves waffle! Gimme waffle pleashe! Waffle, waffle I love waffle! Home Idle 3: My hair, ah yesh shince it'sh too crowed here... and I'm shmall without my heels... I need to shtand out to be looked for by Sham! Home Idle - Login: Do you alsho play mushic too? We rabbit, love classhical music, like Fantasia's one! Home Idle - Groovy: The sunset almosht night time hash that shpecial aura! Am I being romantic? Yesh, I am! Home Tap 1: Nuh, nuh, nuh!!! Children shouldn't drink alcohol! Me? I am older than 3 of you combined hihihi!! Home Tap 2: Sham will be a bit dishapointed in me...huuuh...I know, I'll buy everything on my OWN!! K ish a GENIUSH! Home Tap 3: NRC apples and pears are truly shomething *nom nom* It'sh shooo good!!! I want to eat it everyday!! Home Tap 4: Shage Ishland is very different from my world! Hn... Oh it'sh Cruella!! Cruellaaaa I have Proscecooo!! Home Tap 5: Ahhh be careful, temperature drops during night time! You should drink shomething to warm you up!! Let'sh go for a warm hot orange-juice! Home Tap - Groovy: I wonder why the Headmashter all time ashk help from hish shtudents! He'sh SHO RICH! Hn.... *drinks her cocktail*

***hot orange juice is a thing here in France!

***don't drink if you're underage!! Well even as an adult, be careful!

Port fest alternate outfit!!

Somewhere IRL in France:

K: Mistress Mistress, you should take a break!! I alsho need a break from shewing!! Cass': K.....*out of energy* I can't...It's hot....I need to sleep... But I need to draw everyone nice request baby hn!!! *soul leaving her body* K: Huuughhhwww~ Mistress come on, let'sh take a break!! Here I have Champagne Rosé! Cass': *coming back to life* Let's drink Champagne ma bichette!!! Go go go!!! But only one cup, I need to draw after!! K: Okkaaay!!

Port Fest background edit done by me from Twisted Wonderland game

[sangfielle]

okay here's my initial list. i pulled a bunch of shit but honestly this next fest looks way less promising than the last one. the last one had cryptmaster.... if u have any standouts so far that arent on this list lmk. i'll try anything but the total absence of platformers and driving games on this list is because i tend to be bad at them

Wizard of legend ii

Vampire therapist

Tavern talk

The crush house

Amber isle

Of the devil

Afterlove ep

Elation for the wonder box 6000

Mexico, 1921. A deep slumber

Midnight ramen

Ophelia’s chapter

Grifford academy

Threads of you: beyond the bay

B-project ryusei*fantasia

Dog eat dog: scam to survive

Techno banter

Ghost girl lasling

Adventure forge

Dev_hell

Dungeon clawler

Dice & fold

Rune coliseum

Technotopia

Once upon a rogue’s tale

Through the thorns and curses

Pyrene

Perfect hand of nostalpix

Dawnmaker

Elemental exiles

Paper kingdom

Witching stone

Hollowbody

Creatures of ava

Steel seed

On your tail

Bloodless

Keylocker

Fading skies

Closer the distance

The august before

Beatrider

Mythwrecked: ambrosia island

unheil

This Magical Girl is a B☆tch

Saint ceri

Anchored Hearts: A Tale of Destiny

Unheim

Devil’s hideout

Going down

BURN

Sigh of the abyss

Lethal Honor - Order of the Apocalypse

Vampire dynasty

Evilvevil

Vampire: The Masquerade - Reckoning of New York

Kickback

Metal slug tactics

Wild bastards

About a mouse

Spill the beans

Love, ghostie

Obscuria

Be the Ruler: Britannia

Jousting manager

Last Dream Fishing Arcade

Hollywood animal

Tavern manager simulator

Sunset motel

Enotria: The Last Song

SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim

Broke Signal Badlands: A World of Desert Adventure

SWORN

Warden’s will

Shell runner

Where is my cat

Ash & Adam's GOBSMACKED

Evilspunk

Duelant

Sporeborn Dark

GUNCHO

Necrophosis

Fomo

I am your beast

Kill knight

Sophonce

Morn

Goblin cleanup

Rainbow sea

Repent

Shapehero factory

Handmancers

Falling mountains

幻兽纸牌

Spirits of the sicilium forest

Dice captain

The dragonhood

Sea of brave: beast island

Warlords of the deck

Demon’s mirror

Pape rangers

Dungeons of hinterberg

Bloomtown: a different story

Dimhaven enigmas

Honeycomb: the world beyond

Brokenlore: follow

Elise

Trap for the heir

Dustborn

No more noise

Security control

Dark hours

Bane murrain

TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer

Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith

Sovereign elect

Mercyful Flames: The Witches

Debtor’s club

The vigilante diaries

Blood typers

Fraudulent idols

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

Echoes in the Deep - A Fateforge Tale

Mirthwood

Go to hell must

Dust courier

Raining City: Millions Recollections

[gebo4482]

The Becomers (2024) Official Trailer | Fantasia, Beyond Fest | Science Fiction

Dir: Zach Clark Star: Russell Mael / Molly Plunk / Isabel Alamin

[kaisooficrec]

Nini Planet Round 20 (Fantasia)

The monthly Bottom Jongin fest is back with their 20th round and this time their theme is: Fantasy AU.

No Beauty without Terror

Genre: Royalty AU, Angels AU, PWP

Rating: NC-17

Length: 2,573 w

Summary: His whole life, Kyungsoo's never felt clean, devoid of impurities. Even as a child, a constant feeling of dirtiness was always present in the back of his mind. It's like his soul was stained at birth and this stain was so integral to his very being that it was impossible to get rid of it without damaging the material underneath.

(They say the youngest prince was born to an angel. Kyungsoo finds out the truth.)

A perfect sacrifice

Genre: Fantasy AU, Vampire

Rating: R

Length: 2,998 w

Warnings: Major Character Death

Summary: Jongin was rescued by a Vampire Lord when he was little. But he doesn't seem to remember anything about it.

Ride or Die

Genre: Fantasy AU, Mutual Pining

Rating: R

Length: 2,999 w

Warnings: Violence

Summary: Jongin is a carefree Pixie for him rules are just a friendly suggestion, Kyungsoo is a law abiding Golem who never breaks the rules. Kyungsoo has 100 problems and 99 of them are Jongin related. Kyungsoo just wants Jongin to behave, Jongin just wants Kyungsoo.

Between Fairies, Witches and Slimes

Genre: Fairy Jongin, Witch Kyungsoo, Established Relationship

Rating: NC-17

Length: 2,973 w

Summary: Sometimes being a nosey person can result in something good.

to be loved is to be made to remember

Genre: Romance, Soulmates, Reincarnation, Mermaid Jongin, Human Kyungsoo

Rating: PG-13

Length: 2,287 w

Summary: Like a shell that keeps the waters' memory in its body, Jongin is rebirth in the sea to remember. Kyungsoo seems bound to a fate to forget, again and again.

[fearsmagazine]

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS | Trailer, Images & Poster

In this silent supernatural epic, a drunken applejack salesman is thrust into the frigid wilderness. Can he go from Zero to Hero, become North America's greatest fur trapper, and defeat hundreds of beavers?

Hundreds of Beavers made its world premiere at Fantastic Fest and has emerged as one of the year's most unexpected gems, earning critical acclaim at festivals around the globe, including Fantaspoa, the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, Night Visions, and the Atlanta Film Festival.

Reuniting the team that brought Lake Michigan Monster to Fantasia in 2019, Hundreds of Beavers stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews as the intrepid hero of this frostbitten inventive epic, co-written by Tews and director Mike Cheslik.

The filmmakers have taken home a number of awards including Best Narrative Feature at the Kansas City Film Festival International, the Oxford Film Festival, the Capital City Film Festival, and the Wyoming International Film Festival. Cheslik took home Best Director at Wyoming and the Phoenix Film Festival, as well as Best Comedy Feature at Midwest Weirdfest. At Mexico City's Morbido Film Festival, Hundreds of Beavers won the coveted Bronze Skull Award.

Hundreds of Beavers is excited to announce their Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Hundreds of Beavers will screen July 28th & 31st at the Salle J.A. De Sève as part of the 2023 edition of Fantasia.