Working in animation changes the way you look at children’s entertainment because you begin to notice things that most viewers are not supposed to think about consciously, from the shape of a character’s eyes and the softness of a silhouette to the color palette, the rhythm of a voice and the way a smile is designed to make a child feel safe before a single word has been spoken. That is one of the reasons I found Buddy so much fun. The film takes the familiar visual language of children’s television, with its bright colors, exaggerated enthusiasm, friendly creatures and…
Author: Nellie Tehrani-Ryce
Nellie Tehrani-Ryce
Nellie Tehrani-Ryce is an editor, festival reporter, and animation industry executive with more than two decades of experience in film and animation. As Associate Editor of Cinema Without Borders, she has covered major international film festivals, conducted interviews with filmmakers and animation artists, and contributed to the publication's editorial development. She also serves as the Programming Director of International Animation Day in Los Angeles, helping curate programs that celebrate global animation and emerging talent. Her distinguished career includes leadership positions at Paramount Animation, Psyop, Technicolor, and Animation Magazine, where she championed creative excellence and talent development within the animation industry.
After four films, several of which ended with such emotional finality that audiences had already said goodbye more than once, returning to Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang inevitably carries the suspicion that nostalgia has become too valuable for Hollywood to leave alone. Pixar has built one of the most beloved series in animation history, but affection can become a trap. At some point, continuing a story risks weakening the very memories that make us want to return to it. And yet Toy Story 5 finds a surprisingly convincing reason to come back. Directed by Andrew Stanton and…
Ever since Disney began revisiting its animated classics through live-action adaptations, audiences have approached each new release with a mixture of excitement and skepticism. Some films have successfully reimagined beloved stories, while others have struggled to justify why they needed to exist beyond nostalgia. Few projects, however, have faced expectations as high as Moana. The original 2016 animated feature remains one of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ greatest modern achievements. It was not only a commercial success but also a cultural phenomenon whose popularity has continued to grow long after its theatrical release. Beautifully animated, emotionally rich and supported by an…
There is something wonderfully appropriate about sending the Minions back to the silent era of Hollywood. These characters have always depended far more on movement, expression, timing and physical comedy than on anything they actually say, so placing them among the visual comedians of early cinema feels less like a gimmick and more like discovering where they should have been all along. Minions & Monsters understands that connection and, at its best, turns it into one of the smartest ideas this franchise has had in years. The film takes us to Hollywood in the 1920s, when movies are still discovering…
Having spent decades working alongside storytellers, artists, and animators—first through my years of involvement with animation journalism and later within the world of feature animation production—I have come to appreciate children’s stories that understand an important truth: emotional growth does not happen through lectures. It happens through empathy, imagination, and discovery. The Pout-Pout Fish is one of those deceptively simple stories. At first glance, it appears to be a playful underwater tale about a gloomy fish who swims through life convinced that sadness defines who he is. His expression never changes, his outlook remains fixed, and he repeatedly introduces himself…
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, East Los Angeles College and Cinema Without Borders will hold the 11th anniversary of the annual ELAC International Animation Day Festival, dedicated to Nationl Film Board of Canada Animation (2016 – 2026) This event will be held at East Los Angeles College, located at 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754. Screening will be held at the Building S1 Screening Room 112. Free parking will be available in Structure 4. On the corner of W Floral Drive and Collegian Avenue. To easily get to the parking and the screening room please use this address…
Animation has always excelled at transforming inner conflicts into visual spectacle. Fear becomes a monster. Self-doubt takes physical form. The struggle to belong becomes an epic quest. In KPop Demon Hunters, those ideas are fused with the electrifying energy of K-pop to create one of the most entertaining and emotionally sincere animated experiences in recent years. The premise is delightfully bold. By day, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are global music sensations, adored by millions of fans around the world. By night, they become demon hunters, defending humanity from supernatural forces threatening to break through into the real world. What could…
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, East Los Angeles College and Cinema Without Borders will hold the 11th anniversary of the annual ELAC International Animation Day Festival, dedicated to European animation. The event will take place at East Los Angeles College. The focus country of the festival will be announced in mid-February 2026. The goal of the ELAC International Animation Day Festival is to provide an in-depth and engaging introduction to contemporary international animation. The program includes screenings of short animated films from around the world, critical analysis, Q&A sessions with a panel of well-known animation experts, and a tribute to…
There are years when Annecy dazzles with technical innovation, years when a new visual style captures everyone’s attention, and years when a particular studio dominates the conversation. Annecy 2025 was different. More than anything else, it was a festival about empathy. Walking through the narrow streets surrounding Lake Annecy, one could sense that animation artists from around the world were grappling with similar questions. How do we maintain our humanity in increasingly polarized societies? How do we communicate across cultural, generational, and ideological divides? And perhaps most importantly, how do we continue to imagine a future worth fighting for? The…
There are films that rely on dialogue to explain themselves, and there are films that trust images, movement, and emotion to communicate something universal. Flow belongs to the latter category. Quiet yet powerful, simple in its premise yet profound in its emotional impact, Flow is one of those rare animated features that reminds us how much can be said without a single spoken word. The story follows a solitary cat navigating a world transformed by an overwhelming flood. Forced from the familiarity of its home, the cat finds refuge aboard a drifting boat occupied by an unlikely group of animals.…