Every year we eagerly await the reveal of the lineup for the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). But there’s not always much room for kid-friendly options on a list stacked with indie documentaries and cult favorites. No more! The 2017 SIFF (May 18-June 11) welcomes film buffs of all ages with multiple family-focused films.
The Films 4 Families collection, as it’s called, features 10 movies perfect for your Roger Ebert, Jr. Perhaps most notable on the list: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (June 1, 7 p.m. at Pacific Place). It’s no surprise this “raucous comedy” from DreamWorks Animation would show in Seattle; the genius behind the Cap’n calls Bainbridge Island home.
Lesser known but equally as stellar: a series of international films that range from Japanese anime — Napping Princess (May 29, 12 p.m. and May 31, 6:30 p.m., both at at SIFF Cinema Uptown) — to French fantasy — Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess (May 20, 11 a.m., SIFF Cinema Uptown, and May 21, 3:30 p.m., Majestic Bay Theatres).
Roald Dahl’s also on the menu. Look for the animated version of Dahl’s famous “update” to classic fairy tales with Revolting Rhymes. The movie, like the book, exposes the “farcical, shady truth” about Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, the Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella (June 3, 11 a.m., Pacific Place, and June 10, 11 a.m., SIFF Cinema Egyptian). Dahl’s The Witches is also on the schedule (June 10, 1:30 p.m., SIFF Cinema Egyptian) as a nod to this year’s SIFF honoree, actress Anjelica Huston. (She’ll be in town for a June 7 tribute event.)
There’s a world premiere planned, too. Tea Pets — described to me as “China’s version of Toy Story” — runs for 98 minutes and stars a group of tea pets, a.k.a cute clay figurines that offer good-luck to tea drinkers (May 20, 1 p.m., Lincoln Square; May 21, 11:30 a.m., SIFF Cinema Uptown; June 4, 1 p.m., Kirkland Performance Center).
Learn more about SIFF and the Films 4 Family collection. Tickets on sale now.
