Kids’ Fest Offers Exercises in Imagination

A pacifist feline from Russia; a cranky, sleep-deprived chicken from the Netherlands; a Russian, Welsh and American “Moby Dick”; a romantic French pirate; a pair of nanny-terrorizing British tots: It may seem like a junior couch potato’s dream, but the Museum of Television & Radio’s very cool, imagination-stirring and just plain fun ninth International Children’s Television Festival, aimed at ages 5 to 10 and held weekends from Saturday through Dec. 3, is anything but TV as usual.

With the spotlight on 29 exceptional animated and live-action children’s shows from 16 countries--including Australia, Israel, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Taiwan--and a new theme each weekend, the festival will feature two hourlong screenings a day, plus live performances of music, theater and puppetry, an animation workshop, arts and crafts activities, and costumed cartoon characters.

The festival kicks off with an “Imagine the Impossible” theme Saturday and Sunday with “Anton,” a cartoon from the Netherlands about a little boy convinced he’s being followed by flowers; Germany’s “The Hungry Bread Roll and Soap Opera,” a clay-animated treat about the secret lives of sandwiches, soap and toothbrushes; the home-grown, Peabody Award-winning “Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales”; and the Oscar-nominated British short “Humdrum,” about two inventive shadow puppets.

The second program of the weekend, skewing a bit older, features two from the U.K.: the live-action “One Perfect Day,” about a young girl who learns that being perfect isn’t all she imagined; and the uplifting documentary “Blue Peter: Journey to the Roof of Africa,” about remarkable, visually impaired young people making an arduous trek to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Between screenings, the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles’ Reader’s Theatre Project performs theatrical, musical storytelling to celebrate children’s books.

“Animal Antics,” the second week’s theme Nov. 18-19, will begin with programs from the Netherlands, “Chicken Stories: The Nightmare” and “A Proper Dog,” about a girl and a poodle with a big ego; plus Russia’s “Cat and Company”; the U.K.’s “Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids: The New Nanny”; and “Wildlife: The Star Giraffe,” a flight of fancy from Germany about a bookworm giraffe and a yodeling rock.

The afternoon program, recommended for older children, features the American and Canadian live-action effort “Popular Mechanics for Kids: Killer Creatures,” and the multinational “Moby Dick.”

Meanwhile, on Nov. 18, the Da Camera Society will present Shakespeare’s comical play-within-a-play from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the story of Pyramus and Thisbe--as staged by zookeepers. The Nov. 19 concert will feature the Bobby Matos Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble.

“Traditions & Transitions” screenings, Nov. 25-26, are the clay-animated “Pingu: The Wedding” (Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands), about naughty penguins and a robot; “Baking Up Trouble,” live action from Iceland; France’s “Nobeard the Pirate: Juliette’s Birthday”; a Finnish “Sweetheart’s Club”; and Germany’s “The Flower,” a clay-animated tale of friendship between a lonely man and a flower.

Children Can Watch, Then Make Their Own

In the afternoon workshop “Animation With Royer Studios,” participants will see their artwork animated on TV monitors and be able to take home a videotape of their work. Afterward, a second program of screenings includes “Living Forever,” a cartoon from the United States about the immortality of the creative spirit; “Purim Rock,” a clay-animated rock opera from Israel, and the live-action and animated “Johnny ATB,” from the Netherlands, about a boy who loses, then rediscovers, a cycling partner--his dad.

For the “Parents Just Don’t Understand” theme, Dec. 2-3, audiences can see the paper-puppet short “The Story of Piloo Looking for His Mother,” from Slovenia; plus three live-action films: a Canadian music video, “The Queen’s Manners”; “Martha the Mouse,” from Iceland; and “The Plastic King,” from the U.K.

Then, a performance by Bali & Beyond: The Shadow Theater of Bali will be followed by the festival finale: “Children’s Tales From Taiwan: Young Lady Cobushi,” a paper-puppetry tale about a girl warrior determined to end a brutal sacrificial tradition (recommended for older children only); and live-action wackiness from Australia: “Round the Twist: The Nirandathal Beast.”

Note: There won’t be any language barriers. All the films are either wordless, dubbed or performed in English.

* Ninth International Children’s Television Festival, Museum of Television & Radio, 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. (screenings) and 2 p.m. (performance); Nov. 18 at 12:30 and 2:15 p.m. (screenings) and 1:30 and 3 p.m. (performance); Nov. 19 at 1 and 3 p.m. (screenings) and 2 p.m. (performance); Nov. 25-26 at 1 and 3 p.m. (screenings) and 2 p.m. (workshop); Dec. 2-3 at 1 and 3 p.m. (screenings) and 2 p.m. (performance). Ends Dec. 3. Screenings and performances free with suggested museum admission: $6 for adults; $4 for seniors and students; $3 for children under age 13. Seating for live performances is available on a first-come, first-served basis on day of performance. (310) 786-1042.