Cartoons and Kids' Movies featuring
Indians of Central and South America

La Sirena Aalamatzin The Road to El Dorado Popol Vuh
La Sirena Aalamatzin
The Road to El Dorado
Popol Vuh

The Emperor's New Groove
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The Emperor's New Groove

Feature-Length Cartoons       Series       Short Cartoons       Live-Action Kids' Movies


FEATURE-LENGTH CARTOONS:
The Emperor's New Groove

THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE
Walt Disney Studios.
Director: Mark Dindal
Art directors: Thomas Cardone, Thomas Stimpson 2000. 77 minutes. Rated G.
Setting: Ancient Incan Empire
Language: English
Availability: several DVD editions

This entertaining comedy could have taken place anywhere, and at any time-- or at least, wherever there is a bratty emperor threatening to demolish peasant lands to build a royal swimming pool. John Goodman is the peasant Pacha who befriends the emperor (David Spade) who has been turned into a llama. The film shows very little of Incan culture except for the wonderful backgrounds, which creatively play upon motifs of Incan art and architecture. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton also provide voices, and Sting wrote an original song for this film, which came out the same year as the very similar The Road to El Dorado. The sequel, Kronk's New Groove (2005), besides showing the usual decline in quality you'd expect from a sequel, sheds the Incan theme altogether--it could pass for an episode of The Flintstones.

La leyenda de la Nahuala

LA LEYENDA DE LA NAHUALA
(The Legend of the Nahuala)

Director: Ricardo Arnaiz.
Writers: Antonio Garci, Omar Mustre. 2007. 82 minutes.
Setting: Ciudad de Puebla, 1802.
Language: Spanish
Availability: DVD

On the Day of the Dead in 1802, an easily-frightened boy named Leo must enter a haunted house to rescue his brother Nando, who has been captured by La Nahuala, a creatured from old Poblano legends. There is one Indian character, Xochitl, who is a ghost in the house, and other themes and images from indigenous or mestizo traditions. Unique, beautifully animated, with a great cast of characters. The DVD includes many extra features, including games for kids.
Patoruzito

PATORUZITO
Director: José Luis Massa
Writers: Dante Quinterno, Axel Nacher, Omar Quiroga
Music: Eduardo Frigerio
2004. 75 minutes.
Setting: Patagonia, the present
Language: Spanish
Availability: DVD

A Patoruzito le ha llegado, según la tradición de los Tehuelches, el momento de convertirse en el cacique de la tribu. Creció rodeado del amor de la Chacha, en la estancia, junto a Ñancul y Upita, y cuenta ya con el coraje y la bondad propia de su linaje, que siempre ha ofrendado su esfuerzo para que el bien prevaleciera sobre el mal. Pero para cumplir su destino, deberá antes enfrentar y vencer a peligrosos adversarios que harán lo imposible para evitarlo. Uno de sus enemigos es Cachicó, un envidioso indio de su misma edad, siempre acompañado por sus secuaces Tino y Moncho, quien encuentra en Patoruzito un obstáculo insalvable para sus codiciosas intenciones. El otro es Mr. Ferguson, un misterioso arqueólogo extranjero, obsesionado por acceder a un mítico lugar llamado "El Valle Perdido", tierra sagrada para los Tehuelches. Followed by Patoruzito 2: La gran aventura (2006).
Popol Vuh

POPOL VUH
Director: Patricia Amlin
1988. 60 minutes. Rated G.
Setting: ancient Guatemala
Language: English
Availability: only through libraries

A one-hour cartoon adaptation of the ancient Quiche text. The unusual animation is based on actual Mayan art, morphing back and forth from still images to movement, authentic art to more stylized animation. The intended audience seems to be children, but the slippery Ovidian transitions between episodes and the overall weirdness may be disorienting to people unfamiliar with the myths. This film will appeal best to those who are already fans of Mayan culture. Patricia Amlin also directed Five Suns: A Sacred History of Mexico. Click here to see images from Popol Vuh.

The Road to El Dorado

THE ROAD TO EL DORADO
Dreamworks Studios
Directors: Don Paul, Bibo Bergeron
Writers: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
2000. 89 minutes. Rated PG.
Setting: a Mayan city, 1512.
Language: English
Availability: DVD

Tulio and Miguel are a couple of Spanish con artists (played by Kevin Klein and Kenneth Branaugh) who flee from the police by jumping on a boat which takes them to the New World. There they try to convince the locals that they are gods, aided by the curvaceous theif Chel (Rosie Perez). Taking advantage of tensions between the emperor (Edward James Olmos) and the religious leader (Armand Assante), the two rogues manage to put an end to human sacrifice while also scoring a treasure of gold. The humor works principally through an annoyingly contemporary sarcasm, expressed through Tulio and Miguel's cliche buddy-banter. The voices, facial expressions, and gestures are all reproduced with slavish accuracy to 1990s pop culture, leaving little screentime for Mayan culture. However, the background artwork sumptuous--the architecture, artifacts, jungles, and costumes are all so beautiful that no one should mind the historical inaccuracies. And the special effects (if that is the right term when discussing animation) used for the magic sequences are also impressive. This film came out the same year as Disney's The Emperor's New Groove. Although Disney's Incan cartoon is funnier, Dreamwork's Mayan adventure sports better artwork, and will probably appeal more to fans of Indian culture.

CARTOON SERIES:

BIBLIOTECA SER INDÍGENA
Animation: Jorge Bizama
Setting: Chile
Language: Spanish (no subtitles)
Availability: videotecaserindigena.org


Three three-minute cartoons based on traditional tales from Chile:
"Saire - Agua de lluvia" - Flood story of the Atacamenos
"Kai Kai y Ten-Ten Vilu - Las serpientes del agua y de la tierra" - Mapuche creation myth
"Domo y Lituche: La creación del mundo Mapuche" - Another Mapuche creation myth
The cartoons are drawn in a very unique, original style, with white line drawings over a black background and spare, effective use of color. Check them out!





CRISTIAN SOLIS
Director: Cristián Solís
Animation: Editorial Amanuta
2003.
Setting: pre-columbian Chile
Language: Spanish (no subtitles) or English
Availability: Youtube


This is a series of short cartoons (two to four minutes) about the various pueblos originarios de Chile, including the Mapuche (Araucanos), Selknam (Onas), Maori (Easter Islanders), Atacameños (Lakan Antay), Yamana (Yaganes), Tehuelches (Patagonians), and Aymara. Some of the cartoons are documentary-like, showing the Indians' way of life, while others dramatize myths. They are all available in Spanish and English on the Youtube channel CRISTIANSOLISW at http://www.youtube.com/user/CRISTIANSOLISW.


Erase una vez... Las America

ERASE UNA VEZ... LAS AMERICAS
(Once Upon A Time... The Americas)

Director/writer: Albert Barillé
1991.
Setting: North and South America
Language: French or Spanish
Availability: region 2 DVD

Original French title: Il était une fois... les Amériques. 26 animated episodes of the history of Native Americans from pre-Columbian times to the European invasion to the present.


HACEDORES DE LAS PALABRAS
(Word Makers)

Setting: Mexico, various regions
Language: Spanish and several indigenous languages
Availability: online

A series of 25 very short cartoons in various media, written and drawn by indigenous children and produced by the Mexican government agency CDI (Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas). Some are stories; others show aspects of daily life. All are available in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, and some also have audio and subtitles in Otomi, Nahautl, Yucatec Mayan, and other indigenous languages.
http://hacedores.emexico.gob.mx/veuncuento/veuncuento.jsp

Mysterious Cities of Gold DVD

MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD
Director: Howard Ryshpan.
Writer: Scott O'Dell.
1982-1983. 1160 minutes. Rated G.
Setting: Peru, 1532.
Language: Japanese (English dubs)
Availability: DVD

This was a Japanese TV series that ran for 39 episodes in 1982 and 1983 (the original Japanese title is Taiyô no ko Esteban.) In 1532, Esteban, an orphan in Spain, travels to the Americas to search for his father. He meets an Incan girl named Zia, and Tao, last descendent of the sunken city of Hiva. The three kids have adventures among the Incans, Mayans, and Olmecs. Based on a story by acclaimed children's writer Scott O'Dell. The six-DVD set, dubbed into English, with all 39 episodes with assorted bonus features, was released in 2009.

Nazca DVD

NAZCA
Directors: Hiroko Tokita, Benito Rabal
1990, 1998. 300 minutes.
Setting: ancient Peru; modern Japan
Language: Japanese (English dubs)
Availability: out-of-print DVD & VHS

A Japanese martial arts student travels back in time to pre-Colombian Peru. 16 episodes available on four 75-minute DVDs.

SHORT CARTOONS:
El bosque aun vive

EL BOSQUE AUN VIVE
Director: Jesús Pérez
1995. 12 minutes.
Setting: Bolivian jungle
Language: Spanish

Muestra la cotidianidad de una familia chiman, a través de un niño que nace y crece en el bosque junto a sus amigos: un mono y un tucán. Aprende los oficios de este medio. En su primer día de caza se encuentra y conoce los espíritus del bosque, sigue su tarea con valentía, recorre todo el bosque y llega hasta sus márgenes encontrando la carretera que le muestra el límite de su mundo y el paso más próximo hacia la ciudad, ambos espacios completamente diferentes y contrapuestos.

Los Chulpas

LOS CHULPAS
Director: Alex Moya
2007. 7 minutes.
Setting: Atacama Desert, Chile
Language: Spanish

In the days before the sun existed, the "Chulpas," ancient beings of the Atacama desert of Chile, worshipped the moon.

La creacion Selk'nam

LA CREACION SELK'NAM:
Un mito de Tierra del Fuego

Museo Chileno del Arte Precolombino
Creators: Colectivo El Kenós, Claudio Mercado, Alejandra Muñoz
Music: Claudio Mercado, Alejandro Munoz, Sergio Figueroa
2005. 15 minutes.
Setting: Sky, earth
Language: Spanish
Availability: online (no subtitles)

Abstract video illustrated with shadow puppets and special effects. According to the description, it tells how the great god Temaukel created Kenós, who in turn created the world and humans. From the Selk'nam ancestors arose the mountains, wind, animals and stars. The story may not be easily discernible, but this strange short film and its eerie indigenous music create the mood of wonder that must have inspired the original myth makers. Available online at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino: http://www.precolombino.cl/es/audiovisual/video.php

Cuando lo dicen y lo 
pintan los niños

CUANDO LO DICEN Y LO PINTAN LOS NIÑOS
(When Children Tell It and Paint It)

Alas y Raíces a los Niños / Instituto Mexicano de la Cinematografía
Director: Dominique Jonard
Music: Eduardo Solís Marín; 2001. 40 minutes.
Setting: Tarahumara; Chiapas; Tijuana; San Diego, Cal.
Language: Spanish
Availability: VHS


A collection of three cartoons with plots, drawings, and voices provided by children: "Raramuri, Pie Ligero" (10 min.) is a tale of a footrace among the Raramuri Indians of the Sierra Tarahumara. "Santo Golpe" (10 min.) tells of a bus heist among the Tzeltal and Tzotzil Indians of Chiapas. "Un Brinco Pa' Allá" (20 min.) is a border-crossing tale about kids traveling from Tijuana to San Diego, California. The animation is crude but charming, and the kids' voices make these cartoons hilarious. Director Dominique Jonard has created many other Indigenous-themed cartoons not collected in this video (too many to list!).


Elal y los animales

ELAL Y LOS ANIMALES
(Elal and the Animals)

Director/writer: Ana María Pávez
Animation: Carmen Cardemil
Music: Claudio Mercado, Pichimuchina, Vicente Villalobos
2007. 15 minutes.
Setting: Patagonia, Chile
Language: Spanish
Availability: online (no subtitles)

Creation myths of the Aonikenk, or Tehuelche, a people who dwelt in southern Patagonia and died out in the 1930s. This cartoon tells of the creation of the earth, and of the giant Noshtex, who becomes jealous of his clever son Elal. To save the boy, his mother the mouse and other animals take him to Patagonia where his father cannont find him. Elal gives each animal a gift to thank them for saving him. Beautifully animated with a variety of fabrics and textures. Available online at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino: http://www.precolombino.cl/es/audiovisual/video.php


The Emperor's Treasure

THE EMPEROR'S TREASURE
Director: Diane Paloma Eskenazi
2004. 45 minutes.
Setting: Ancient Incan Empire
Language: English
Availability: DVD

A young man travels to Macchu Pichu to illustrate his father's archaeological book. He somehow slips into the past and meets the ancient Incas. The animation is adequate, but the story, characters, and humor are utterly vapid and lifeless. Not recommended.
En agosto

EN AGOSTO
(In August)

Directors/writers/cinematographers: Andrés Barrientos, Carlos Andrés Reyes
Music: Sinapis, Sergio A. Trujillo
2008. 14 minutes.
Setting: Bogota, Colombia
Language: Spanish

A staggeringly ambitious animated film about the precise moment when the world comes to an end. Veronica, a young indignenous woman walks by a bridge in a partially flooded Bogota that never stops raining. Veronica has the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Pedro, an elderly man, awaits the arrival of the end of the world prophetized by Isabel, his dead wife. She never failed in any of her predictions. In their visions the world's future shall be revealed.
Sinopsis en español:
En el futuro, Verónica, una joven indígena, camina por un puente en una Bogotá parcialmente inundada y en la que no para de llover. Verónica intuye que algo malo va a ocurrir y acelera su paso. En el presente, Pedro, un anciano, espera la llegada del fin del mundo en un día y una hora que su difunta esposa, profetizó; Nunca falló alguna de sus predicciones. Verónica y Pedro están unidos por una visión y una realidad.


Hapunda

HAPUNDA
Director/animator: Dominique Jonard
Writers: Enrique Soto, Dominique Jonard
Music: Valeria Jonard
2004. 4 minutes.
Setting: Michoacan, 16th century
Language: Spanish

A Purepecha legend based on drawings from the 16th century manuscript, Relación de Michoacán. In the Island of Yunven in Lake Patzcuaro the princess Hapunda lived in harmony with the lake and vowed to stay by its side. And then the warriors came.
Sinopsis en español:
Recreación de una leyenda purhépecha basada en dibujos de la “Relación de Michoacán”, manuscrito del siglo XVI. En la isla de Yunven del lago de Patzcuaro vive la princesa Hapunda en armonía con el lago, con el cual hizo un juramento de permanecer a su lado. La llegada de unos guerreros a la isla rompe la tranquilidad de esta, e impide que Hapunda cumpla su promesa.


Machu Picchu Post

MACHU PICCHU POST
Directors/animators: Novali Nicolas, Durand Rival Margaux y Crocq Clement
2008. 5 minutes.
Setting: Machu Picchu
Language: none
Availability: Youtube

A boy and his llama wait for the postal airplane to arrive in Machu Picchu. When the airplane wanders into a cloud, it comes under the control of the boy's imagination. A French production, but without words. Available on its own website or on Youtube:
http://machupicchupost.free.fr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGKp7YBNvIU
Sinopsis en español:
Un niño que vive con su llama en Machu Pichu, recibe la visita del correo aéreo con gran entusiasmo, su imaginación le llevará a poner al piloto en un gran aprieto...


Los Muiscas

LOS MUISCAS
Directors/animators: Alejandro Cabal, Carlos Andres Poggio
2008. 7 minutes.
Setting: Colombia
Language: Spanish
Availability: Youtube

The creation of the earth and its people according to the Muisca people of Colombia. This is one of the most amazing animated films on Youtube. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yN4gZsPVy8
Sinopsis en español:
Según la mitología de los Muiscas el universo, su mundo y su pueblo fueron creados, formados por y eran diferentes deidades: Chiminigagua (la luz), Baque (el universo), Bachue (la madre de la humanidad), Chia (el caos), Goranchacha (el primer zaque), Chibchacum (el dios de la tierra) y Bochica (el benefactor, el educador). Esta es su historia.


The Monkey People

THE MONKEY PEOPLE
Rabbit Ears Productions. Director:
1991. 30 minutes.
Setting: Amazon rainforest
Language: English
Availability: VHS (for institutions)


This Rabbit Ears series, Children's Classics from Around the World, features famous actors contributing the narration and famous musicians providing the soundtrack. For The Monkey People we have Raúl Julia (The Burning Season) as narrator and Larry Carlton on guitar to tell the traditional story of lazy rainforest dwellers who discovered they could cut out paper monkeys to do their work for them. The animation is rather simple, in the silhouette style of Chinese shadow theater (similar to Maurice Pommier's illustrations for the Lecturas de la historia books for children), and with little movement. Despite the celebrity contributions, the artwork is not quite captivating enough to hold the attention of the children to who seem to be the intended audience.


Pajerama PAJERAMA
Director/writer: Leonardo Cadaval
Animation: Leonardo Cadaval, Sérgio Menehira
Music: Ruggero Ruschioni
2007. 9 minutes.
Setting: rainforest
Language: none (no dialogue)
Availability: vimeo.com
A boy out hunting comes across a monolith similar to the one in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Soon after this apparition, he starts having strange encounters with shocking noises and images from the modern industrial world outside the forest. He narrowly escapes these encounters and returns home to his father. Great computer-generated animation brilliantly portrays the culture clash with humor and pathos. pajé means medicine man, so the title suggests something like the visions created by a medicine man. You can watch the entire film at http://vimeo.com/4873626

Resumo em português:
Um índio passa por uma torrente de experiências estranhas, revelando mistérios a respeito do tempo e espaço.



Popol Vuh

POPOL VUH
Centro Cultural Palácio La Moneda de Chile
Director: Ana María Pávez
Music: Claudio Mercado, La Chimuchina, proyecto Huaylla-Kepa
2006. 11 minutes.
Setting: Earth; Xibalba
Language: Spanish
Availability: online (no subtitles)


This Chilean-made cartoon tells the Mayan story of the creation of the world and the demigods Hunahpu and Ixbalanque, who survive a series of tricks and attacks by the gods of the underworld, and are ultimately and are transformed into the sun and the moon. The art is based on codices, paintings, pottery, and stone carvings of the Quiche Mayans ranging from 300-900 AD. Available online at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino: http://www.precolombino.cl/es/audiovisual/video.php


UN POQUITO DE...
Centro Cultural Palácio La Moneda de Chile
Director: Dominique Jonard
2003. 15 minutes.
Setting: Morelos, Mexico
Language: Spanish


Un volcán hace erupción y asusta a la sombra de uno de los habitantes de la comunidad. Diferentes elementos como el amaranto, alimento prehispánico con el que se produce un dulce llamado alegría; el Popocatépetl, volcán emblemático de México, el mercado y su ancestral práctica del trueque, proporcionan el marco para certificar un hecho singular que nos llevará a conocer las prácticas mágicas de las mujeres curanderas para que la sombra regrese al cuerpo al cual pertenece. Con voces de los niños de Almicingo y Hueyapan, Morelos.


Rokunga

ROKUNGA: EL ULTIMO HOMBRE PAJARO
(Rokunga, the Last Man Bird)

Director: Erwin Gómez Viñales
Writers: Erwin Gómez, Gonzalo Oyarzún,Ignacio Iriarte
Animators: Erwin Gómez, Mauricio Pérez, Marcelo Flores
Music: Miguel Lara
2006. 11 minutes.
Setting: Rapa Nui, 1866
Language: Spanish

This 3D cartoon shows the annual spring ceremony in the honor of Make Make, Creator God, at the time of the finding of the first bird egg in Rapa Nui. It culminated with the naming of the Tangata Manu, the sacred Birdman. Each year, the representatives of different tribes would climb the Kau volcano to celebrate the election of Tangata Manu, who became the political and military head of the island for a year.
Sinopsis en español:
La mágica recreación de la última ceremonia del hombre pájaro que se celebró en Isla de Pascua. La historia se ambienta en una Rapa Nui sumida en el caos, la enfermedad y la llegada de un nuevo dios. En esas circunstancias, Rokunga es el elegido por el dios Make Make. Los personajes de esta historia animada -la primera en 3d que llega al cine en Chile- son producto de un largo trabajo de diseño inspirado en figuras talladas en madera.


La Siera Aalamatzin

LA SIRENA AALAMATZIN
(The Mermaid Aalamatzin)

Director: Jaime Cruz
1999. 27 minutes.
Setting: Xalitla, Guerrero, Mexico
Language: Náhuatl
Availability: VHS


Cartoon based on a myth from Guererro, Mexico. A man angers the mermaid Aalamatzin when he fishes in her river to feed his mistress instead of his family. The mermaid demands his son as payment. The boy escapes into the forest and wins the friendship of various animals by feeding them with his own meager resources. A grateful eagle gives the boy wings so he can fly back to his family. The animation is quite different from U.S. cartoons, marvelously suited to its mythic subjects. You can view a clip at www.ciesas.edu.mx/jaff/multimedia.html

Tainá-Kan

TAINA-KAN, A GRANDE ESTRELA
(Taina-Kan, The Great Star)

Director: Adriana Figuereido
2005, 16 minutes.
Setting: Araguaia River Valley, Brazil
Language: Portuguese


A digital animation of a Karaja legend that explains the origin of agriculture as a gift of Tainá-Kan, or the big star Venus, who comes to earth in the form of a man. The tale tells of two sisters, Imaerô, who is selfish, and Denakè, whose nature is more ambiguous and elusive. Imaerô wishes upon her favorite star for it to come to Earth as a man so she can marry him. But when he complies and arrives, he is (in her eyes) “old and ugly,” and she is revulsed. Denakè suddenly appears upon her sister’s retreat, suggesting they are opposite aspects of a single nature or character, and entreats Tainá-Kan to remain so she can take care of him. Plainly, she is principally motivated by her wish to cast her sister in a bad starlight; she quips that she already knew that stars are ancient. Writer-director Adriana Figueiredo keeps to the competitive sister-thing, for now that he and Denakè are a couple Imaerô sees Tainá-Kan as young and handsome. Tainá-Kan provides his wife’s people with a plantation of new vegetables and fruits, including corn and watermelon, that will keep them well fed; he takes stars from the heavens that become seeds for growing the crops. Ultimately he leaves Earth to return to the heavens with wife and children, who sparkle in a new constellation. Those who wish to reduce this story to a simple fable perhaps miss the point of Tainá-Kan’s own motive for coming down: to be flattered up close by Imaerô's idolatrous attention. Hers was a show of affection and commitment, not the reality; similarly, her sister delivered a show of unselfish love, to which Tainá-Kan responded. But even such a display of generosity, whatever the motivation, yields greater generosity, because the mimicry of good behavior increases good behavior. Motives are less important than what people do.

Tales
from the Latin American Indians

TALES FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN INDIANS
Video Knowledge, Inc.
Director: Fernando Benítez.
1986. 34 minutes.
Setting: Mexico, Puerto Rico.
Language: Spanish
Availability: VHS


Part of the Exotic Tales from Exotic Lands series, this film contains four stories: "La Leyenda de Quetzalcoatl" (Aztec/Mayan/Toltec), "La Leyenda de Loiza" (Puerto Rico), "La Magia del Quetzal" (Guatemala), and "El Aguila y la serpiente" (Aztec). This film just barely qualifies as animation, since the pictures don't even move, and they are not even good drawings to begin with.


Tierra y territorio


TIERRA Y TERRITORIO
CEFREC - CAIB
Directors: Esteban Espejo, Oscar Sejas
2005. 31 minutes.
Setting: Bolivia
Language: Spanish


Desde diferentes ópticas y aportes se analiza la realidad de la tierra y territorio. En las regiones altas y bajas de Bolivia, se denuncian situaciones injustas y se manifiestan propuestas desde las organizaciones y comunidades desde la perspectiva de convocatoria a una asamblea nacional constituyente.

Xani Xepica

XÁNI XÉPICA
(¡Este flojo!)
(Lazy Boy)

Director/writer: Dominique Jonard
Music: Grupo Huapanekua
2007. 7 minutes.
Setting: Michoacan, Mexico
Language: Purhepecha


A folktale about a young man, José, whose laziness gets him in trouble. When he wants to marry Atzimba, her father gives him various tasks in the mountains. Voices and drawings by Purepecha children.
El futuro suegro de José pone a su yerno a prueba mandándolo a diversas Tareas en el monte pero la astucia no es compañera del muchacho.

El zorro y el condor

EL ZORRO Y EL CONDOR
(The Fox and the Condor)

Museo Chileno del Arte Precolombino and Chimuchina Records
Directors: Claudio Mercado, Patricia Rodríguez
Music: Claudio Mercado, La Chimuchina
2002. 12 minutes.
Setting: Sky, earth
Language: Spanish
Availability: online (no subtitles)


Crude stop-motion animation tells the story of how the condor brought the fox up to the clouds and then left him there, and how the fox climbed down a rope bringing seeds, but then fell, scattering the seeds across the earth and creating all the plants. Based on a folktale from Ayquina, in the north of Chile. Available online at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino: http://www.precolombino.cl/es/audiovisual/video.php

LIVE ACTION KIDS' MOVIES:
Max is Missing DVD

MAX IS MISSING
Director: Mark Griffiths
Writer: Gordon Cassidy, Mark Griffiths
Cinematography: Blake T. Evans
Music: Arthur Kempel
1995. 95 minutes. Rated PG.
Setting: Machu Picchu, Cusco, and points in between
Language: English, occasional Spanish and Quechua
Availability: DVD
lousy ok


Max (Toran Caudell) is the snotty son of an American archaeologist; Juanito (Victor Rojas) is a savvy teen huckster who makes his living from tourists on the Inca Trail. The two boys find themselves pulled into a caper over a 15th-century gold huaca sought by two criminals. In the course of their caper Juanito learns that money isn't everything, and Max learns that, when you're poor, money is everything. Humor, action and plot twists make this Showtime production a fairly satisfying slice of family entertainment.


Secret of the Andes DVD


SECRET OF THE ANDES
Director: Alejandro Azzano
Writer: Alejandro Azzano, Bernardo Nante
Cinematography: Maximo Munzi
Music: Luis Bacalov
1998. 99 minutes. Rated PG.
Setting: Jucaitambo (fictional town in Bolivia)
Language: English
Availability: DVD
lousy ok


Diana, a mischievous 10-year-old, goes to Bolivia to see her father, an archaeologist searching for half of the golden disc that once belonged to Incan emperor Huascar (the other half being in a New York museum). With the help of the mystic Don Benito and his teenage son, Diana finds the disc in a hidden temple.

With only a little more effort, Secret of the Andes could have been a quality film, but the hokey humor and a few bad apples in the cast make the film a chore to watch, despite the effective music and cinematography.


Tainá - Uma Aventura na Amazônia


TAINA: UMA AVENTURA NA AMAZONIA
Directors: Sérgio Bloch, Tania Lamarca
Writers: Claudia Levay, Reinaldo Moraes
Cinematography: Marcello Corpanni
Music: Luiz Avellar
Editing: Diana Vasconcellos
2001. 90 minutes.
Setting: Brazilian Amazon
Language: Portuguese
Availability: DVD in South America only


Taina (Eunice Baía) is a little girl living in the Amazon. After the death of her parents and grandfather she wanders from her home and is taken in by Isabel (Branca Camargo), a white scientist studying herbal medicine. Taina discovers many foes among civilization: Isabel's jealous son Joninho; a poacher who wants to steal Taina's pet monkey, Catu; and a rival scientist who tries to thwart Isabel's discovery of a jungle fever vaccine. Beautiful footage of the jungle and its creatures make this film enjoyable for kids and adults.


CARTOONS NOT YET REVIEWED:
Aguas con el Botas (Dominique Jonard, Mexico, 1994, 10 min.)
Aztec Legend (Eduardo Cisneros, 2004)
Barrio lindo (Pedro Vivas Francia, Bolivia, 8 min)
[Narra las aventuras y vicisitudes de dos niños que se conocen en un barrio marginal de La Paz y surge una amistad entre ellos.]
Changing World (Jaqui Pope, 1988, 4 min.)
Shows how tractors and trucks are opening up the forest and changing the lives of the Indians.
Cuentos de la serpiente emplumada (1989)
En camino (Jésus Pérez, Bolivia, 1996, 14 min.)
[An Aymara family travels from Potosi to the tropics in search of a good place to live.]
Fantasma de la milpa (Ghost of the Corn Field) (2 min.)
En la comunidad Triqui de la Sierra Alta de Oaxaca, los niños juegan a la pelota muy cerca de una milpa. De pronto, la pelota escapa de sus manos y se introduce en la milpa, uno de los jugadores de pelota corre y se adentra en la milpa para rescatar la pelota y continuar el juego. Hecho por niñas y niños Triquis.
Five Suns: A Sacred History of Mexico (Patricia Amlin, 1996, 55 min.)
A fundaçao do Brasil (Mô Toledo, 1980, 7 min.)
Historia de las relaciones de trabajo entre los blancos, indios y negros durante la colonización del Brasil.
Mario el lustrabotas (Jesús Pérez)
El Mito de Peribo (Félix Nakamura, 1988, Venezuela, 8 min.)
[A Yanomami myth. After a great flood there was only one house left, but the man and woman who lived there didn't get along.]
Animación de figuras de plastilina que recrea un mito yanomami. Después del Diluvio había una sola casa en la tierra, y ahí vivían los yanomami. Uno de ellos era Peribo, quien tenía como esposa a una muchacha de nombre Xidikariyoma. Esta mujer no quería a su esposo, trataba continuamente de huir y ocultarse.
Moon, Jungle, Fire and Earth (Pier Brinkman, Brazil, 20 min)
[Usando la técnica de animación fotográfica, son recreadas cientos de diapositivas de varios grupos indígenas de las selvas tropicales de Brasil. Su vida, sus ritos y juegos aparecen junto a la advertencia de la amenaza que representa para su supervivencia la explotación indiscriminada de sus tierras y recursos.]
Muñeca de maiz (Corn Doll) (Marisol Barragán, Bolivia, 1989)
Paulina y el Condor (Marisol Barragán, Bolivia, 1995, 10 min.)
[An Aymara girl journeys from the altiplano to La Paz.]
Starlore (Faith Hubley, 1984, 9 min., English, US/Guatemala production)
El film narra varios mitos de creación relacionados con el sol, la luna y otros elementos del firmamento. Un mito maya narra un juego de pelota cósmico, siguen un mito campa, uno yahgan, tupi, pawnee, finalizando con uno inuit.
El sueño de los hombres (Armando Arce, 1986, 10 min.)
Inspirada en un antiguo mito indígena makiritare, narra la creación de la mujer y el hombre.
Tabey (Juan Padrón, Cuba, 1974, 8 min)
Se trata de una historia sobre indígenas y conquistadores. Tabey escapa de los caribes y es rescatado por los españoles a caballo. Estos simulan amistad para finalmente emplear a los indios en la búsqueda de oro. Los guerreros taino se organizan, atacan y ponen en fuga a los españoles.
Teco, el niño mojeño (Rubén Machado, Bolivia, 2004, 10 min.)
Teco, un pequeño niño, conoce la historia de su pueblo de una manera misteriosa después de conversar con el Espíritu del Bosque, El Sol y La Luna.
La tierra está enferma (Jesús Pérez)
Titiri We: El canto de la noche (Viveca Baiz, 10 min.)
Recreating a Yanomami myth, this film tells the story of the creation of the night. An indigenous family, tired of the heat and light of the sun, fatally wound a black Paují bird in flight. With every drop of blood that falls from the bird a new Paují is born which takes flight and blocks the sun from view. Before the astonished eyes of the humans, night has begun.
El mito de la creación de la noche recogido entre los Parimi-Theri del río Uraricoera en Brasil. Una pareja de indígenas, extenuados por la luz y el calor hieren mortalmente a un paují en vuelo y de cada gota de sangre que derrama el ave por su herida, nace un nuevo paují. Se forma una bandada que al alzar el vuelo, cubre el sol, surgiendo la noche, ante la mirada asombrada de los humanos.
Tlacuilo (Enrique Escalone, 1984, 56 min., Venezuela)
Demuestra que los códices prehispánicos eran escrituras, que podían leerse "literalmente", ya que estaban hechos atendiendo a una estructura de signos con significados precisos.
Ultimo elote (The last corn stalk) (2 min.)
Dos campesinos triques comparte el maíz de la cosecha de su milpa. Un buen día el calor es tan intenso que provoca una severa sequía que acaba con casi toda la cosecha al grado que tan sólo queda una mazorca con un elote. Los campesinos al desesperarse por no tener que comer pelean entre ellos el último elote que queda de su cosecha. Hecho por niñas y niños Triquis.
Upa en apuros (Tito Davison, 1942, 12 min.)
Wirandé (Tomorrow) (Wilson Lazaretti & Mauricio Squarisi, Brazil, 1992, 5 min.)
[Drawings by native and urban children from Amazonias show their daily life.]


Ultimo Zaque Muiscas Domo y Lituche
El Ultimo Zaque
Los Muiscas
Domo y Lituche

If you have comments, questions, or recommendations, write to me at:
slipcat555@yahoo.com


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