A suburban kid, owner of a pet hamster, suddenly discovers a secret superpower that lets her transform into a hyper hamster, after she gets bitten by her pet. The furry superhero can go around solving problems in Super Furball.
In her spare time, 10-year-old Mari and her friends solve treasure hunt riddles concocted by her grandfather. They form a secret society to solve every adventure puzzle that comes their way until they are confronted with solving the mystery illness which has besieged their entire town into acting like children. That forms the premise of the Secret Society of Souptown.
When 13-year-old Iqbal and his classmates accidentally blow up their school in a study experiment, two adult crooks—Easelman and The Swine—want to get their hands on the homebrewed bomb recipe to blow up an amusement park to set up the largest parking facility in Scandinavia. When the crooks kidnap a six-year-old for blackmailing, in Iqbal Farooq and The Secret Recipe, it is up to Iqbal and his ingenious ways to teach the crooks a lesson.
These sprightly little gems from Europe will be screened at the India International Centre (IIC) till November 17 as part of Children's Day celebrations happening through the week. Amongst the many film festivals sprouting all over, it is advisable to look out for films slotted in the 7-14 category as many of them work like gift-worthy bundles of charm, imagination, hope and magic which resonate across age groups and offer that much needed source of energy and inspiration.
Some children's films are more life-affirming and meaningful than they are given credit for and their marketing as a separate category often leads to a loss of wider viewership. Spirited Away, Someone Like Hodder, the Harry Potter series, Up, Where the Wild Things Are, The Muppets, Ernest and Celestine, Frozen, Paddignton are some outstanding examples in the genre from the last decade. The diversity of children's films coming from India and the rest of the world need more visibility, critical appreciation and acceptance beyond family outings. Some of them are much too universal and go beyond boxes and categories. Village Rockstars, which won the best feature film award at the 65th National Films Awards in India, most exemplifies the futility of making films only for children as a targeted audience.
Other films from Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Norway in the IIC festival include Operation Arctic where a tragic misunderstanding between a 13-year-old Ida and her twin siblings leave them on a deserted island where they quickly learn to navigate challenges and The Adventures of Gustav where a travel-obsessed youngster sets out on a world tour to find an uncle who disappeared while flying a plane.
