AroView: Set in the early 70s Japan, this wonderous French animated feature that pays homage to the land of its artistic inspiration, with the cross-cultural representation key to the backstory of its time and place.

Little Amélie herself is a really interesting character – a three-year-old child of enlightenment, with a heightened worldview and sense of being that elevates her above the clichés of the cute child protagonist. The combination results in a philosophical and historical treat with generational appeal.

“Little Amélie submerges itself in fantastical ecstasy and melancholy with a magic all its own.” ~Jacob Oller, The A.V. Club

“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is, without a doubt, one of the best and most touching animated films to come out this year, a remarkable example of what this style of storytelling can do.” ~Ross Bonaime, Collider

“Its brevity allows it to maintain that delicate balance between joy and grief — discovery and heartache — from start to finish, and to use the sweet cocoon of childhood as a way of crystallizing how that dynamic grows with us as we get older.” ~David Ehrlich, IndieWire