Named Best Animated Feature at the European Film Awards, this gorgeous second feature from French animator Jacques-Rémy Girerd is a breathtaking work of art. The film is comprised of an astounding 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, and figures are bathed in rustic watercolors, for a stunning, handcrafted look with backgrounds that burst at the seams with painterly detail, like a Hayao Miyazaki film painted by van Gogh. The story is a thrilling eco-adventure that pits a plucky, wild-haired young girl against profit-hungry developers, with the future of life on Earth in the balance. One night, Mia has a premonition. So after saying a few words of parting at her mother's grave, she bids goodbye to her elderly-aunt caretakers and sets out on a cross-continental journey through mountains and jungles to find her father, who has been trapped in a disaster-plagued construction site on a remote tropical lake. In the middle of the lake stands the ancient Tree of Life, watched over by innocent, bumbling forest spirits called Migoo, who grow and change shape as they please, morphing from small childlike beings to petulant giants. It is the Migoo who have been sabotaging the construction to protect this sacred site, and now together with Mia, they must join in a fight to find Mia’s father and save the Tree. Preceded by short Don't Let It All Unravel.

Download a Parent Discussion Guide for this film


Recipient of the HSBC Environmental Award. Recommended for ages 8–16. (92 min, in French with subtitles)