This Year, 'Mickey Saves Christmas' for the Kids
An animated short film that never gets old, especially with iconic characters from the Disney series.

Serife Tavsan, a woman in her seventies, has always lived for her family in a quiet Turkish suburb. After her sudden husband’s death, she finds herself alone for the first time. Her worried children send her aimless grandson, Onur, to live with her. As Serife begins to savor her newfound freedom—befriending a young rebellious waitress and an eccentric tour guide —her children grow increasingly alarmed.
An animated short film that never gets old, especially with iconic characters from the Disney series.
I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.
Gritty and bleak are the best words to describe this film. There’s nothing happy about it.
'The Mad Woman and the Feminist': This Spanish entry for the MiamisFF directed by Sandra Gallego handles a difficult conversation in a smart, memorable way.
As one of the women said in the film, friendship in your teens is “as important as any lover” and it’s clear they lived that philosophy throughout their early adult lives as well.
Cartoon Saloon is an animation studio that should be appreciated more. They tell unique stories with unique animation, proving that 2D animation is still alive and well.