The BIFF Kids Film Festival finishes tomorrow at the Liberty Theatre. Here are some of the highlights.

KINDERTOONS II

10.30 a.m. (Ages 3 and up)

THE LITTLE SHOOTING STAR: A German effort about an unloved Z which is tired of being last and so teams up with a shooting star to get ahead. This reviewer showed it to his two- and four-year-olds but it failed to register much interest.

THE LITTLE SHORT-SIGHTED SNAKE: This hilarious Estonian animation was quickly judged a hit by this reviewer's select panel of tots, who requested repeated viewings which were willingly obliged. The language wasn't a barrier as the tale is just as visual as we follow the shortsighted snake's attempt to fend off a Neanderthal youth threatening the jungle animals. They plot revenge while the snake more sensibly offers peace on his terms and the pair bond over a love of books. A story with a moral without being moralistic, this was first class.

PORORO THE PENGUIN — DON’T DO THAT: My two-year-old loved this tale — and no wonder. It features universally loved animals — cuddly penguins, frogs and polar bears — who get involved in daring action sequences in a riot of colour.

THE PROPELLERBIRD: This German effort is an absolute gem. It features a large awkward bird, who can fly only by aid of machine, who spends his airborne moments menacing much smaller sparrows who try to fend off the threat. Great animation and ideas make this wordless four-minute classic something you'd happily watch again and again.

ALWAYS TAKE THE WEATHER WITH YOU: Sunrise Productions specialise in gripping cartoons about African animals which jump from one hair-raising predicament to another. In this episode, a monkey copes with some extreme climate changes. My children love this series and I am sure yours will too.

WILLY AND WILD RABBIT: This Swedish tale covers the adventures of a hutch rabbit who is sprung from captivity and teams up with a wild counterpart with a love of first aid. The pair must dodge danger to help other animals and it proves too much for Willy at one point. The film is unusual in that the characters are animated but the background is film of a real forest.

U

Noon (Ages 6 and up)

An unhappy princess called U, who mopes in her castle, is suddenly awakened from her malaise in this French tale which boasts a great soundtrack and some beautifully-crafted animation. U teams up with a new friend and meets a travelling band of musicians who disturb her mother but lighten up the sleepy neighbourhood. Soon U falls for the cool cat Kulka who plays the guitar. Sure, he and his pals can play a mean tune. But the problem with this film is when the music stops and dialogue resumes. The characters chunter on, the plot meanders and the viewer is left scratching their head wondering what it’s all about — other than the general theme of facing and accepting change. It’s difficult to see what age group it’s aimed at. At 71 minutes it seems extraordinarily long as the viewer could well be forgiven for looking at their watch praying for another musical interlude. There is no humour to push it along, apart from one throwaway line at the end which comes as an act of mercy. U? U must be kidding me!

LITTLE HEROES

2 p.m. (Ages 8 and Up)

A classic kids' tale of misfits banding together for wild adventures, 'Little Heroes' hits all the right buttons. Set in Israel, the hero, who is struggling with the death of his father while the neighbourhood bully lurks, teams up with a Russian girl with telepathic abilities, her mentally challenged brother and a straggler picked up a kibbutz as they go on a dangerous rescue mission to rescue to injured teens trapped in the desert. The group argue, explore, get shelled by troops on exercise and eventually bond on their journey. All of the child actors are utterly engaging and the film neatly deals with some of the tribulations of childhood. 'Little Heroes' has won a string of awards at film festivals elsewhere and it is not hard to see why.

WILD CHICKS

4.30 p.m. (Ages 9 and Up)

This German tale about pre-pubescent pals who band together to fight for justice to chickens has a timeless innocence about it. Sprotte battles her evil pistol-totting grandma, (who clearly spent years working for the Gestapo and the Stasi before going into subsistence farming) to spare the lives of her feathered friends who seem destined for the pot. So her pals in the Wild Chicks gang are roped in. Not quite up to the job they get help from their arch rivals the Pygmies who are boys! Urghhhh! But of course with their hormones clicking in their alliance is not as unpleasant as they expected. It's a quaint tale which is saved from being too saccharine by healthy doses of social reality. Sprotte's mother is a lovelorn dreamer who fantasies about escaping from poverty by fleeing to America while Willi, of the Pygmies has a physically abusive father who is willing to take everyone on. The Wild Chicks and Pygmies tackle all these problems with varying degrees of success in a film which should keep the family entertained.