TIFF Lightbox Sets Animation Season Guest Curated By Masaaki Yuasa

Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s Akira and Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3 are among the animated titles that will screen at the TIFF Lightbox as part of Drawn Universes: Visions in Animation, the animation season guest-curated by veteran Japanese filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa. Drawn Universes: Visions in Animation will run from November 19 to December 29 at TIFF Lightbox. The series features 17 features and four shorts selected by Yuasa. On November 28, Yuasa will take part in an In Conversation With… event at the Lightbox. He will also introduce screenings of Richard Williams’ The Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time (November 27) and Isao Takahata’s Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables (November 28). Drawn Universes: Visions in Animation launches with Paul Grimault’s The King and the Mockingbird on Friday, November 19, and will kick off with an opening reception. Other titles featured as part of the season include Fantastic Planet (1973) by René Laloux, which will be screened from a 35mm print; Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); and Gisaburō Sugii’s Night on the Galactic Railroad Gisaburō Sugii, also screening from a 35mm print. Scroll down for the full list of titles. Watch on Deadline “In curating this series, I wanted to look back at films that sparked my own imagination and influenced both my predecessors and the generations that followed,” Yuasa said in a statement. Director Yuasa began his career working on the TV series Chibi Maruko-chan and Crayon Shin-chan. His feature directorial debut was Mind Game (2004), which won several honours, including the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize and awards at the Fantasia International Film Festival. He later directed The Tatami Galaxy and Ping Pong the Animation, and in 2013 co-founded the Japanese animation studio Science SARU with Eunyoung Choi. He directed an episode of Adventure Time, earning an Annie Award nomination, and won Animation of the Year at the Japan Academy Awards for The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. He left Science SARU in 2020 after Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, later receiving the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2021. He directed Inu-Oh, which earned nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Annie Awards. In 2025, Yuasa established a new studio, Ame Pippin, Inc. PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE November 19, 6:30pmThe King and the Mockingbird (1980)dir. Paul GrimaultRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa(Opening night film, preceded by a reception) November 20, 6pmAKIRA (1988)dir. Katsuhiro Ôtomo November 21, 2pmPinocchio (1940)dirs. Bill Roberts, Wilfred Jackson, Ben Sharpsteen, Jack Kinney, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, Hamilton Luske November 21, 4:30pmLupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)dir. Hayao Miyazaki November 22, 2pmNight on the Galactic Railroad (1985) 35mmdir. Gisaburō SugiiRecorded introduction by Masaaki YuasaProgramming Partner: with Japan Foundation Toronto November 22, 5pmThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)dir. Mamoru Hosoda November 24, 6:30pmAKIRA (1988)dir. Katsuhiro Ôtomo November 25, 6:30pmThe Triplets of Belleville (2003) 35mmdir. Sylvain ChometRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa November 26, 6:30pmFantastic Planet (1973)dir. René LalouxIn-person introduction by Mark JonesCommunity Partner: Sheridan College Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design November 27, 6:30pmThe Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time (1992)dir. Richard WilliamsIn-person introduction by Masaaki Yuasa November 28, 4:30pmAnne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables (2010)dir. Isao TakahataIn-person introduction by Masaaki YuasaProgramming Partner: Japan Foundation Toronto November 28, 6:30pmIn Conversation With… Masaaki YuasaProgramming Partner: OCAD University November 29, 4pmFantastic Planet (1973) 35mmdir. René Laloux December 2, 6:30pmLupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)dir. Hayao Miyazaki December 4, 6:30pmThe Triplets of Belleville (2003) 35mmdir. Sylvain ChometRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa December 5, 4pmThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)dir. Mamoru Hosoda December 6, 4pmGhost Cat Anzu (2024)dir. Yôko Kuno, Nobuhiro YamashitaProgramming Partner: The Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival December 10, 6:30pmThe Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)dir. Henry Selick December 12, 4:45pmThe King and the Mockingbird (1980)dir. Paul GrimaultRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa December 13, 2pmThe Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time (1992)dir. Richard Williams December 13, 4:30pmLong Way North (2015)dir. Rémi Chayé December 18, 6:30pmGhost in the Shell (1995)dir. Mamoru OshiiRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa December 19, 3:30pmToy Story 3 (2010)dir. Lee Unkrich December 20, 2pmRelaxed Screening: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)dir. Henry Selick December 20, 4pmAnne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables (2010)dir. Isao Takahata December 22, 6:30pmShorts Films Curated by Masaaki Yuasa:Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952) dir. Tex Avery / Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) dir. Yuri Norstein / The Man Who Planted Trees (1987) dir. Frédéric Back / Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993) dir. Nick Park December 24, 2pmGhost in the Shell (1995)dir. Mamoru OshiiRecorded introduction by Masaaki Yuasa December 27, 3pmGalaxy Express 999 (1979)dir. Rintarô December 29, 6:30pmLiz and the Blue Bird (2018)dir. Naoko Yamada