Big Drive (Sur la Route)

Anita Lebeau's short—presented in both English and French versions—boasts attractive animation but relatively little in the way of narrative. Essentially, it's a “road” vignette about four sisters who amuse themselves in the backseat of the family car (speeding home from a visit with their grandparents) while their parents up front largely ignore their shenanigans. Like generations of kids in similar situations, the girls tussle and play games, all in good fun, to make the time pass more quickly. Big Drive can be taken as a simple celebration of sisterhood or as a tribute to the power of a child's imagination. And it certainly demonstrates Lebeau's skill in combining old-style, hand-drawn animation with computer-generated images that resemble photographic stills—a juxtaposition that can be striking. But while fitfully engaging and entertaining, this is a marginal acquisition, overall. Optional. Aud: P. (F. Swietek)