Our Friend Martin

This extraordinary animated film follows a quartet of sixth-graders who are working on a class project about the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. When their class visits King's boyhood home, the two principal characters are magically transported into the past and into the presence of the young Martin. Their subsequent time traveling takes them through various key points in Dr. King's life, as well as providing a Capra-esque sequence in which we catch of glimpse of American society without the influence of King's ministry. The animation is very well done and the film benefits from the vocal talents of numerous actors, including Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Susan Sarandon and Ashley Judd. The film's most winning aspect, however, is the screenwriting, which raises key issues of segregation and racism through dialogue and pointed visuals, including archival film footage integrated seamlessly into the animation. There's hardly of whiff of didacticism in an hour's worth of story telling, but the point comes across with the singular clarity and power of a thunderbolt. Enthusiastically recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: E, P. (P. Van Vleck)