The Three Wishes

Elsie, who lives in a secluded house in the Far North, desperately wishes for a pet to keep her company. So the North Wind creates a magical cat out of snow--but with a warning: the cat must never enter Elsie's warm little house. Full of wisdom and sensitivity, this heartfelt story is perfect for a child's sensibility. But people of all ages will be drawn to this timeless tale of enduring love. Filmmaker Sheldon Cohen teamed up with other artists who created an original technique especially for this film, notably Jeamy LaBrosse's innovative finger paint animation and Daniel Schorr's watercolour brushwork painted directly onto each frame. This film is inpired by the story from celebrated children's author Dayal Kaur Khalsa.

In this charming animated story, young May wants a dog more than anything else in the world. May thinks about dogs all the time. She talks about them, reads about them and covers the walls of her bedroom with dog pictures. But every time she asks her parents for a puppy, they tell her to wait till she's older. All her clever ploys meet with a resounding "NO." May remembers her father's words when she was little and learning to roller skate: "If at first you don't succeed, try again." So she follows his advice... in fact, she comes up with an ingenious idea to persuade Mom and Dad to change their minds. This fun-filled, offbeat story about a girl's hopes and dreams will enchant young viewers and their parents. Set to delightful music with doo-wop vocals, I Want a Dog is based on the book by celebrated children's author Dayal Kaur Khalsa.

Anansi the spider is tired of being looked down on by all the jungle animals--just because his webs don't catch bugs. The fearsome Mr. Tiger promises to respect the little spider if he brings him Mr. Snake, the world's grumpiest creature. After much wily scheming and plotting, Anansi delivers a humiliated Mr. Snake to Mr. Tiger. Only then does he realize that Mr. Tiger's respect comes at too high a price. Anansi doesn't want to make anyone miserable, not even Mr. Snake. Anansi stands up to Mr. Tiger and, in the end, this is what wins him the respect of the other creatures. The Magic of Anansi is part of the NFB's Talespinners collection. Created for children aged five to nine, Talespinners uses vibrant animation to bring popular stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.