Joel Crawford’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
Surprisingly mature story of mortality, family and ego supported by a powerhouse cast, electric visuals and good humour
Domee Shi’s “Turning Red”
A solid, entertaining and smart addition to the Pixar canon; if this upset you, you probably deserve to be upset
Matthew Warchus’ “Matilda the Musical”
An adaption of the stage musical(Matthew Warchus, Dennis Kelly, Tim Minchin) adapted from Roald Dahl’s book Mathilda, this is a joyous rendition with enough to differentiate it from Danny DeVito’s non-musical film to exist on its own while not invalidating its predecessor
Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson's “Pinocchio”
A brave and beautiful interpretation of the classic story with real feelings, menace and depth delving into death, loss and the rise of fascism; an instant classic
Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy”
A frothy, modernist medieval coming of age story that probably works for the tween demographic from which the source material was written