Raven Tales…the Reviews are In!
TV critics from around the world have discovered Raven Tales, and they love it! Read the reviews below for more…
Raven Tales blends the stately ancestral style of Native American art effortlessly with the hip, vernacular pizzazz of today. Raven, the hero, is the archetypal trickster, endowed with curiosity, persistence and daring. Raven’s video debut has been exhibited at film festivals worldwide and received over twenty prizes and multiple broadcast offers internationally. A dozen further “Raven Tales” will be rolled out in Canada on the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) next year, starting in March with “Raven and the First People,” with release on DVD to follow. Children are not the only ones in danger of getting hooked.
- Wall Street Journal, Jan. 4th, 2006
…the most extraordinary and delightful film at this years Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase is the animated Raven Tales: How Raven Stole the Sun…the results are dazzling; the animals are stunning, their forms based on the totems and renderings from Native Cultures, and the colors of their dreamscape environment are natural and fresh.
- Crosswinds Weekly, August 17th, 2005
As for standouts, Raven Tales showed up all the rest of the children’s competition, including some CBC and PBS favorites by winning the National Film Board of Canada award for Best Animated Film. Raven Tales will no doubt be a hit as a series as well as set an example for other First Nation filmmakers.
- Vancouver Sun, March 11th, 2005
Easily the best film at the 2005 First Peoples Film Festival …with the aid of 21st century technology, Raven Tales will enchant both the child and the inner child sleeping in the heart of any self-respecting adult.
- Montreal Gazette, August 21st, 2005
Provides both children and adults with an entertaining and fun experience. Raven Tales is a fascinating and impressive use of the computer animation medium…Perhaps the best thing about Raven Tales is that it points toward a rich future for Native American film-makers.
- The Vancouver Province, October 17th 2004
Easily the best in Native American film-making this year, Raven Tales played to multiple sold out audiences who filled the room with laughter and ovation. The creators of Raven Tales indicate they are hoping to make a full twenty-six episode series and it is my sincere hope that they succeed.
- Santa Fe New Mexican, August 29th, 2005
The highlight comes in the beautifully portrayed, dynamic scene in which the sun is brought out from its box and flung into the sky; the plants and flowers spring up on the land and everywhere is filled with light. The entire amazing production from design to voice recording was the work of Native Americans, who took great care to transmit their traditional culture in an authentic way.
- Japan Prize Jury