Best Latvian animation movies

A solitary cat, displaced by a great flood, finds refuge on a boat with various species and must navigate the challenges of adapting to a transformed world together.

After suffering a plane crash on a mysterious island, a young man embarks on an epic journey through forests, deserts and mountains trying to escape the shadow of a huge dark spirit.

A boy is afraid to leave his oasis because of the spirit waiting for him outside.

A lonely old man lives in the countryside. The only thing left for him is to wait for the end of his days in the company of his family - his bees.

The personal story of a woman struggling with an inherited illness, as told by Signe Baumane, the Latvian director-animator living in New York City. With humour and courage, the director sets out on a challenging journey to discover her family’s best-kept secret. Featuring five stories about the courageous women in Signe’s family and their battles with madness, visual metaphors, surreal images and director’s narration.

Otis, a young firefly, is in trouble. He wants a girlfriend and he can't get his light to shine as bright as the others.

A little boy pulls out one Martian toy from a vending machine and it turns into a real alien who takes him to his planet, where he is surronded by the toys from the vending machine, but much bigger.

The participants of a ritual are performing a rhythmic energy discharge. Suddenly, a vibration sound comes from outside. Spectators are hurrying back to their places. A dramatic ending can begin.

From an early age, songs and fairytales convinced Zelma that Love would solve all her problems as long as she abided by societal expectations of how a girl should act. But as she grew older something didn't seem right with the concept of love: the more she tried to conform, the more her body resisted. A story about the acceptance of the inner female rebellion.

Andulis, a little bat, wakes up at the wrong time and discovers that he, unlike his fellow bats, loves sunlight and warmth. After making friends with Little Mouse, who looks almost like him, Andulis is surprised to find out that, unlike his own dwelling, Little Mouse’s house is not upside down.

A testament to the power of film – a witty summary of the entire history of Latvia from ancient to modern times in eight minutes.

She comes at night, quiet as a cat, to take his sleep away until he feeds her. All she needs is milk brought by him somewhere between sleep and reality. Her name is Insomnia.

In winter some people go ice-fishing. Excitement intensified by freezing temperatures and strong drinks lead to unpredictable consequences.

Ilze Burkovska, a little girl who is obsessed with stories of World War II and will be a filmmaker in a distant future, lives in Latvia under the totalitarian boot of the Soviets and the ominous shadow of the many menaces and horrors of the Cold War.

The night watchman's usual ritual – Tetris game – is suddenly interrupted by a technical flaw. One of the surveillance cameras breaks down, and the game begins to dictate its own rules.

While working near a psychiatric clinic, an electrician is struck by an accident at the very moment he sees a woman on the other side of a fence. Because of the electric shock, he ends up in the hospital, where he gets accustomed to the everyday life of the patients. In order to return to his previous life, he goes through the process of world creation, like a god.

A man sitting under a tall apple tree is writing a letter.

Summer adventure story about two kids who spend summer in city suburb, where together with talking dogs they rescue the romantic wooden-house neighborhood from reconstruction.

A little boy dreams of becoming a professional hockey player. Unfortunately, one day he is forced to give up on his passion. His love for sports is revived after several decades when he has his own son. While shopping for a Christmas gift for the boy, the man’s childhood memories return; the main player in them is his constantly drunk father.

A message brought by the wind urges a lonely man to go out to the city, but there is someone who does not want him to leave the room.

A former pilot looks back over his life: the Earth, the Sky, the Woman – everything that took place on the journey from an air strip to an abandoned boat house. Memories and flashes of various time periods create a surreal mood in which the present, past and future all exist at the same time.

A man continues to throw rubbish into the forest, to the great annoyance of both the forest ranger and the forest animals, but when he refuses to stop, more drastic measures have to come into use – and this is where the forest ranger luckily gets the help of a dog, a cat and a mouse, who have had enough of the litter lout.

In a 17th century Swedish Livonian village, constant rain and drunkenness prevail. When a stolen relic sparks witchcraft accusations, an 80-year-old self-proclaimed werewolf named the Dog of God arrives with a mysterious gift: The Devil’s Balls.

The white tranquility of mountains is disturbed by colorful winter sports enthusiasts who enjoy downhill skiing.

No one knows how it happened, but not long ago a Latvian bear arrived on the Estonian island of Ruhnu. The islanders were really afraid. At first they tried to catch the bear, but were only able to find his footprints. Later they invited a professional hunter from Finland with a special bear dog. Still no success...

This film is the cinematic continuation of a classic poem by the Latvian poet Rainis. It follows the subsequent adventures of its main heroes – eight peas – and their interactions with the world around them as well as with the cycles and laws of nature. These musical and countable stories tell about the peas’ adventures after spilling out of their original home, the pod.

A cat wakes up surrounded by water and must learn to survive.

A charcoal on paper animation about a motorcycling circus bear who decides to leave the daily routine and takes off to the forest where his true happiness seems to dwell. Selected at 70+ film festivals. International Festival Premier at Clermont-Ferrand 34th Int'l Short Film Festival, France, 2012.

A man escapes from prison and meets a boy who has run away from school.

Acorn Boy needs a bit of patching up so he can join his friends in the miniature village.

The story of an obese kiosk lady who is stuck in the kiosk.

A veterinarian routinely goes on house calls to treat sick animals. He is able to save most, but one time he arrives too late. The animal dies, and that breaks the veterinarian's heart. One night the animals that he has treated come to him in a dream. He receives love and forgiveness. When Veterinarian wakes up, his heart has healed.

Tonight, Anna and her dad have decided to walk home through the forest. Anna takesa torch and dad lights it up for her. The silent nocturnal forest is as enchanting as it is scary – and the bright flameas protective as it is blindingly bright.

After a plane crash, a young man and his dog, who are stranded on an deserted island, must bond together in order to survive the elements.

A musician becomes deaf and struggles to adapt to a new life.

When the daughter of the Sun and the Moon is stolen, desperate parents call people to get their baby back. Helpers are given only three days: if at that time, the Sun's daughter will not be found, she will lose her strength and become an ordinary girl. A journey of danger and adventure, which teaches everyone not only to be brave and resourceful, but also helpful. The Latvian animated film is based on folklore motifs.

At times soaring above the clouds, at times reaching the lowest of lows, I fight to survive and to find a place for myself.

A world-famous boys' choir goes on a tour. In the hands of their severe conductor they are an obedient musical instrument. But left alone without supervision, they are just playful children. Once in Seoul the conductor is accidentally trapped in the elevator, and the boys are left alone.

Little Devils revolves around two mischievous devils who make their way up from hell to a farmhouse in Latvia. The devils start pulling devilish pranks, such as putting the farmer to bed in the barn, and the bull to bed beside the farmer’s wife. When two thieves enter the scene, chaos ensues as they discover "the farmer" is a monster and "the bull" can talk.

By recording the sounds of the print machine gears and visualising them in animation using the drypoint technique, the author removes the concept of repetition associated with printmaking, and the random alterations that occur in the printing process give the animation more life thus merging two dynamically opposite art forms - animation and printmaking.

Pigtail loves the winter holidays, but this year, shortly before Christmas, Brother comes into the world, turning everything upside down. Grandmother arrives from the countryside, because Pigtail’s parents no longer have time to take her skating, but Pigtail and her best friend, Mr. Sleeplessness, don’t like the new order. They come up with a plan – to send Brother and Grandmother to the Moon, in a bid to reclaim parental attention.

A diary of an office worker’s day. A humorous look at his casual homosexual adventures turns bitter when it is revealed that he is already in a relationship with a deeply depressed, alcoholic man.

A near-sighted girl is in a hurry. Her near-sightedness makes it difficult for her to function. From small bits and pieces of seemingly random spots of light and darkness silhouettes of bodies appear.

An animated lullaby for children by Latvian poet Māris Čaklais.

A lonely woman street cleaner's letter to unknown person, written on the first day of the New Year: a year spent observing the seasons and dreaming of a miracle for the following New Year.

A young man anxiously crosses the road. Gints Zilbalodis first short film.

A bull fight takes place in the main arena in Madrid, the capital of Spain. This time, however, the toreador is not as successful as usual and must run away to save his life. Finding a safe place from the angry beast, the toreador uses his mobile phone to call for help. The Rescue Team receives his distress call. It is the very first call from Europe. Using their new, yellow airplane, three brave men depart immediately for a rescue mission...

The guards of honour stand in front of the historical symbol of the state. No matter what season and weather is out there, they fulfil their duty. Is there a limit beyond which this honourable duty begins to look exaggerated?

Once upon a time, Rowan, the earl of heaven, woke up old. From that moment on, all his future plans were in the form of the past. A film about a man's inability to cope with the aging of his body.

The Crazy Fox, familiar from the children’s books, is now roaming around a maritime village experiencing unusual and impetuous things – she saves a snail, overfeeds on pears, jumps up and down on a trampoline, becomes friends with a mermaid and helps her escape an aquarium.

The strange creatures Munk and Lemmy encounter very human problems and attempts at solving them. Here, they try to help their friend the rabbit, who is unable to reach the fruit he desires. A film from the Munk and Lemmy series.

The film is a tragic story of a rural woman who, until the first frost in the woods, is trying to pick all the remaining mushrooms. She is running out of time and obsession with the inability to manage it gradually destroys the woman. Imperceptible from beginning, but over time already visible, just like mushrooms, the inability grows and takes over the main character.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, I had my friends, but now they're dead.” When Anna Zaķis was young, she experienced the upswing of social networks. Once active cultural life has slowed down but the desire for real conversations is still there. She will fight to the end... for a chance to talk with someone.

(22/8/1986;- earth:84)

One owner takes great pride and care in his private lawn. One day he sees a mushroom growing there. The mushrooms are growing and there is no stopping them. The owner calls the Emergency Brigade, which arrives immediately and gets to work.

A story about Penguins. About their ‘consolidated’ society and unified thinking. About fashion and the crowd instinct. Yet despite all this, the protagonist is the Penguin who has always been regarded as the black sheep of the group. He is different…he has his own opinion.

An animated film to celebrate the city of Riga's 800th anniversary. Justin, the chicken, longs to become a Golden Rooster and to guard Riga. The city is shown as a dream world full of mystery and strange creatures that live alongside people and are not that very different from humans.

Thelma is a little penguin who is not like the others. She doesn’t like snow very much, or freezing water, and she wishes she could fly. Was that because she was born in the Great Forest, and partially raised by her best friends, Cat Vilhelm and Mouse Sophia? Living in the Land of Ice again, Thelma also worries about her upcoming birthday. What if Birthday doesn’t find her snow-covered house - will she have to stay for forever? When Thelma tries to organize a Birthday Party for her forest friends, she tumbles into a great adventure that will teach her all she needs to know to become a proper penguin.

Mischievous animals - such as the Tiger Calamazoo and his bird friend Councel - and goofball humans with big faces, cobbled together from cardboard and bits of string, face new, insurmountable problems and perilous situations throughout 7 short adventures: The Movie Studio, The Baby Bird, Holes in the House, Bonjour les sauvages, Early Morning, The Thief, Upside Down.

The famous three men of the "Emergency Brigade" go to the rescue of a situation in Parliament.

Tiger Kalamazoo is visited by distant relatives - a family of cats from the city. The tiger and his friend greet the visitors happily, but they do not behave as expected by their friends. Life in the tiger's house becomes increasingly difficult and the tiger has to find a way to politely get rid of the intolerable visitors.

A story about a boy's attempt to get his own hat. Based on the book and drawings of Latvian author Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš.

An animation film based on Latvian folk tales about Kurbads, a son of a mare, who saves princesses and defeats the evil witch.

A cat's "songs" late at night interrupt the retired man's sleep. The noise is getting intolerable and the old man calls The Rescue Team. They arrive immediately, without even finishing their supper.

A comic fantasy of the most famous characters in the Latvian literature. A story about their adventures throughout the 800 year-long history of Riga city.

How the Stripped one and the Dotted one were playing in one sandbox and how it all ended.