Best Latvian family 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.

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.

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.

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 family film based on the book Bille by Vizma Belševica. An extraordinary, lonely yet spiritually strong little girl attempts to comprehend the adult world, which in her eyes is very contradictory, and to prove her own value despite the ignorance and lack of appreciation by her family in late 1930s. Bille tries to find an escape in her vivid imagination.

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.

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.

Can you honestly swear that at least once in your life you have not thought that robbing a bank is a good idea? Especially, if you're five years old and that bank has just thrown your parents out of a brand new apartment, because your father has lost his job. Five year old Robby is no Zorro, but he'd like to be. His seven year old sister Louise thinks he's too childish, but can't resist the game of robbing a bank. Together they can pull off just about anything. Getting away with it is the hard part.

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

Mary is a 12-year-old girl with a passion for cooking, absorbing information from her grandmother, who is a wonderful cook. However, Mary and her family must come to terms with her grandmother's illness.

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.

Eight-year-old Oskar’s holidays start miserably; his parents “swap” the computer for his granddad to protect the child from the dangerous influence of the Internet.

An animated lullaby for children by Latvian poet Māris Čaklais.

The two sisters' parents have gone abroad to earn the living, so the girls Marta and Linda needs someone to take care of them. For that they have their dictatorial spinster aunt Una, who desperately wants to get married, and has a sympathy for the jeweler Ivo. Meanwhile, Marta is working hard to get a promised puppy, but her plans are ruined, as her aunt feels a strong despise for dogs. So, the relations between the girls and their aunt becomes really tense. Until the perfect plan of the sisters - to help the aunt to get married, to get rid of her.

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...

Summer, 1989. City girls, Paula and Laura, spend their summer holidays in a small town with their cousins, Maija and Linda. Four girls, left unattended, enjoy freedom, imitate the life of adults, plunge into reckless adventures and get into trouble. Based on true events, nine-year-old Paula’s story of growing up is set against the background of time when Latvia made her first steps towards independence.

Ralf, 35, is saving his relationship by taking his girlfriend’s son on a boat trip with an aim to establish himself as a father figure. Not a wildlife expert himself, he also takes on board his office buddy, and it soon becomes clear that this unpredictable, flamboyant womaniser is a world away from being an example to look up to. As Ralf tries to protect the boy from his friend's unsophisticated look on gender and sexuality, soon they are confronted with the realities of the sharp winding river and the roughness of Latvian nature.

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.

A white cat owns a mill, but loses the mill to a black cat and the devil. Latvian animation.

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.

Ziemmassvetku Jampadracis tells the story of the Cirulisi, a tight-knit family down on their luck, and their trials and tribulations during the Christmas season.

A police officer and his family arrive at their countryside home in a grim mood and unexpectedly meet Santa Claus. The children drag Santa into their scheme to save the family, while their parents start preparing for the celebration, unaware that the friendly Santa is in fact an escaped prisoner.

After returning to his homeland, Baltaine's bacon pie Henry The Great reveals that his homeland has been taken over by Oriental pies under the terrible leadership of Tsar Aivens, and there is nothing left but to start a heroic fight for the liberation of the homeland.

Fairytale of the the good girl and the bad girl, who gets the prince?

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.

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.

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

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.

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 raccoon and his wife are having a regular nice day in their home in a tree. That's until they hear the noise of a woodchuck attacking their lovely abode...

An animation by Roze Stiebra, Lielais Kristaps award for Best animation film 1998.

While the parent bears are gathering reserves for the winter, the cubs are having fun with a ball of wool … A story told to the tune of a Latvian lullaby, “Hush Hush Little Bear” (‘Aijā, žūžū, lāča bērni’).

Mother takes her eight-year-old daughter Antonia to a children’s creativity camp. Antonia is not happy about having to spend time under close adult supervision. On their way, she spots a sign saying ”The Robots Have Escaped!” The sign unleashes Antonia’s imagination and grows into a fantasy of how exciting her stay in the camp might turn out to be. Of course, Antonia’s and the robots’ paths intersect at the camp, where they intend to steal children’s dreams during their afternoon nap to convert them into ingenious commercials. Thriller-like events unfold. Thanks to Antonia’s inquisitive and rebellious nature and with her best friend and favourite toy Yeti by her side, the robots’ intention is averted.

A film for children about how a baby comes into this world. The sexual revolution happened in Latvia thanks to Māris Putniņš, an artist and soon-to-be among the most visible Latvian puppet animation specialists. In 1989, he published a series of drawings showing that babies aren’t brought by storks or found in cabbage patches in the famous children’s magazine Zīlīte. This popular-science film by Roze Stiebra recreates this long-kept-from-children truth on the big screen.

Ness and Nesija is the first Latvian full-length animation film. The story of love between two huge sea creatures that is complicated by distance and ecological issues.

A particularly hot day in the savannah is tormenting both people and animals. The local savannah inhabitants decide to ask the idol for help, offering the captured Munka as a sacrifice.

A young couple walks down the street. The wife talks and talks, without looking at her husband. When she finally looks, it turns out that the husband has disappeared. There is a big hole nearby, so he has fallen in. Panic sets in and the Emergency Brigade is called. Rescue work can begin underground.

While Munks and Lemijs are having a nap, a fellow animal loses their tail under mysterious circumstances. It's time for our heroes to wake up and help out a friend in need and help them find their tail!