23rd Animix Festival in Tel Aviv celebrates Disney

The annual animation festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque celebrates its 23rd year as it runs August 8 through 12.

Known as Animix, it’s Israel’s largest event for works of animation, comics and caricature, where local enthusiasts gather with access to the international and local world of animation.

The festival includes five days of screenings of full-length animated films, short films for both adults and children, tribute events, workshops, lectures, and artist meetings.

The event is celebrating Disney this year and 100 years of the world’s largest animation brand, with screenings of classic films, lectures about Disney films such as “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” as well as the secrets of Mickey Mouse and Disney princesses, along with workshops about dubbing, sketching, drawing monsters and other insights into the animation giant.

The climate crisis is another theme of the festival, with a screening of Israeli film “Island” by artist and animator Michael Faust (who drew the animated film “Legend of Destruction” about the Roman destruction of the Second Temple).

The festival will host tributes to Yonatan Geffen and Meir Shalev, the two Israeli writers and creative spirits who passed away in recent months.

There’s also a tribute to voice actor Albert Cohen, the Hebrew voice of Fireman Sam, Captain Hook and the magician Merlin from “The Sword and the Stone,” who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

The program will take a look at the world of dubbing and include a program for kids to try their voices.

As always, the festival addresses current events and will host “Draw Me a Protest!” program about the continuing mass protests against the government’s planned judicial shakeup, with a talk and exhibit looking at the impact of visual protest, and the small stories illustrating the larger protests.

Ticket prices range from NIS 25 to NIS 45 with a full schedule and details at the Animix website.