"Zhiharka" is labeled by the New York International Children's Film Festival as appropriate for kids eight and up, but in our family, stories of dangerous foxes trying to eat kids are pretty common - Z makes them up and makes me repeat and embellish them, and my role is usually to give them an upbeat ending. This short film by Oleg Uzinov adapts a traditional folk tale about a fox who tries to kidnap a young girl, and it's a joy to watch, especially because the plot's sources of humor are so familiar to anyone raised on American cartoons (an irrepressible and somewhat naive toddler in constant peril, an antagonist who suffers increasingly humiliating and painful defeat). Watch and enjoy!

- Jeremiah