Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

As we’re all hunkered down in quarantine, let’s take a look back—way back—to those ancient days of about two weeks ago, February 29, 2020, in which it wasn’t weird to gather about 200 people in one place, when we did a screening of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival at the Rialto Theater in beautiful Tacoma, Washington!

In that same trip I also did a screening at the Children’s Film Festival Seattle and a school screening at Eisenhower Elementary in Vancouver, WA. Those screenings were great, but the Tacoma screening is always the biggie. Tacoma always does a red-carpet paparazzi session in the lobby, with the young filmmakers sashaying glamorously and posing for their adoring fans. It was glorious!

For years Tacoma Public Library has been making the film festival amazing, and it’s all due to the astonishing, resourceful efforts of their teen librarian Sara Sunshine Holloway. Thanks also to Mariesa Bus, John Hargis, and everyone at the Rialto who pulled together to make this happen. Thanks to Bret Stein for doing photography. And thanks to Doug Mackey, who once again co-hosted with me, and was on fire that day. Hilarious stage presence, great singing, wonderful guy. Here’s our opening skit, recorded by Bryan Johnson of the Grant Center for Expressive Arts (thanks, Bryan!):

The first few years of doing the 90-Second Newbery in Tacoma, we did the screening in a meeting room at the library. Then for a couple of years we screened it at Tacoma’s Blue Mouse theater. Now we’ve moved into Tacoma’s biggest venue, the Rialto!

And of course, thanks most of all to the amazing kid filmmakers who made movies for the film festival! At the end of the show, we gave special awards to each one of them, including First Place Champion to Angela P. of Kent, WA (there she is, above!). She won it for her wonderful animation of Gary Paulsen’s 1988 Honor Book Hatchet:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “This is a beautifully animated, technically accomplished movie that tells the complete story of the book swiftly and with style! The loose, casual drawings are perfect for the rapid-fire barrage of images, in which we must digest many scenes very quickly . . . I was impressed at how the pictures and the spoken narration worked together to set up the story quickly and keep it on track as it barrels along!”

Last year, the Kelley Family of Tacoma submitted two great 90-Second Newbery movies. They came back this year with two more winners! This next movie is Fletcher and Otto’s adaptation of the “Dragons and Giants” vignette from Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Newbery Honor Book Frog and Toad Together, a sequel to their movie last year of “Cookies.” You’ll quickly understand why this one walked away with the Best Stunt Work award:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The performances are wonderful to watch, with charisma and charm to spare . . . it was entertaining to watch Frog and Toad running and sledding through the beautiful snowy countryside, encountering a snake, a steep mountain (with an avalanche of snow!), and a hawk (flapping its terrifying wings). The movie told the story quickly, accurately, and with style!”

The other movie by the Kelley Family is based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 1941 Newbery Honor Book The Long Winter, adapted by Nigel and Simone, who perform this survival story in the style of the song “Stayin’ Alive.” It was a shoo-in for Best Song:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The disco lights and costumes were creative touches, and the dancing and singing made this a delight! The movie made resourceful use of the snowy weather, and the wintertime activities of sledding, standing in an icy river, and snowball-throwing were all good ideas . . . and I liked how the masked dancer devours the whipped cream that falls off the sled.”

We featured one movie of Hatchet above, but actually we got quite a few versions of Hatchet from the Tacoma area this year. This version is by Bryce M., Aidan M., Ethan M., Colton R., and Layia D. of Summit Trail Middle School (Ms. Hohn’s class), but with a twist: the kid stranded in the woods is a ridiculous YouTube gamer who has absolutely zero survival skills. This one definitely deserved the award for Funniest:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Deranged, hilarious . . . This fool tries to take Minecraft and apply it to reality . . . Our gamer narrator does a great job of speaking in the language of these YouTube stars (‘All right gamers! Smash the subscribe button! See more epic content!’) . . . Of course the best part is when two normal people walk by our narrator and ask him what he’s doing, he says he’s making a surviving-in-the-woods video, and they point out the school is within sight and he’s in no danger at all.”

That’s not the only movie we got from Summit Trail Middle School! Here’s one with a similar premise . . . also based on a survival story (although this time it’s of Jean Craighead George’s 1960 Newbery Honor Book My Side of the Mountain), and it’s adapted by Tayte E., Weston C., Matthew M., and Kaden P. of Ms. Hohn’s class. And once again, the main character is a YouTuber, but less ridiculous. I do like how he keeps his hair precisely styled, even after living in the woods for months. This one earned the award for Best Modernization of the Premise:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The graphic overlay worked well to make it look like a vlog . . . The movie sprints through the events of the story quickly but accurately, culminating in Sam’s family coming to join him to live with him, to his disappointment (‘Mom says you have to live under a roof until you’re 18.’ ‘Noooooo!’). Technically accomplished, solid craftsmanship, well done!”

The last movie from Summit Trail Middle School that we featured at the screening was of Jason Reynolds’s 2018 Newbery Honor Book Long Way Down, adapted by Torrie C., Kaylee B., Addy H., and Shirin J. of Ms. Hohn’s class. You will understand immediately why it won for Best Art:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “This movie effectively uses elaborately-drawn illustrations and laconic, deadpan narration to quickly sum up the story. The stark black-and-red pictures were impressively detailed and worked together well with the spoken narration to push the story forward.”

Summit Trail Middle School isn’t the only school that submitted lots of movies! As usual, Mr. Johnson’s Fifth Grade class from the Grant School for the Expressive Arts submitted many brilliant, technically accomplished, highly entertaining movies. Each of them was excellent in its own way, such as their adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s 1986 Newbery Honor Book Dogsong, which was awarded Best Costumes:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Great cinematography and green screen work in this swift retelling of the story! I was particularly impressed by the resourcefulness of the scenes with the sled, especially in the scene where the dogs are pulling it along. The climactic fight with the polar bear was satisfying to watch, and I was amused at how Russel is clearly falling asleep during the elder’s story of the old times.”

The next movie from Mr. Johnson’s class is of Meg Medina’s 2019 Newbery Medal Winner Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and it won for Best Cinematography:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “I loved the emotional reactions of the characters, such as the way Merci’s friends grab each other and gasp in horror as Merci cuts off her rival’s eyebrows (and I thought it was clever how you digitally erased the eyebrows!) The green screen was effectively deployed, as well as the fast forward during the egyptian project part.”

The next movie from Mr. Johnson’s class at the Grant Center is based on Bill Brittain’s 1984 Newbery Honor Book The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree, and it won for Best Editing:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Here’s a fun twist to The Wish Giver: instead of the narrator Stewart Meade encountering the magical Thaddeus Blinn as a weird old man in a carnival tent, the two of them are Logan Paul-esque YouTubers (I love how these segments always end with them approaching the camera and obscuring it with their hands, a true YouTuber power move). The performances were confident and expressive, the music was well chosen throughout, and the combination of green screen environments and real-life locations worked well.”

The next movie from the Grant Center is of Rita Williams-Garcia’s 2011 Newbery Honor Book One Crazy Summer, which won for Most Accelerated Story. Don’t believe me? Check out how the girls both meet their mother, and their mother is arrested, all in the same scene:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “An amusingly accelerated, pretty much accurate summary of the story! The green screen was resourcefully deployed to make the settings come alive, and I liked how this movie made the plane ‘land’ in San Francisco . . . The climactic poetry-reading was handled well, and I liked Cecile’s rapid change of heart . . . Good work!”

The last movie we received from the Grant Center was of Janet Taylor Lisle’s 1990 Newbery Honor Book Afternoon of the Elves, which won for Best Special Effects with its green-screen shrinking of the actors into elf size:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Great homemade elf village, green screen locations, and well-chosen music to make the story look and sound good . . . My favorite part was that, when Hillary sneaks into Sara-Kate’s house, she doesn’t see Sara-Kate taking care of her sick mother as she doesn in the book, but rather dancing disco with some tiny elves! . . . Bizarre and entertaining!”

The next movie is of Patricia Reilly Giff’s 2003 Newbery Honor Book Pictures of Hollis Woods, adapted by Zac, Thomas, Amelia, Amanda, Aniyah, Olivia, and Evelyne of Rainier Elementary School on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It did a great job getting almost every important detail of the book right, and so it very much earned the Truest To The Book honor:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “All the characters, especially Hollis, are acted in a grounded way that makes them believable. Resourceful use of props to indicate the various locations, like the art on the wall and canned goods to indicate Josie’s house, or the resourceful cat mask to indicate the cat, the red wagon to indicate the truck, or the woodland mural backdrop to indicate the outdoors. I like how Hollis occasional turns directly to the camera to address the viewer to bring us up to speed on her thoughts and emotions . . . Good narrative craftsmanship, solid cinematography, engaging acting, and brisk editing all make this movie work!”

I love to see real-life actors, but puppetry can be just as interesting to watch too, and sometimes even more so! That’s the case with this next movie, based on Scott O’Dell’s 1961 Newbery Medal Winner Island of the Blue Dolphins, adapted by Evelyn & Joanna. It handily won Best Puppetry:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “It was fun to watch this well-drawn, inventive puppet show. The voiceover narration was expressive and told the abbreviated story of the book very well as the paper cut-out puppets represented the action, especially during the battle scene, the scene with the burning of the village, and the capture of Rontu.”

Every year we also get a ton of great movies from Seabury School in Tacoma. I wish I could feature them all, but check out this next movie based on Cece Bell’s 2015 Newbery Honor Book El Deafo, adapted by Mallorie K. She nailed this performance, and that’s why this movie won Best Acting:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “A refreshingly clear, simple and stylish retelling of the story. The voiceover tells the story with straightforward narration, efficiently guiding the viewer through the major events of the story while we see those events played out with silent-movie acting. The cinematography and editing were very good . . . The cape was a great touch, and I liked the ambitious scenes like when the whole class is throwing a party while the teacher is gone.”

Let’s watch yet another movie from Seabury School, this one by Elena H. and friends! It’s another adaptation of Hatchet, but different: instead of crash-landing in the Canadian wilderness, Brian crash-lands on another planet! That’s why this movie earned the honor of Craziest Change Of Premise:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Ambitious and creative twist to give Hatchet a science-fiction alteration . . . I loved the elaborate tinfoil costume for the robotic pilot and the deadpan way the robot is played. There were many fun resourceful details throughout, like the use of the sound effect of a 90s modem connecting, or the red paper used to make a backdrop for the red planet . . . Good job!”

There’s one more movie from Tacoma I’d like to feature that’s last, but definitely not least! It’s Joseph Ferrier’s adaptation of Esther Forbes’s 1944 Newbery Medal Winner Johnny Tremain, in which he quotes the rousing speech at the end, and it deserved the honor of Best Dramatic Monologue:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “An entertaining and thoughtful one-man show that explores the themes of the book! I was impressed by the voiceover performance, and I appreciated the resourcefulness of how this movie was made: the green screen background (especially during the Tea Party scene), the period costume and gun, the sound effects, and even the detail of the bloody hand from when Johnny Tremain injures himself. The script was tight and well-written and I like how the images synch up with what is being said. Capable cinematography, too!”

. . . And that’s it for the local entries for the 2020 Tacoma 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thanks again to Sara Holloway and everyone at the Tacoma Public Library and Rialto Theater for helping me to put this on. And the biggest thanks of all to the young filmmakers, and the adults who helped them make these movies. I can’t wait to see what you make next year.

A lot of us are home from school for now because of the coronavirus situation, and maybe at loose ends for what to do, so why not use this spare time (if you’re lucky enough to that time, I know a lot of us are scrambling) to start making your movies now? You can find help at the 90-Second Newbery website, including screenwriting, cinematography, and editing help at our Video Resources page.

By the way, a quick request. If you like the 90-Second Newbery, and want to see it continue into next year, please donate to the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. It’s tax-deductible. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

See you next year!

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.

I’ve got to be honest—in light of the current social-distancing recommendations, I’m shy about celebrating our recent screenings of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, which after all brought crowds together in the past few weeks. In any case, because of coronavirus, we have of course canceled/postponed our March and April shows in Boston, Salt Lake City, Ogden UT, Orem UT, and Boulder CO. (As for the Minneapolis show, we’re going to live-stream it. Details to come.)

But let’s look back with fondness on the screenings we did pull off! Back on February 22, what seems like a lifetime ago, we did the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival at the Brooklyn Public Library, hosted by me and Newbery Honor winner Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer). Thanks so much for being a marvelous and funny co-host, Rita. Did you know she used to be Broadway dancer? Check out the video above—you can see she’s still got the moves. It’s our opening skit in which I’ve become a jaded old grump who has lost the Newbery spirit, and Rita helps me get it back in an accelerated parody of “A Christmas Carol.” (Thanks to Mohana and Glynnton for appearing in the skit too, you were hilarious!)

Thanks also to Brandon Graham and everyone at the Brooklyn Public Library who helped us pull this off. And of course thanks to the filmmakers, and the parents and teachers and librarians who helped them! The young filmmakers all posed onstage with Rita and me at the end of the show:

Every screening features a mix of locally-made movies and the best of the movies from across the country. Let’s check out the New York-made movies, and in particular a movie I’ve also shown across the country—of Shel Silverstein’s classic picture book The Giving Tree, adapted by Ella and Friends—

Wait a second, you say. The Giving Tree didn’t win a Newbery! And that’s true. But I’m sorry, this movie is too good to disqualify, because it really gives you a sense of how cruel that boy is, and how much the tree is suffering:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The performances were hilarious, from the jerky little boy to the kind, put-upon, and finally furious tree. The tree costume demonstrated some resourceful craftsmanship, complete even with apples to pick . . . and the movie really starts getting funny when the boy does begin picking her apples, making her shriek ‘OW! Why does it hurt so much?!’ I enjoyed how the movie subtly snarks the logic of the plot: he could have cut down ANY tree, why HER in particular?”

But that’s not the only movie made by Ella and Friends! And this next one did win a Newbery Honor, in 1973—Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Together. It asks the question, what if Frog were a scrunchie-wearing, “sksksksk”-whispering VSCO girl? And what if Toad were a mopey, self-pitying, all-black wearing goth?

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Brilliant! From the very first lines (“Hey Toad, how are you?” “Miserable”) I knew this was going to be great . . . The performances were hilarious and pitched just right. I loved the details like how Frog and Toad had to look up ‘willpower’ of Frog’s phone, or how Frog in true VSCO fashion tied up the box of cookies with a scrunchie . . . This does exactly what 90-Second Newberys should do: take a well-known story and put a creative twist on it. Well-shot and great editing too.”

Every year we get a bunch of great movies from Mr. Adams’s class from the Foote School in New Haven, CT. Like this next movie, based on Neil Gaiman’s 2009 Newbery Medal Winner The Graveyard Book, adapted by Elle, Lia, and Lydia:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “This movie covered an impressive amount of the plot in a very short amount of time! And there were many nice stylish touches too: good use of the doll prop for baby Bod, and the scary dark cloak costume for Silas the vampire. I also thought it was resourceful how the rocks in the field were used to represent gravestones in the scene where Scarlett meets Mr. Frost, and how the scenes in the Sleer’s lair are shot with appropriate dimness. The part where Mr. Frost draws a knife on Bod was a fun action scene too!”

How about doing your 90-Second Newbery in the style of a movie trailer? That’s what this next movie by Louis, Henry, and Amber does, based on Katherine Applegate’s 2013 Newbery Medal Winner The One and Only Ivan:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “It was resourceful to use stuffed animals to portray Ruby and Bob, and animal costumes for the other animals Ivan and Stella (and a wig for Julia!). The peppy music and intertitles explaining to plot were just enough to keep the audience’s understanding on track. Fun performances, especially Julia and the stern look on Mack’s face as he wags his finger at the camera . . . A brief and fun sprint through the story!”

Here’s another movie based on The One and Only Ivan, adapted by Conall and Dylan of Lloyd Harbor School of Huntington, NY. Check out the amazing gorilla costume:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The performances were engaging and fun to watch, especially the cruel guy who runs the mall zoo and the way he and his minions push the animals around. The movie whips through all the major plot points but never feels rushed, with time for lots of quiet moments of the animals telling each other stories.”

We actually featured a lot movies from the Lloyd Harbor School! The next movie is of Victoria Jamieson’s 2016 Newbery Honor Book Roller Girl, adapted by Allison, Jenny, and Zoe:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “An accurate and entertaining adaptation of the book, true to its spirit! I liked the way that Astrid often addresses the viewer directly to narrate the story and keep everything clear and on track . . . The performances were enthusiastic and it looked like everyone was having a good time making this.”

The next movie from Lloyd Harbor School we featuerd was of Louis Sachar’s 1999 Newbery Medal Winner Holes, adapted by Max and Will—ingeniously, in Minecraft:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The movie very effectively uses Minecraft to pull off shots and situations that would have been difficult is real life, like the part with the police car, or the scene in the courtroom, or how it uses an extreme wide shot to show how Stanley is lost in the desert wilderness, and then gradually zooms in on him when he digs his hole and finds his treasure . . . I like how, at the end, after he finds his treasure, Stanley hops into a car (which looks like a Tesla cybertruck?) and zooms away to enjoy his riches. Brutally abbreviated, fun to watch!”

Here’s another version of Holes from Lloyd Harbor School, adapted by Hannah, Kiersten, Molly, and Siena:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “A tight script, fun energy, and committed acting . . . I liked how the movie indicated a cave by having the characters disappear behind the gap in the green-screen curtains! The black-and-white flashback to 1878 was handled well, and I loved the infectious goofy spirit that fills this movie, culminating in the wonderful ‘The Curse Is Broken’ song and dance at the end.”

I love it when homeschoolers get in on the act. Especially when the movie is itself about homeschoolers! The next movie is of Stephanie S. Tolan’s 2003 Newbery Honor Book Surviving the Applewhites, adapted by Brooklyn Apple Academy in collaboration with Cottonwood ALC. Stick around for the rousing ‘Sound of Music’ singalong at the end, complete with blorping tuba:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “It was a clever and resourceful idea to transpose the rural ‘Creative Academy; of the book to the urban setting of Brooklyn . . . I appreciated how this movie took the time to get the details right, like Jake’s punk haircut . . . The arson scenes were creatively handled, burning a cardboard building gets the idea across quite well! . . . Entertaining, never a dull moment!”

Jillian and Joseph Parrino have been making marvelous 90-Second Newbery movies ever since 2014 (you can check them all out here). I always love their creative twists on the stories, like this next one, their adaptation of Richard Peck’s 1999 Newbery Honor Book A Long Way from Chicago:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “This was a funny, clever movie that sneakily also managed to summarize a lot of the book without breaking a sweat! The format of having a the grandchildren directly address the viewer to describe the Grandma Dowdel, complete with pictures and video, was inspired. The brisk peppy music, crisp editing, and tight script kept everything moving quickly . . . This is what a 90-Second Newbery should be: a simple idea, executed with craft and humor, that gets across the story and is funny and interesting and comprehensible even if you haven’t read the book.”

The final local movie we featured is another one, like The Giving Tree, that didn’t actually win a Newbery—although it was written by a Newbery Honor winning author, Gennifer Choldenko. It’s the picture book Dad and the Dinosaur, adapted by Glynnton Buckley (who was in the opening skit with his sister Mohana, herself a 90-Second Newbery moviemaker):

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “I liked how this movie echoed some parts of the picture book exactly: for example, opening with the main character Nick’s foot on a soccer ball. We jump right into the story, quickly describing Nick’s fears at the beginning (while showing some of those things he feared), and demonstrating his father’s lack of fear by having the man not flinch at all even when a snake is slithering on him! There was good visual storytelling when showing how brave Nick is when he has the dinosaur (like riding a bike through a puddle or scaling a climbing wall). The movie told the story efficiently and with style.”

. . . And those were the local entries for the 2020 Brooklyn 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Thanks so much to Brandon Graham and everyone at the Brooklyn Public Library for helping me to put this on. And the biggest thanks of all to the young filmmakers, and their parents, teachers, librarians, and others who helped them make these movies. I’m already looking forward to seeing what you make next year—and it’s not too early to start making your movies now! You can find lots of help at the 90-Second Newbery website, especially screenwriting, cinematography, and editing help at our Video Resources page.

Oh, and if you like what we’re doing here, and want to see it continue into next year, please donate to the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. It’s tax-deductible. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

See you next year!

I’ve been on the road a lot, but I can’t let another day go by without talking about what an amazing time I had at the San Antonio screening of the 2020 90-Second Newbery Film Festival on February 15!

Just as in the past few yeares, it was held at the Witte Museum, and it was sponsored by the great folks at H-E-B (especially Christa Aldrich) and BiblioTech (especially Laura Cole, Carlos Sauceda, and the rest of her team) and the Hidalgo Foundation (thanks to Judge Nelson Wolff and Tracy Ann Wolff).

This is the sixth year we’ve done the 90-Second Newbery in San Antonio. It’s the city where we get the largest crowds and the most movies, and it’s all because of the incredible team and resources Bibliotech, H-E-B, and the Hidalgo Foundation put together, year after year! Thank you so much. I always love coming to San Antonio.

This year my intrepid co-host was the charming, game-for-anything, dryly hilarious Carolyn Flores (author of the picture book Canta, Rana, Canta and more). She was an absolute pro from the word go, with great comic timing. She pulled off the opening skit and the between-movie banter with verve and style. I don’t have a video yet of it, but I’ll put it up when I get it. In the meantime, here we are:

This year we had just under 600 registered attendees (although I think we had maybe 400 in the audience) and way over 100 Texas submissions. The show kicked off with speeches from the San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg (!!) and Hollywood actor Tony Plana. What an honor! The mayor had spoken at the film festival last year too, which was awesome, but this was the first time I’d met Tony Plana. I was too shy to tell him how much I appreciated him in of one of my favorite scenes from the endlessly-quotable 1980s comedy classic The Three Amigos. Tony Plana played Jefe, the second-in-command to the bandit El Guapo, and often in my life I’ve thought of the “Plethora of Pinatas” scene. Below, Tony Plana’s to the left, and Mayor Nirenberg is to the right (with organizers Christa Aldrich and Laura Cole):

Anyway, on to the movies! San Antonio is the only city where I show strictly ONLY locally-made movies, with no ringers brought from out-of-state. And it’s the only screening where we have cash prizes for the schools, libraries, and groups who made the movies, thanks to H-E-B!

The grand-prize-winning movie this year was adapted from the 1972 Honor Book Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles, and it was done by Alinne and Brenda Romero-Torres of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in San Antonio:

And here is their movie, which is so good I’ve shown it at every screening in all the cities in 2020:

As the judges said in part of the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This is an all-time, gargantuan, demolishing-all-competitors amazing 90-Second Newbery movie . . . Everything about this movie is beautiful: the background music, the turning of the pages as they get whited out to make way for the animated images, the way the pages seem to cut themselves into ribbons and weave themselves together! The spoken narration is beautiful and sensitively done . . . A magnificent achievement!”

Second place for the middle and high school category went to Juárez Elizarraraz of the Advanced Learning Academy for his brilliant and resourceful one-man show version of Avi’s 2003 Medal Winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Here he is with his brother Galileo, who won an honorable mention in the elementary section for his animated movie of Fred Gipson’s 1957 Honor Book Old Yeller. (Juárez also helped out in the opening skit, which I’ll get online as soon as possible!)

Here’s Crispin: The Cross of Lead:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “What a masterful one-man show! The cinematography was crisp throughout, with lots of great closeups and insert shots — and a tour de force in the scenes where the single actor, playing two different roles, ‘fights’ himself! . . . This movie tells the story of the book in a unique, enterprising, and resourceful way!”

And while I’m at it, here’s brother Galileo Elizarraraz’s movie of Old Yeller, also of the Advanced Learning Academy, which won an honorable mention in the elementary category. It’s done in an animated style:

As the review says on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Brilliantly animated! I liked the background music, the clear and witty narration, and the great artistic details like the roaring bear, the glow of love around Shiloh, and the various goofy expressions of the characters. The voiceover was refreshingly irreverent . . . Brisk, enjoyable, entertaining!”

But wait, I skipped the third place winner for high and middle school! It was based on 2018 Newbery Honor Book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, and it’s by Michael and Brandon of Thomas Jefferson High School:

As the judges said in part (full review here), “I loved the charisma and enthusiasm of this . . . The cinematography was crisp and tight and worked well with the narration to tell the story, like when he’s getting a good grade on the test or the girls are cooing over him. I’m totally taken with the satisfied, smug look on the haircut guy’s face, it’s his attitude that makes the movie!”

There was also an honorable mention from the high and middle school category that I want to highlight, and it’s an adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s 1988 Honor Book Hatchet by Jackson Nettleingham of Katy, TX. Here I am with Jackson when he’s receiving his award:

(Why do you keep making that face, Kennedy? Stop making that face!!)

And here’s his video of Hatchet. (I’m having a hard time embedding it, so you’ll just have to click the link to see it.)

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The cinematography of this movie is fantastic . . . I appreciated how this movie dispensed with the initial bits about the mother and the plane and dove straight into the meat of the story: how Brian survives against the wilderness! I liked the attention to detail in the camerawork, such as the closeup shot of Brian’s hand as he uses the bow and arrow, or the bird as it falls . . . Minimal and yet tells the whole story. Well done!”

This year, we had a separate category of rankings for movies received from elementary schools. The first place in the elementary category went to this movie of Cece Bell’s 2015 Newbery Honor Book El Deafo, made by Sophia R., Joe C., Miguel M.-G., Zoe V., Danae R., Ivanna H., Camila G., Keily M.-M., Perla R., Santos R., Naimah C., Malakie R., Louis V., Mario O., Julian T., Jesus P., Nathaniel Y. of Price Elementary:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “I loved how many parts of this movie were done in the true telenovela style, with lots of amusing overacting and over-the-top melodramatic performances! Doing the whole thing in Spanish (with English captions) put a really fun and unique twist on this video . . . A real joy to watch!”

Second place in the elementary category went to this movie of Jerry Spinelli’s 1991 Newbery Medal Winner Maniac Magee, made by 3rd and 4th Grade of Lamar Elementary Wondercourse Students:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “The stop-motion animation in this movie is super impressive . . . I loved in particular the flying tears, the ‘yelling’ lines coming from Maniac’s parents, the way Maniac’s hand snatches a football out of the sky, how Amanda’s book gets ripped in half, and the looming buffalo! . . . I liked how the stop-motion animated figures were all monochromatic black and white . . . The paper cutouts were all done in a compelling style that was simple and clear without being too obvious. This movie rocks!”

Third place for elementary schools went to this movie of Arnold Lobel’s 1973 Newbery Honor Book Frog and Toad Together, made by Amara, Ailani, Angel & Eric of Collins Garden Elementary. I was lucky enough to get a picture with them:

And here’s their wonderful movie:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “Utterly charming . . . The music selection sets the fun tone beautifully. The voice performances made me believe that Frog and Toad are good friends and are going to have a thoroughly good time whever they are together. The claymation Frog and Toad are nicely done in their simplicity and I like that the movie took an abstract approach with all the scenery and props.”

There were two honorable mentions for the elementary section. I already mentioned the first one, which went to Galileo’s animated version of Old Yeller. The other honorable mention in the elementary category went to this movie of Wanda Gag’s 1929 Newbery Honor Book Millions of Cats, made by Carlos V & Eric U of Madison Elementary:

As the judges said in part on the 90-Second Newbery blog (full review here), “This was a very impressive use of stop motion! The movements were so fluid! It was an original idea to use Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head to represent the old man and old woman, and the use of pom-pom puffballs for the cats was clever and resourceful . . . I was amused at how the cats ‘fought’ — by throwing the puffballs around crazily!”

There were a lot of other great Texas-made movies featured at the screening, but we don’t have space in this blog post to mention them all! But you should check them out by clicking on them here:

The Year of Billy Miller by My’Ariah S, Mason H, Laila O, Jace B of Miller Elementary (San Antonio, TX)

Bridge to Terabithia by Antonia Dunsmore of Colony Meadows Elementary (Sugarland, TX)

The Book of Boy by India D., Patricio H., Julian N., Sophia R., and Angelica S. of St. Anthony Catholic School (San Antonio, TX)

Frog and Toad Together by Aria, Anabel, Brooke, Alaina, and Viktoria of Young Women’s Leadership Academy Primary (San Antonio, TX)

Hello, Universe by Marely R, Braeson B, Isaiah A, Marely R, Paulina C, Khloe R, Anastasia G, Gizzel F, Makayla A, K’marie A, and Solomon C. of Armstrong Elementary SSAISD (San Antonio, TX)

The Tale of Despereaux by Eloisa B., Alexis E., Arturo P., and Scotty F. of Carvajal ES (GT) (San Antonio, TX)

The Graveyard Book by Eric C., Adelaide H., Israel G., Achilles G., Nyssa D, Layla V., Angelo C., Gracie H., Selin C., Melanie G., and Dayvan C. of Frances M. Rhodes Elementary (San Antonio, TX)

Johnny Tremain by Cecelia Weaver, James McGuyre, Grayson Weekley, Ivana Kovalska, Kat Luna, Alicia Washington, Gabriel Dittfurth, and Ryan Shaw of St. Luke’s Episcopal School (San Antonio, TX)

Millions of Cats by Josephine A., Ian F., Aleksander G., Serenity S., Owen S., and Oliver V. of Hawthorne Academy-2nd Grade GT Students (San Antonio, TX)

The Westing Game by Trinity Episcopal School (Austin, TX)

Thanks so much for a great 90-Second Newbery screening, San Antonio! I’m looking forward to seeing what you make next year—and it’s not too early to start making your movies now! You can find lots of help at the 90-Second Newbery website, especially screenwriting, cinematography, and editing help at our Video Resources page. See you next February!

Oh, and if you like what we’re doing here, please donate to the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. It’s tax-deductible. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.