The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows

For the third straight year, The Rio Theatre is excited to welcome the return of one of our favourite annual movie events – the 19th edition of Ron Diamond’s wonderfully curated ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS, an eclectic mix featuring 16 exceptional and inspiring animated shorts from around the world. At a time of increasing social … Read more

Seoul Station

Directed by Sang-ho Yeon (THE KING OF PIGS, THE FAKE), the highly entertaining and socially aware animated zombie thriller SEOUL STATION is a kind of “prequel” to Yeon’s live-action horror film, the international mega-blockbuster TRAIN TO BUSAN (Korea’s highest grossing film of 2016 that also enjoyed several sold out screenings at the Rio!). SEOUL STATION … Read more

Loving Vincent

This feature-length painted animation — the first film of its kind (and a 2018 Best Animated Feature Academy Award nominee) — explores the life and unusual death of celebrated painter Vincent Van Gogh via depictions of his artworks, bringing the paintings to life to tell his remarkable story. Every one of the 65,000 frames of … Read more

The Rio Grind Film Festival: Junk Head

Japanese animator Takahide Hori spent four years working on his 30 minute short film JUNK HEAD – and another four expanding it into its current feature-length iteration, an astounding stop-motion, post-apocalyptic sci-fi marvel that is an remarkable testament to its genuinely visionary creator. Following its World Premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Fest (The Satoshi Kon … Read more

Shrek

I bet you have never seen a donkey fly! Sometime since the release of this lovable animated satire in 2001 and now, SHREK has morphed into something of a cult-classic, a generational touchstone that make is perfect for a double bill screening with our SHREK 2 on Saturday, August 12. See one, or see ’em … Read more

The Napping Princess

The year is 2020, three days before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. While she should be studying for her exams, Kokone Morikawa is often dozing off, stuck between reality and a dream-world full of fantastic motorized contraptions. But after her father, a talented but mysterious mechanic, is arrested for stealing technology from a powerful … Read more

The Girl Without Hands

In hard times, a miller sells his daughter to the Devil. Protected by her purity, she escapes from the Devil who, in revenge, deprives her of her hands. So begins her long journey towards the light… but in spite of her resilience and the new protection of a handsome prince’s estate, the Devil devises a … Read more

Grave of the Fireflies (2025 Restoration)

Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata‘s poignant animated drama GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES is a devastating meditation on the human cost of war, a tale of survival as heartbreaking as it is true to life. Based on the re-tellings of survivor Nosaka Akiyuki, the film has been universally hailed as an artistic and emotional tour de … Read more

Heavy Metal

“Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty!” We’re celebrating Canada Day with a prime time screening of one of the ultimate, hands-down best hoser animated cult-classic of ever, HEAVY METAL. This cinematic slice of 80s-era superhero sci-fi Canadiana (we’re talking John Candy, Al Waxman, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty et … Read more