Buffalo Kids

1886. Two Irish siblings, Mary and Tom, cross the ocean to New York; they have to find a relative because of land they have inherited. But they have no money and nobody. They end up on an orphan train, one of those carrying parentless children from the east of the country west to families who would take them. Along the way they make friends with other children and have to keep clear of the people following them. Pedro Solís and Juan Jesús García Galocha direct. It is the work of Spanish animation studios. The orphan trains were real. From the middle of the nineteenth century into the twentieth, hundreds of thousands of parentless children were sent west by rail in America; some found families and some were used as cheap labour. The film sets that ground inside an adventure. Pedro Solís had been known for his short films; a short of his about a disabled child won an award in Spain and was widely seen. The narrative is aimed at children and runs in the shape of an adventure; there is danger but the tone never grows heavy. The animation is strong and the western landscapes are worked in detail. Who it is for: viewers who like family animation and adventure, and anyone watching with children. Who it is not for: the script is predictable, the characters are types, and the historical background stays thin.