Chris Chiarella

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated feature film (and only the third animated movie to be nominated as an International Feature Film too), Flow is a thoroughly engrossing story of an unnamed cat who finds himself swept up in the raging waters of a recent flood.

Maria von Trapp's bestselling book revealed her uplifting journey from would-be-nun to determined governess of seven gifted but mischievous children, further chronicling her marriage to a retired naval officer and their daring escape from the Nazis in the early days of World War II. A 1956 German film of the family's story followed, and of course the wildly popular Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical, which in turn led to a lavish movie adaptation. Director/Producer Robert Wise worked closely with screenwriter Ernest Lehman and his actors to purge overt sentimentality and reshape the previously established narrative, resulting in a surprisingly serious exploration of faith, destiny, and ultimately the courage to do what's right.