Forget the socks and jocks, for creative and crafty dads who love movie magic, making things and a good cheese board and glass of wine, here are five ways to keep everyone entertained this Father’s Day.
And if you’ve left buying a present until the last minute, the ACMI Shop has gifts for pop culture and film mad dads.
Wallace & Gromit and Friends: The Magic of Aardman
Maybe your dad loves cheese and sweaters, perhaps he’s always hammering away on his own cracking contraptions, or maybe he just reminds you of the Pirate Captain with that beard he used to wear (or is trying to grow), either way, he’ll get a kick out of seeing the craftsmanship, wonder and laughs that go into Aardman’s claymation creations.
With plenty of hidden Easter eggs, sneaky adult content and iconic animations from the past 40 years, Wallace & Gromit and Friends is perfect for kids and adults, with a claymation film studio where you can make and take home your own stop-motion movies.
VR in Screen Worlds
Strap on some goggles and take a family road trip with a difference in our new virtual reality experience The Turning Forest. In this VR production from VRTOV, enter a mystical forest and take a fairy tale ride on the back of a mythical creature in an immersive experience for you and old.
Situated in our permanent free exhibition, Screen Worlds, The Turning Forest is the newest family-friendly display, which also includes favourites Proximity and Shadow Monster. In Proximity, families can get together in a pulsating video work controlled by your movements, while Shadow Monster makes burping, flatulent beasts from silhouettes that delight kids and mean dad doesn’t have to blame the dog. Of course, for the dad’s who think they’re ‘the One’, they can flex their bullet-time muscles in The Matrix-inspired Time Slice.
The cafe & bar
Aside from having Wallace & Gromit-inspired Wensleydale Welsh Rarebit and Mrs. Tweedy’s Chicken Pot Pie on the menu, the ACMI Cafe & Bar opens right onto Fed Square, which will be getting a Hogwarts makeover as Muggle, Squibs and wizards alike take-over for Melbourne Writers Festival’s Harry Potter Day. We’ll be getting in on the action with magical treats, including pumpkin pasties, steak and “no kidney” pies, Hogwarts cupcakes that represent the four houses, as well as Butter Beer for discerning dads.
Studio Ghibli film season
Words of wisdom don’t always come from our parents. Sometimes we learn life lessons from what we see on screen… or giant, furry spirits of the forest like Totoro. On Father’s Day we’re screening a selection of acclaimed films from Studio Ghibli, including favourites The Cat Returns, Ocean Waves and of course, My Neighbour Totoro, which teaches the importance of family and caring for one another, and even if it didn’t, is just plain adorable.
Much like Marley giving his review!
Family day
Oh, and we forgot to mention that the entire building will be electrified with families learning to write and animate stories in our free Family Sunday event. Beloved storyteller and illustrator of The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan, will reveal how to get ideas onto the page and screen, while comic book lovers can craft their own narratives while animation masterpieces are made on iPads.
