“Hello Maggie!” (2025, 23 minutes), an animated film based on the book of the same name, will be screened at Southern California venues on the weekend of March 28-29.
Willie Ito’s film will be shown during the Nichi Bei Foundation’s Films of Remembrance program as part of the “Artistic Interpretations” program on Saturday, March 28, at the Japanese American National Museum’s Tateuchi Democracy Forum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.; and Sunday, March 29, at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, 1964 W. 162nd St. in Gardena, from 12:55 to 2:10 p.m.
The program will also include “Dust” by Glenn Mitsui and “Procession” by Bruce Tetsuya. A panel discussion will follow the screenings, featuring Ito, Mitsui and Tetsuya, moderated by John Esaki.
For more information: https://2026.filmsofremembrance.org/
Films of Remembrance was held in San Francisco Japantown on Feb. 21 and San Jose Japantown on Feb. 22.
Ito will be a special guest on Friday, March 27, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim.
He will appear in “A Conversation with an Animation Legend” with award-winning author and historian Mindy Johnson at 3 p.m. and “Hello Maggie!” will premiere at 4 p.m., followed by a panel with Ito, director Tony Tarantini, and executive producer Logan Christie. Both events will be held in Room 209.
For more information: www.comic-con.org/wc/
From the tear-jerking score and original song, composed by Carlo Chiarotti, to the charm that exudes from lead character designer and animator Sandro Cleuzo, “Hello Maggie!” is a heartfelt true story of hope from a poignant era in U.S. history. Directed by Tony Tanantini, Sheridan College professor of animation, it is being screened at many venues in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and Japan.
The book by former incarceree Shigeru Yabu recounts his story of being forcibly removed from his family’s home in San Francisco and sent to Heart Mountain in Wyoming in 1942. While in camp, he found a baby magpie that he kept as a pet during the war. The bird provided comfort to Yabu, his family, and friends as they endured three years at Heart Mountain. Ito, Yabu’s childhood friend, illustrated the book.
Born in 1934 in San Francisco and incarcerated as a child at the Topaz camp in Utah, Ito transformed his passion for drawing into a 50-year career in animation, working on Disney’s iconic spaghetti-kissing scene in 1953’s “Lady and the Tramp.” He continued to work at Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, Bob Clampett Productions, and other studios before returning to Disney in the early 1970s.
After retiring from Disney in 1999, he went on to illustrate children’s books, including “Hello Maggie!,” “A Boy from Heart Mountain,” and “Lucy: Mascot of the 442nd RCT Medics.” “Hello Maggie!,” which he co-produced, is his first animated short film.
Ito is a recipient of the prestigious Winsor McCay Award from the Annies, Comic-Con’s Inkpot Award, and a Legend Award from the Nemo Academy in Florence, Italy. He received the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Spark Animation Festival on the occasion of the Canadian premiere of his film in Vancouver, British Columbia. The film was also screened at last year’s Heart Mountain Pilgrimage.
For more information on the film, visit: https://hellomaggiefilm.com/