Synopsis: The Dhust is about a hidden world of small people helping the human race. A fun and family-friendly animated pilot.

Juror comments: I find this animated film, The Dhust, funny, starting with how the writer came up with fictional characters named "dhusts” and how they helped Albert Einstein solve a challenging equation he couldn't solve until the dhusts helped him solve it.

The story follows a family of dhusts that help humangos (humans) think, have new ideas, and resolve situations. The 15-year-old dhust named Kelly narrates how her grandparents helped Albert Einstein solve a mathematical equation. These dhust live with the humangos in small places of the humangos' houses who do not know they exist.

The storyline is very original. The dhust characters are minuscule (dust-like), smart and clever. The voice-over actors that play them deliver excellent performances, with each character given a distinctive voice. The shortcoming may be that their mouth movement doesn’t quite match the words, but it’s not a big drawback. The animation is 2D and very clear. I particularly enjoyed the drawn character of Einstein; it seems quite suitable for this iconic figure. The background music is quite dramatic, in a fun kind of way. The film takes place mostly at Albert Einstein's office and later the dhust's family humagos’ home. The animated characters are cute and funny. One of my favorite scenes is when they board a fly as if it’s their private airplane with doors that open and a set of stairs folding out. But, their influence goes way beyond Einstein, in fact, they are credited with influencing almost every major human accomplishment going back to the Stone Age! I find the “faux” science approach to this fun and clever.

Their message might be that there are things going on that you had no idea were - at least in our imaginations.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 11, plus adults. This would be fun to play at the KIDS FIRST! Film Festivals. Julie S., KIDS FIRST!