Apr 14, 2020
Looking to welcome a story into your home? Hoopla’s streaming video collection has got you covered with thousands of movie and TV titles!
Hoopla hosts an eclectic mix of videos for both adults and kids, including TV series and specials from networks like PBS and Acorn TV, blockbuster and arthouse films from distributors like Mongrel Media, and kid-friendly favourites like the LEGO animated titles. It’s also worth noting that Hoopla offers optional English subtitles on all of its videos.
Sign up with your library card and email address, then you can borrow up to 8 titles (temporarily increased from 4) per month. You’ll be free to stream and re-stream your selections for 72 hours before they’ll be automatically returned. And for a limited period, Hoopla is also offering a selection of “Bonus Borrows,” titles you can check out that don’t count against your monthly limit.
Visiting the Hoopla homepage is a great way to find some streaming suggestions, but here are a few more recommendations to get you started. Please note that you can best access the links provided by being logged into your Hoopla account.
From the small screen
If you’re looking for gripping TV, you can hardly do better than the acclaimed British police procedural Line of Duty. Following an anti-corruption unit as it investigates evidence of crime within the police force, the series is both thrilling and addictive; each season’s story contributes to an increasingly-complex overarching plot.
If you’re a fan of historical drama, Hoopla hosts all seven seasons of A French Village, which chronicles the fictional French town of Villeneuve during its World War II occupation. Tracking the community from 1940 until the war’s end, the series is acclaimed for its depth and nuance; its characters and storylines reflect that when put in extraordinary situations, people rarely emerge as simple heroes and villains.
Hoopla’s TV collection doesn’t end there. Investigate international favourites like classic, long-running crime series Maigret and Silent Witness. Or delve into new intrigues likes dramas Keeping Faith or The Churchmen. Check out the MHz Networks collection to find more like these. Or take a lighter approach and laugh with stand-up specials like the First Nations Comedy Experience, or virtually visit restaurants with Marcus Samuelsson’s No Passport Required.
Streaming cinema
Hoopla’s film collection offers titles as intriguing and thoughtful as they are entertaining and absorbing. Directed by the lauded François Ozon and starring Paula Beer and Pierre Niney, Frantz is a mournful and moving historical romance with an oft remarked-upon aesthetic power that nevertheless manages to surprise and provoke. Nominated for best film, screenplay, and director at the 2016 César Awards.
Based on the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove is the darkly comic tale of an obstinate and sullen retiree who slowly begins to build bridges to the changing world around him. Praised for being affecting without tipping into sentimentality – and for the performances of its leads, Rolf Lassgård and Bahar Pars – A Man Called Ove is ultimately a film about the power of community to transform and support.
Digging into Hoopla will also reveal an array of essential documentaries – like portraits of giants such as Maya Angelou and the Dior fashion house – and critically-acclaimed classics ranging from The Red Balloon to Wild Style.
For kids
When it comes to children’s video, Hoopla offers countless worlds to uncover. Raven Tales is a CGI-animated series that explores, explains, and celebrates stories and folklore of Indigenous Peoples by following the troublemaking Raven and friends. Told with both humour and sensitivity, Raven Tales is simultaneously entertaining and educational.
Adapted from the beloved series of books by Mélanie Watt, Scaredy Squirrel tracks our slightly-neurotic hero through a series of adventures as he develops confidence and overcomes his fears.
A few more suggestions: explore Read-Along videos, picture books read aloud with both illustrations and text on screen so that young readers can follow along. Practice your language skills with the Dino Lingo series, take part in some Kids Yoga, or watch an Asterix movie!
When exploring Hoopla for children, don’t forget to activate “Kids Mode” to limit searches to kid-appropriate titles. You can do so in your account settings, or in some browsers simply by clicking the “Kids” logo by the search bar. A check mark will appear denoting that it’s active.
If you’ve found something in Hoopla that you think others will love, be sure to share it in the comments below. Happy watching!
Blog post contributed by Daniel from our Content Services department.