Animation Shows

In the past few days I've had the chance to check out some local animation screenings hosted by the NFB for World Animation Day. Last Thursday was Ron Diamond's Animation Show of Shows, a touring program affiliated with AWN. We were asked to send Ron our thoughts on some of the films, so these are the ones I felt were the most worthy to write home about.

John and Karen - Nothing short of brilliant! Character animation at its finest. I'm glad this film was included and it was a perfect way to open the show.

Madame Tutli-Putli - Astonishing and beautiful, and definitely raises stop-motion to a new level. This one has been talked about alot, and deservedly so. It's probably the most interesting stop-motion film to come out of Canada since The Sandcastle.


I Met the Walrus - I'm not usually too impressed by films in this medium, the sort-of abstract quality that looks like it's done in Flash or AfterEffects(?), but this one was an exception. A clever idea using innovative use of computer animation. But what's up with Canada being described as "Nothing"?


Ujbaz Izbeneki Has Lost His Soul - Loved it! Great puppets & animation, brilliant sets. Had a great Twilight Zone quality to the writing.

Pearce Sisters - I saw this film for the first time at the Platform Festival. Enjoyed it even more this second time. Very innovative use of 2D/3D and finding a new way to use technology but still maintain a hand-crafted look, while at the same time, creating an atmosphere. You actually feel like you are on that rainy island! The story, although slightly macabre, is still charming in a strange way.


How to Hook Up your Home Theater - the highlight of the evening, and the main reason I made sure I attended the show. I love the classic Goofy shorts and it's great to see the studio bringing this tradition back. I only hope the film gets the wide release it deserves. Outside of being screened along with 'Enchanted' it should be made available to the public afterwards. The writing and cartoon exaggeration was superb, and perfectly captured the essence of what it's like to hook up a home theater. I kept saying to myself, 'Yes, that's exactly what it's like!' Wonderful wonderful wonderful.


Administrators - Amazing, especially for a student film. Was extremely entertaining and funny, while at the same time it had a good message.

I found something interesting and enjoyable about almost all of the other films, some more than others...there's always the strange art-speak droning abstract stuff you have to sit through at these things, and funny films with really bad drawings (And why is it that ALL French films have accordion music?) I suggest anyone who gets a chance to see this travelling show to check it out.

These days I'm fighting off my annual cold into submission by drinking lots of fluids and trying to stay happy so I'm not down for the count for trick-or-treats or the animation festival this weekend.