Stop emotions: Darkstrider’s collection of clips from classic Eastern European stop-motion animation is like taking a magic-carpet ride to the land of enchanted dolls, but not in a sissified way. The puppets, painstakingly posed 24 times a second, range from adorable to grotesque—and resemble the best CGI animation. It’s clear where Tim Burton got his inspiration for The Nightmare Before Christmas, except these guys weren’t working with Lalawood-style budgets in communist Prague. Blood, sweat and puppets at www.darkstrider.net/gallery2a.html.

Wacky pack: If your cartoon tastes are a little more Saturday morning than art house, Carnival Cartoons are the fun-gineers for you. Their Web site is jam-packed with production and concept artwork rendered in a Jetsons-meets-8-bit style that’ll pop your eyes right out of your head. Highly recommended: Bitz & Pieces, a buddy comedy about a couple of guys made out of garbage! Ewww! This art is so good, with its slime, eyeballs and primary colours, that you’ll want to commandeer a colour laser printer and decorate your living room! Gross out at www.carnivalcartoons.com.

Comments? Michael Citrome