Toon in, turn on

>> The Animation Show compiles
highlights from across the cartoon spectrum

by MALCOLM FRASER

Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space and Idiocracy, has been moonlighting in recent years as the curator (with partner Don Hertzfeldt) of the cartoon compilation The Animation Show. Now in its third year, the program of U.S. and European work, spanning the spectrum of animation genres, is swinging into our town to fulfil the curators’ mission of screening animated shorts on the big screen.

Several of the selections represent the newfangled, digital end of cartoon craftsmanship. Run Wrake’s Rabbit, a twisted tale of two rural kids who discover a golden idol while experimenting with animal cruelty, combines digital and traditional animation, while Max Hattler’s brief but spectacular Collision is a kaleidoscopic abstraction that ranges from the psychedelic to the political in a few quick minutes.

Old-fashioned 2D animation is represented with some lightly comic but nicely executed pieces. Cartoon mainstay Bill Plympton (who is also being honoured at the Cinémathèque this month) is represented here with Guide Dog. In this, the sequel to his Oscar-nominated Guard Dog, a hyperactive canine tries to get himself hired as a guide with comically disastrous results. Welsh director Joanna Quinn offers Dreams and Desires, in which a middle-aged woman attempts to make a wedding video in the style of classic European silent films, but ends up creating more chaos than cinema.

Everything Will Be OK is directed by the compilation’s co-curator Hertzfeldt. He may have had an unfair advantage in getting through the application process, but the 11-minute film is actually one of the highlights of the program. Though the animation starts out in a crude style, it quickly progresses to include some lovely abstract imagery. It’s also one of the best-written pieces of the bunch, a darkly humourous story of a man’s near-death experience.

Another highlight is Overtime, directed by French animators Oury Atlan, Thibault Berland and Damien Ferrié. A large group of Muppet-like creatures is forced to come to terms with the death of their human creator. Beautifully shot and full of genuine pathos as well as humour, it’s the rare short film in any genre to fully capture an emotional tone. All told, the program is well worth the while for animation fans or anyone who might be curious as to what the genre is all about.

The Animation Show opens at the
Cinéma du Parc this Friday, May 18

>> Movie Listings