Customer Reviews

The Animation Show Volume One

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As everyone has pointed out, this DVD's content differs from the original theatrical release. That in itself isn't really a problem except that 3 films left out of the DVD happen to be 3 of the best entries in the original lineup. I already own "Rejected" on DVD, but I was very disappointed by the absence of "Mars and Beyond" and "Vincent." (If you really, *really* want them, they can be found on "Walt Disney Treasures - Tomorrowland" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" respectively.)

Still, it's worth getting this DVD if only for Don Hertzfeldt's 3 new shorts + the old favorite "Billy's Balloon" (which was an unannounced surprise in the theatrical release and *is* included in the DVD). Mike Judge's oldies are gut-splittingly funny as well, especially the classic "Office Space." The others are mostly hit-or-miss though, and probably should belong to Spike & Mike's Classic/Sick & Twisted festivals instead.

This collection is just too cool for words. If you are an adult who is still drawn to the quirky offerings of Adult Swim on Comedy Central, this collection might just be for you. It's got the same quirky, non-mainstream feel. Don Hertzfeldt's simply drawn stick figure cartoons, for example, bring out the best in absurd humor. Cuts like "Billy's Balloon" and "Intermission in the 3rd Dimension" literally had me laughing until I cried.

As a whole, the DVD is a bit uneven. "Cathedral," in particular, didn't seem to fit quite right. I'd say the split is about 75 percent humor and 25 percent drama. If you are a fan of "adult" animation, I would definitely add this collection to your wish list. If you are more of a passing fan, I'd try and find it at a movie rental place first. Good luck, it might be pretty hard to find.

Stunning outworldly landscapes, freakish clay people, and insane bad acid trips. Yep, you'll get everything you can think of and more. ;)

This film is an arrangement of several international animation shorts, and you're bound to find at least one you like. Being international, it does mean some of these films are foreign, and you'll have to squint to read the subtitles in "Mt. Head." (You'd think after that Goldmemeber parody the guys who make those subtitles would get the idea) Some films have no dialouge, so that's easier on the eyes.

The emotional qualities of these films range wildly from overwhelming awe (the Cathedral) to extremely bitter humor (Billy's Ballon), and if you want your kids to grow up emotionally disturbed and confused, this is your film. (of course, I saw "Heavy Metal" at age 5 and I didn't remember it because I had no idea what was going on and still don't)

Some of these films are family-quality entertainment, like Tim Burton's "Vincent", very similar to "Nightmare Before Christmas". Then there's Don Hertzfeldt's Intro, Intermission, and Ending that will make anyone over 13 laugh uncontrollably and make anyone under 13 disillusioned. It's possible it could be the other way around, though.

You might be thinking "Oh, it's animation, it'll be like Disney," and you are absolutely wrong. There are styles of animation in here I've never seen before, in mediums I'm not sure I'll ever see again. They go from impossibly professional to laughably amaturish. Also, maybe you're thinking "If it's like Disney, then it's good for kids." Again, false; some of this is great material for children, some of it is definitely not. Watch this movie yourself first, then watch it with your kids to filter out what they don't need to watch. I don't like censoring children myself, but anything like "Rejected" has stuff that most kids won't be able to understand.

If you're just looking for high-quality entertainment, this is designed to satisify. You'll most likely see things that you've never seen before, and maybe never will. This is a million miles away from the mainstream, and hopefully "Animation Show: Volume 2" will have even more faraway tales done with moving pictures that no one at Toon Disney can even comprehend.

UPDATE (5/10/04): Turns out the DVD version is different from the theatre version. A few films were taken out from the theatre version and some new ones added for the DVD version. The new ones are suprisingly tender (the Adom Elliot trilogy), some were... well, lame (like Illustrastions of Moving Machines or something similar to that title. It should be a standard rule that the films should try to tell some kind of story, but oh well, that's just me). I'm dissapointed that some films like "Rejected" and "Vincent" were left out of the final cut, they were my favorite films and I can't find them anywhere else! They better be on Volume Two!

Although I still like the final product (Mike, Don, next year, throw in a few interviews, I don't care if they're foreign), if you expected the theatre version on DVD, it's not the exact same product. A word of warning.

Listen, I buy a lot of collections of animation on DVD. This is one of the better ones. I'm not saying it's perfect, but Amazon's review is way too dismissive. So many collections make you wade through a bunch of second-class shorts to see just a couple gems; the ratio here is exactly the other way around.

Hertzfeldt's shorts are top-notch, but you expected that. What you may not have expected is that so many of the other shorts are also excellent. Adam Elliot's Brother, Cousin, Uncle trilogy is fascinating and very affecting; I don't understand the Amazon reviewer's claim that it is "mean-spirited". It is nothing of the kind, although it is often sad and disquieting. Alex Budovsky's Bathtime in Clerkenwell is fantastic work and deserves special mention. Jeremy Solterbeck's Moving Illustrations of Machines did not interest me overmuch until I found out that it consists entirely of hand-drawn ink artwork, and then I was astounded at the creator's attention to detail and incredibly skilled technical ability. In fact, almost all of the shorts are either pretty, technically well-done, emotionally moving, or at least funny, and very often a combination of the above.

I do have to single out one short for negative comment, however. Corky Quakenbush's The Adventures of Ricardo is out of place on this collection. It is not funny, well voiced, or well animated. It's simply bad, and it brings down an otherwise very enjoyable collection of shorts. The main problem is that when the creator of the short voices the supposedly 4-year-old Ricardo, he sounds much closer to a parody of a mentally handicapped person than an actual four-year-old. Quakenbush has a somewhat uncomfortable commentary track in which he wonders why some people have a bad reaction to Ricardo. I'm amazed that no one took him aside and gave him a heads-up. Regardless, there are other problems with the short, and it can be safely skipped.

Overall, though, the collection is significantly better than many of the other animation anthologies available. I recommend it.

This animation dvd is a great first effort at putting together some of the best and most original anime of our generation. I have seen the second volume in theaters, and cannot wait for it to come to video....WOW. Both are a must for an anime enthusiastic and freak like me!!!! :)

I've just previewed an advance screener of this DVD and can say with no exaggeration that it's very easily the best animation compilation yet. Kudos to Judge and Hertzfeldt for stepping up and investing so much personal care and quality into this series - Their basic love of the form really comes through on this release.

Most of the animation festivals I've reviewed in the last 25 years would be lucky to feature just a handful of these films, let alone all of them. Funny, poignant, eye-popping, there's not a single bad apple in the lot.

The DVD also comes with about a dozen "extras" from almost all of the cartoonists involved - not just filler and fluff but substantial features, something else I've never seen done so well before on an animation collection.

While some of the short films may not be suitable for very young children ("50 Percent Grey" contains gunplay and "Aria" has a scene of dolls making love), there is nothing to be found here to cause concern beyond a PG-13 rating.

Very impressive and highly recommended. I can't wait for v.2

UPDATE: In reply to the reviewer asking about the omission of the short film, "Rejected", Mr Hertzfeldt has stated that it was left off this DVD in order to make room for the work of other artists. "Rejected" is readily available on DVD from the Bitter Films website.

It is also important to note that this collection indeed is slightly different than the theatrical collection, which I believe is the stated central point of the Animation Show: to continue to put the spotlight on new and exciting films and to convince people to go to the theater to see the truly rare stuff.

Case in point, the restored "Mars" film from the Animation Show theatrical program is owned by Disney which means you'll never see it on a non-Disney DVD.

Buy the Animation Show DVDs but be sure to check them out in your local theater too if you want to see the very best of this program!

Simply put: the Animation Show has something for nearly everyone.

It has the insane, twisted and often incoherent humor of Don Hertzfeldt in his 1998 work Billy's Balloon along with three shorter pieces written explictly for the animation show. Add to that three Corky Quackenbush Ricardo shorts and some wacked out Mike Judge experiments including the original Office Space short and you have enough to satisfy those who love sick animation.

It has incredible works of artistic mastery. Moving Illustrations of Machines is an incredible hand-drawn labor of love made by one man over the course of four years (to the earlier reviewer who did not think that it told a story, I reccomend doing some research on the piece). It has La Course A L'Abime which melds art, animation and music into a perfect crescendo in the final scene. It has Katedra, which is a CG masterpiece, but unfortunately looks poorly compressed on this DVD (the only film to disappoint technically).

It has great stories. Brother/Cousin/Uncle weaves interesting and detailed character sketches in mere minutes. Das Rad is a wonderful little piece that will make you smile.

When you tell people that they should watch the Animation Show, they instantly think that they are being told to watch silly Warner Bros. style cartoons (they will be when Parking comes on), but what you will really be suggesting is taking a trip into a world where an amazing form of storytelling can get some fresh air - the world of the short film.

Buy the DVD. It is the purchase of the year (and a bargain at twice the price) and you will help to support this independent film scene continue to produce works of art that make us laugh, make us think and make us enjoy life.

I love this DVD! I use short films in some other live video work that I do, and these shorts are fun, clever and great to watch. this is the first volume, and vol two just gets better. THe DVD has some problems playing in a few DVD players, but, otherwise, it is fantastic.

I love this DVD.
It's wicked awesome, and the special features are equally awesome.

Spike and Mike have always had good animation shows, they usually have some work by Don Hertzfeldt. This is the better than those Spike and Mike animation shows, because it has lots of Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge. Mike Judge is a genius. He created Beavis and Butthead and Office Space. He is co-creator of King of the Hill. If you don't like king of the hill and office space you probably wont like this. But if you dont like king of the hill and office space you are a loser!