Product Details

• Actors: Heidi Wittlinger, Rainer Basedow, Michael Habeck, Mike Judge, Don Hertzfeldt
• Directors: Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel
• Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Animation Show LLC
• DVD Release Date: May 4, 2004
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000216T7K
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,928 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Animation Show Volume One" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Since the demise of the International Tournées of Animation and the regular Spike and Mike shows, independent animated shorts have become increasingly difficult to see in the U.S. It's commendable that King of the Hill creator Mike Judge and Oscar-nominated director Don Hertzfeldt put together this collection (with slightly different content than the theatrical release), but it's regrettable that most of the films aren't better. Koji Yamamura's Mt. Head and The Rocks by Chris Stenner and Heidi Wittlinger present off-beat, personal visions. The Cathedral by Tomek Baginski boasts dramatic imagery, but a clichéd storyline; Jeremy Solterbeck's brooding ballet méchanique, Moving Illustrations of Machines, doesn't really go anywhere. Adam Elliot's Brother, Cousin, and Uncle and Corky Quackenbush's The Adventures of Ricardo combine crude stop-motion animation with mean-spirited narratives. Ultimately, The Animation Show remains less than the sum of its parts. (Unrated, suitable for ages 16 and older: grotesque imagery, nudity, sexual situations, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

The first volume of the Animation Show on DVD kicks off a definitive series compiling the world's best animated short films, personally curated by Mike Judge ("Beavis and Butt-Head", "Office Space"), and Academy Award nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt.

This inaugural DVD collection features highlights from the award winning 2003 Animation Show theatrical program alongside new favorites, including four Academy Award nominees, a treasury of special features, rare and early cartoons by Mike Judge, Academy Award winner Adam Elliot's complete "Brother", "Cousin", and "Uncle" trilogy, plus three new cartoons made exclusively for the show by Don Hertzfeldt.

OFFICIAL PROGRAM:
Welcome to the Show - by Don Hertzfeldt
Mt Head (Atama Yama) - by Koji Yamamura
Brother - by Adam Elliot
Parking - by Bill Plympton
The Adventures of Ricardo - by Corky Quakenbush
Moving Illustrations of Machines - by Jeremy Solterbeck
La Course A L'Abime - by Georges Schwizgebel
Billy's Balloon - by Don Hertzfeldt
Cousin - by Adam Elliot
Cathedral (Katedra) - by Tomek Baginski
Intermission in the 3rd Dimension - by Don Hertzfeldt
Fifty Percent Grey - by Ruari Robinson
Uncle - by Adam Elliot
Early Pencil Tests and Other Experiments - by Mike Judge
Aria - by Pjotr Sapegin
Bathtime in Clerkenwell - by Aleksy Budovski
The Rocks (Das Rad) - by Chris Stenner and Heidi Wittlinger
The End of the Show - by Don Hertzfeldt

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the theatrical release, but still worth it, May 20, 2004

By	Hansol Lee (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A review ... in the 3rd Dimension, December 20, 2004

By	Benjamin K. Potter "loyal reader/writer" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for every taste (includes tasteless), April 8, 2004

By	Paul Fannon (STL, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Animation Show: Volume One (DVD)

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.