Though we traditionally think of cartoon shorts as entertainment that should provoke laughter, they can also be more thoughtful works. And these more serious musings, many of them abstract, tend to dominate "The National Film Board of Canada's Animation Festival."
Artistically, this collection features various forms of traditional animation, papier-mache, clay, expressionistic painting, computer and pencil-drawn efforts.
The funniest of the bunch is John Weldon's "The Lump," about a "short and ugly" little man who is virtually ignored by the world until he grows a huge lump on top of his head. The lump resembles the face of Michelangelo's David, so by pulling up his coat, the man appears taller and better looking, which gives him a new lease on life. Weldon fills the screen with visual puns and the soundtrack with wry asides in this exploration of self-esteem.
Others that are notable include "The Balgonie Birdman," the clay-animation short that opens the show, based on the true exploits of an early Canadian aviator; a brief, abstract reconstruction of Van Gogh's painting, "The Irises," which was sold at Southeby's for $49 million; the music video, "Blackfly," based on an old Canadian folk song about annoying insects in Northern Ontario; and the very brief trailers advertising the "Ottawa '90 Signal Films," an animation festival.
Most remarkable is the startling, touching "Two Sisters," a 10-minute piece by Caroline Leaf, an abstract artist who literally scratched this short film on 70mm celluloid. And "Strings," about two older people living in a rundown apartment building, another gently stirring story, which was painted on glass by Wendy Tilby.
I was less taken with Richard Condie's "The Apprentice," a disappointment after his earlier "The Big Snit," which was nominated for an Oscar. And it was not a good idea to include the "Classic Moments" from past Canadian cartoons — "The Big Snit," "George and Rosemary," "Juke-Bar," "Get a Job" and "The Cat Came Back." All of these have been in previous animation collections, all are superior works and to include only brief snippets may just alienate the audience.
And for some reason, "Every Dog's Guide to the Playground" tends to fall flat, though it is loaded with slapstick gags from Les Drew, who fared much better with this film's predecessor, "Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety."
On the whole, however, this bevy of animated shorts is well worth a look for fans of the medium. As is usual with these collections, they are intended for adults; young children will likely become bored.
"The National Film Board of Canada's Animation Festival" is not rated but would probably get a mild PG for some adult themes and a brief bit of cartoon nudity in "Strings."