Mar 3
Anxious Animation
Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 in Animation
- This ain t no Pixar. This is ain t no Disney. This ain t no foolin around. ANXIOUS ANIMATION presents six contemporary film artists who take us into surreal worlds of delirium and paranoia The reigning proponent of cut-and-paste, LEWIS KLAHR nourishes intensely private visions on the compost heap of collective fantasy through old magazines, comic books, and cocktail iconography.Complex, full of ch
Description
This ain’t no Pixar. This is ain’t no Disney. This ain’t no foolin’ around. ANXIOUS ANIMATION presents six contemporary film artists who take us into surreal worlds of delirium and paranoia… The reigning proponent of cut-and-paste, LEWIS KLAHR nourishes intensely private visions on the compost heap of collective fantasy through old magazines, comic books, and cocktail iconography.Complex, full of charm, and pervaded by themes of loss, JANIE GEISER simultaneousl… More >>
I found most of the shorts in this compilation to be too “in your face”. Style over substance in a way.
Rating: 3 / 5
Would have been better without all the flash and they should have had more artists. I wouldn’t have paid more than 5 dollars for it.
Rating: 2 / 5
This DVD is worth having just for the Bosch animation on it alone, and all the films are not-notch examples of the genre of fine art animation, if fine art animation can be considered to be a genre!
Rating: 5 / 5
I’d like to start off by saying, as far as I know this collection is not rated, DO NOT buy this for your kids. It’s NOT that kind of “animation.” There is some total nudity… kind of. It’s hard to explain, but it’s for mature audiences only.
I bought this on amazon in my usual style – found something randomly and got it on a whim, with no idea what to expect. That’s the best way to approach this collection of shorts – with no expectations. Some seem to have no story line, most have little or no dialogue. These are not meant to be overly engaging stories… they are examples of creative animation, very much outside the “norm.” If you’re looking for something new and unusual, this is it. It’s more about visuals and animation experiments than plot or character development. Some of the music is also really good. Definitely an awesome collection, but not for everyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
Only one or two of these are actually what might be called anxious. “Spokes on the Wheel of Torment,” the animated Hell from Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delight is the most of all. “Sneak Attack” with a DJ superhero and his sidekick robot attacking the fortress of Mexican wrestling midget bad guys is next, but its just cool. It took me a few watchings but I finally realized that the weapon-watch on his wrist is actually a tiny turntable and he scratches to emits waves at the enemy octopus. Except for those two the rest is relatively sedate. “Lulu” and “Altair” are interesting visually and musically, but there is hardly a storyline. I am not one of those people who need a storyline, but “Altair” anyway, is way too long for nothing but mood. The third one of the set about gay Jimmy Olsen is more interesting than the other two, but still. Jim Trainor’s two “line drawing” animations are hugely minimalistic but you cannot help but be entranced. The lack of music and the engagingly hypnotic monotone puts you right into the lives of the animals. No razzle or dazzle, just pure connection, like Adam Elliot’s “Brother.” I can’t remember the rest. So you’ve got a very mixed bag of action and color, quiet engagement, style without much substance, and whatever. But even the parts I didn’t really like so much were interesting just to see how the style was used, I just wish they had some direction. Having seen it now, I would definitely buy it again. 5 stars even with it’s flaws.
Rating: 5 / 5