The National Film Board is one of this country's national treasures, and animation's been an integral part of the NFB's mandate since the dark days of 1941. With great artists like Norman McLaren, Cordell Barker, Ryan Larkin and Richard Condie associated with the organization, the NFB has long been a force in the animation community.
But, as Janet Jackson once asked, " What have you done for me lately?" In response, the Blu-Ray collection Animation Express 2 says, "Quite a bit."
The sequel to the NFB's collection from two years ago, Animation Express 2 showcases the best of their 2009 to 2011 output, with award-winning titles like Lipsett Diaries, Higglety Pigglety Pop, Wild Life and Oedipus.
Mongrel Media, National Film Board of Canada Present Animation Express 2 on Blu-Ray
First off, kudos to the NFB and Mongrel Media for sorting these shorts into 4 thematic categories instead of giving the poor viewer option anxiety by presenting a raft of links in the Main Menu. 'Tickle Your Funny Bone' takes you straight to the comedy while 'For Family Viewing' means your child won't see anything that will force you to explain some very complex things. 'A Treat for the Eyes' offers a visual feast of groundbreaking images and 'To Touch Your Heart' offers drama and tragedy galore.
Given the wide range of artists and styles on display, it's inevitable that some shorts work better than others. Flawed - Andrea Dorfman's meditation on female body image - improves on repeated viewings. While you know exactly where Paul Driessen's hilarious Oedipus or Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby's haunting Wild Life is headed, both shorts are strong enough that you're willing to ride along.
Unfortunately - despite the presence of actors Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker - Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life doesn't fulfill the promise of Maurice Sendak's original children's story. And while Marie-Hélene Turcotte's The Formation of Clouds is technically very well done, I still found the images of preteen girls disturbingly sexualized.
Animation Express 2 Blu-Ray Extras
Those buyers who choose to get the Blu-Ray over the 2-disc DVD collection get 6 extra shorts:
- Nicola Lemay's Private Eyes (which requires a 3-D television for proper viewing),
- Joke Vander Steen & Valere Lommel's The Bare-Wolf,
- Jonathan Wright's Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Facts,
- Tibor Banoczki & Sarolta Szabo's The Conquerors,
- Shira Avni's Tying Your Own Shoes
- Théodore Ushev's Yannick Nézet-Séguin: No Intermission.
But there are no other extras in this set.
Animation Express 2 Blu-Ray a Solid Collection of NFB's Recent Output
Okay, so a collection of NFB shorts doesn't have the same whiz-bang appeal of something like Looney Tunes Platinum Edition but they really inhabit different worlds. While Animation Express 2 offers plenty of laughs, it's the storytelling and the sense that you're watching new ground being broken that makes this collection worth watching. It gets a 4/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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