The Film Society of Minneapois and St. Paul presents an original, impressive and very bizarre animation showcase this Friday, Sept. 9, through Thursday, Sept. 16. From the good old fashioned psychedelia of "Yellow Submarine" to the latest in design and animation techniques, the compilation is a retina-ripping rebuke to skeptics who think all cartoon motion pictures are Mickey Mouse.
"Nine Nation Animation" is a mashup of international shorts that show what animation artists are up to in Norway, Turkey, Belgium and elsewhere. The diverse entries include a couple of construction workers having a chat as the landscape in the background grows increasingly apocalyptic, and a bunch of wood kitchen matches acting out an ensemble drama about addiction and mob rule. The pan-weirdism reaches its apex in David O'Reilly's "Please Say Sometning." The Irish animator transmutes the classic cartoon rivalry of cat and mouse into a postmodern surrealist parable about dysfunctional relationships. Their blank, expressionless faces convey every human emotion. See for yourself (but skip this one if naughty words offend):
The Japanese anime triumph "Paprika" launches a full scale sensory assault that's like a teeming, everchanging dreamscape brought to life. The film (rated R for violent and sexual images) concerns a lost device that enables therapists to enter their patients' dreams. When an evil force begins hijacking dreams and breaching the line between waking reality and subconscious fantasy, pandemonium breaks loose on the streets of Neo Tokyo. Here's a sample:
Industrial strength whimsy fuels "The Triplets of Belleville," a French/Canadian charmer about Tour de France bicycle competitors being kidnapped so that their prodigiously strong legs can be put to nefarious purposes. The film's fluid and winsome graphic style, its glorious soundtrack and the attention to the munitest visual detail mark this one as a genuine labor of love. Take a look:
"Yellow Submarine" has a pretty snazzy soundtrack, too, with a compendium of Beatles hits and near-misses. The mindbending storyline follows the bandmates from drab postwar England to a phantasmagorical wonderland where the forces of love, pease and music joyfully defeat the buzzkilling Blue Meanies. The Beatles originally distanced themselves from this project, convinced that it would only cheapen their image. In fact, their characters were voiced by vocal impersonators. When they saw the freewheeling head trip for themselves, however, they backed it enthusiastically, contrubuting a bouncy filmed version of "All Together Now" for the finale. Lend an ear and an eye:
St. Anthony Main, 115 Main St. SE, Minneapolis, (612) 331-4723. Nine Nation Animation (NR), 1 hr 40 mins, various languages, subtitled. Fri at 1, 3 and 5.; Sat & Sun at 1 and 3; Mon at 5 and 7; Tue - Thu at 5. Paprika (R), 1 hr 30 mins, in subtitled Japanese. Fri - Sun at 9; Tue at 7; Thu. at 9. The Triplets of Belleville (PG-13), 1 hr 20 mins, in subtitled French. Sat at 5; Sun at 7; Tue at 9; Wed at 7.Yellow Submarine (G), 1 hr 30 mins. Sat: at 7; Mon at 9; Wed at 9; Thu at 7.
