Norman McLaren: The Collector's Edition

From the 1940s through the late 1960s, the Scottish-born Norman McLaren was Canada's most celebrated filmmaker, thanks to an innovative series of animated shorts. Fourteen of McLaren's best-known works are gathered here, including his groundbreaking experiments in making films without using a camera by applying visuals (and, in a few cases, soundtracks) directly on to the celluloid. Unfortunately, while these works--such as the jazzy surrealist "Boogie Doodle" (1948) and the avian-inspired imagery of "Blinkity Blank" (1955)--are a delight in and of themselves, presented one after the other, these plot-less shorts become repetitious (how many times can you watch lines squiggle and shimmy?) and the effect borders on monotonous. McLaren's films mixing live action and stop motion don't hold up much better: the Cold War satire "Neighbours" (1952) is a surprisingly gruesome and unfunny parable with suburban neighbors going ballistic over the ownership of a lawn flower growing along their common border, while "A Chairy Tale" (1957) features a man in a strangely exasperating and terminally unfunny relationship with a stubborn chair (although to be fair, the former won an Oscar, while the latter was also nominated for one). Thankfully, McLaren scored his films with some of the finest composers (including Oscar Peterson, Ravi Shankar, and a blacklisted Pete Seeger), so the visual ennui is balanced by aural charm and wit. This double-disc set also includes the 1991 Donald McWilliams documentary The Creative Process: Norman McLaren, detailing the artist's unique career and distinct style. McLaren's work is, admittedly, an acquired taste, but his fame is legendary, and taken in small bites this collection has its fair share of rewards. Recommended. (P. Hall)