In this wordless clay-animated short, a rambunctious artist/nature lover decides to transform a drab street into a colorful, teeming tropical paradise, painting sidewalks, shop walls, and parked cars until his path is blocked by an officer of the law. Imprisoned, the poor guy is denied all drawing materials until someone lets a birthday cake with colored candles pass on through and the artist has a field day on the cell walls. As the monkeys in his jungle mural come to life, the inmate shucks his clothes, grabs a vine and swings--ostensibly--toward freedom...only to discover that wild animals are often found in cages, as well. While Nick Hilligoss's animation is impressive and his humor sharp, I found the similar Creature Comforts (Video Librarian Online, www.videolibrarian.com) from Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park to be more entertaining and insightful. At $14.98 (which includes three other shorts), it's also a lot less expensive. Four other titles are available in Hilligoss's Bunch of Fives series: Turtle World, Lower Orders, Banjo Frogs and Possum's Rest. All are $95, except for Turtle World, which is $125, presumably because it's 3 minutes longer than the others. Aud: I, J, H, P. (R. Pitman)
Cell Animation
(1998) 6 min. $95 (discussion guide included). Bullfrog Films. PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 1-56029-768-9. Vol. 14, Issue 2
Cell Animation
Star Ratings
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