Computer Animation Festival

Following the success of Miramar's The Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye, their latest, Computer Animation Festival, is a bit of a letdown. Comprised of 21 full-length computer-animation shorts, the collection is decidedly a mixed bag. Clever pieces like the opener "Locomotion," a beautifully animated story of a courageous engine, a cowardly caboose, and a rather noticeable hole in the track (on a bridge, no less), or the National Film Board of Canada's "Anniversary," created in celebration of their 50th anniversary, are offset by boring one-note experiments. Unlike Miramar's previous computer-animated tapes, which were made up of clips set to an original soundtrack, the Computer Animation Festival features shorts in their entirety, warts and all. The main problem is that the computer animators technical abilities far exceed their storytelling capabilities, so that most of the entries offer a bit of flash but little substance. Still, in pieces like the virtuoso musical-instruments-come-to-life "More Bells & Whistles" and "The Invisible Man," there is a hint of the promise of computer animated storytelling, and it's exciting. So, although there are more than a few bad apples in this barrel, the good apples shine very brightly indeed and warrant purchase of the tape. Recommended. (Available from most distributors.)