Product Review

For those who missed Mike Judge and Doug Hertzfeldt's semi-annual Animation Show when it visited their local theater, here's another collection of the best and most imaginative animated shorts culled from the screenings. As with previous volumes, there's a wide variety of animation styles on display in Volume 3, from CGI ("No Room For Gerold," about quarreling animal roommates) and 2-D ("Tyger," based on a poem by William Blake, and featuring puppet work with animation) to live action/animation blends ("Carlitopolis") and one-dimensional work (Hertzfeldt's affecting "Everything Will Be Okay," about its line drawing protagonist's struggles with mental illness). Subject matter is equally diverse, from the wryly comic "Astronauts" and Bill Plympton's "Guide Dog" (a sequel to his "Guard Dog") to the atmospheric "Tyger" and the noir-influenced "Shuteye Hotel." Judge himself contributes an intro courtesy his malcontent alter egos of Beavis and Butthead; the package includes cnversations with several of the filmmakers about their shorts, as well as text interviews with all 11 filmmakers, which can be viewed in PDF format through the viewer's DVD-ROM. Trailers and previews for other MTV programs and previous volumes of The Animation Show round out the extras. -- Paul Gaita