The National Film Board of Canada has been a champion of creative animation for more than half a century, and this overdue tribute provides a good introduction to the scope and sophistication of Canadian animated art. A sense of humor seems to be the common denominator, and the eight short films collected here have a lower percentage of duds than other animation festivals.
Among the highlights are: Caroline Leaf's beautiful, award-winning 'Two Sisters', created directly on 70mm film stock; Christopher Hinton's manic adaptation of the folk song 'Blackfly'; Richard Condie's enigmatic but hilarious medieval romp 'The Apprentice'; and Wendy Tilby's glass painted 'Strings'. The occasional excerpts from other, earlier NFBC favorites ('Get a Job', 'The Cat Came Back', etc) should have been included in their entirety or left out altogether; the incomplete samples can be frustrating to viewers seeing them for the first time.
