Product Description

Leonard Maltin, animation aficionado of "Entertainment Tonight" fame, selects some of his favorite animation from the National Film Board of Canada's vast library. For more than 50 years, the Film Board has produced original, thoughtful and entertaining animation for all ages. So get ready for some of the most exciting, challenging and funny animation ever made! Films (and directors): Begone Dull Care (Norman McLaren), Mindscape (Jacques Drouin), The Log Driver's Waltz (John Weldon), The Cat Came Back (Cordell Barker), Getting Started (Richard Condie), The Sweater (Sheldon Cohen), The Street (Caroline Leaf), Pas De Deux (Norman McLaren), Anniversary (Marc Aubry and Michel Hebert).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50869 in DVD
• Brand: MALTIN,LEONARD
• Released on: 2001-04-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.com
Since its establishment in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada has provided a place for artists to explore innovative styles, content, and media, especially in animation. Leonard Maltin serves as the genial host of this overview of the board's work, explaining some of the more recherché techniques developed there. Jacques Drouin manipulated the shadows of thousands of tiny steel pins to produce the gray, pointillist images in his striking "Mindscape." Norman McLaren drew, painted, and scratched images onto the surface of 35mm film stock as he sought to marry animation, the least spontaneous of art forms, to the bright, improvisational music of the young Oscar Peterson. These elegant experiments contrast sharply with the humor of John Weldon's "The Log Driver's Waltz" and Sheldon Cohen's "The Sweater." "Log Driver's Waltz" is a nutty, loose-limbed adaptation of a folk song in which a woman reflects that any dancing partner seems flat-footed compared to a man who can skip over spinning logs in a river. "The Sweater" presents a warmly nostalgic memoir of boyhood hero-worship--with a slyly funny ending. As Maltin notes, the NFB has served as a "kind of academy" that has enabled talented artists to pursue individual visions of what an animated film can be--an academy that U.S. citizens can only envy. Complete contents: 1. "Begone Dull Care," 2. "Mindscape," 3. "The Log Driver's Waltz," 4. "The Cat Came Back," 5. "Getting Started," 6. "The Sweater," 7. "The Street," 8. "Pas de Deux," 9. "Anniversary." These films are unrated and suitable for ages 10 and older for some adult themes and unusual imagery. -- Charles Solomon

New York Times, Oct. 26, 1994
Founded in 1939 by John Grierson, the National Film Board has steadily expanded the boundaries of animation by experimenting with new techniques and producing films that demonstrate the potential of animation as an art form... [This video] is an invaluable sampling of animation techniques. "Begone Dull Care" uses direct painting on film to combine lines and color that express the accompanying music, provided by the Oscar Peterson Trio. In "Mindscape" (1976), Jacques Drouin makes rare use of a time-consuming technique involving the manipulation of millions of pins, the shadows of which are used to create images photographed frame by frame. The animation palette runs from painting on glass to color cells to modern computer graphics. More important, in the end, there is art here. In Caroline Leaf's "The Street" (1975), for instance, Mordecai Richler's story of a small boy coping with the death of his grandmother in the family's cramped apartment is translated beautifully onto a canvas of constantly shifting landscapes.

From the Director
Video contains: "Begone Dull Care" (7:48) dir: Norman McLaren; "Mindscape" (7:31) dir: Jacques Drouin; "The Log Drive's Waltz" (3:00) dir: John Weldon; "The Cat Came Back" (7:37) dir: Cordell Barker; "Getting Started" (12:22) dir: Richard Condie; "The Sweater" (10:21) dir: Sheldon Cohen; "The Street" (10:12) dir: Caroline Leaf; "Pas De Deux" (13:22) dir: Norman McLaren; "Anniversary" (11:40) dir: Marc Aubry & Michel H(bert

Customer Reviews

One of the best animation selections available
This disc features a mix of assorted animation by members of the NFB that is sure to please the most discriminating animation collector. From the wild, thoughtful and free experimentations of Norman McLaren to more lighthearted contributions that don't compromise the overall quality of the whole presentation at all - if you are a fan of experimental / independent animation, this is a must for your DVD collection. You won't be dissapointed.

NFB Cartoon Shorts
Having spent time in Canada as a kid, I remember (fondly) a number of the short cartoons that are on this DVD. The features were largely from independent film makers who were funded by the National Film Board of Canada, and always covered interesting subjects about growing up and/or outdoor life in Canada.

Given their age (and relative commercial unimportance) I had given up hope that I would ever see them again...but here they are, in a beautifully-restored collection. What Leonard Maltin has to do with this, I don't know, but if you (like me) long to see these features once again, this is the DVD for you!

Great Toons
I bought this to get "The Cat Came Back". I remember seeing this cartoon many times about 10 years ago, but hadn't seen it since that time. I loved it and thought the grandkids would too. I thought these were great cartoons for the price.