Description

From the creators of the box office smash "Chicken Run" and "Wallace and Gromit" comes "Creature Comforts," an amazing collection of clay-animation shorts from world-famous Aardman Animations. It's a Zoo's-Who of fun! Clay animation animals comment on life at the zoological gardens in "Creature Comforts," winner of the 1990 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Then meet "Wat's Pig," the 1996 Oscar-nominated tale of knights and daze involving two brothers one raised in royal splendor, the other by a kindly pig. In the darkly hilarious "Not Without My Handbag," a dear, deceased Auntie makes the ultimate fashion statement she won't stay in Hell without a proper handbag. And lastly there's the story of "Adam" (1992 Oscar-nominee for Best Animated Short Film), a whimsical in-the-beginning tale about a little clay and a lot of imagination. ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Great potatoes, but very little meat...
From Aardman Animation Studios, creators of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, come four wonderful animation shorts.

The first, Creature Comforts, winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, is cute, as various zoo animals are interviewed on what it's like to live in a zoo. This one contained some of the funniest moments of the four shorts on this disc. This short runs about 6 minutes.

The second short, Wat's Pig, is a story of two brothers born into nobility and separated at a young age, one becoming the ruler of a kingdom, and the other a poor peasant, and what happens when a neighboring kingdom decides to declare war. This one runs about 11 minutes.

The third short, Not Without My Handbag, is a darkly humorous tale, which is, as other reviewers put it, in a rather different style of animation than the other three shorts. The style and story line reminded me a lot of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Due to the darker humor of the subject matter here, it may not be appropriate for younger viewers. This one runs about 11 minutes.

The final short, Adam, is a funny look at the first being created, and the problems he must face in a rather limited environment. This one runs approximately 6 minutes.

In all, there is about 35 minutes of material here (no extras), and even at a seemingly lower price, one must consider if it's worth the money. I did enjoy all the shorts, but I do wish they could have included more, even if it meant a higher cost. I would have liked seen these included as extras on either a Wallace and Gromit or Chicken Run DVD, but to release so few on one DVD seems a little wasteful. I feel like I've just had the appetizer, and now I am waiting for the entree.

Good, but not in the "Wallace & Gromit"/"Chicken Run" level
This DVD includes four shorts from the company that produced the Wallace & Gromit shorts. These are:

1) Creature Comforts - directed by Nick Park, this short is only five minutes long. It is a funny concept: animals are interviewed at a zoo, and they talk about the advantages and drawbacks of captivity. This, however, gives no space to the excellent action scenes that charactherize Park's best work. It is just the animals talking in front of the microphone.

2) Wat's Pig - this one narrates the story of two brothers separated at birth: one ends as king, the other is raised by a pig. There is no payoff here at the end.

3) Not without my handbag - this one is weird, in the line of Beetlejuice. Some people say it is a little scary for small children. I don't think is scarier than other cartoons in TV. This is the funnier of the lot.

4) Adam - a small (and naked) man in a small planet, "a la The Little Prince", while his creator (God) works on him. Interesting, and more in line with the visual humor that we expect.

Somes notes regarding the price. Ten dollars sounds cheap for a DVD disc but consider that it is only 35 minutes long, it is not close captioned and lacks any extras. The transference, as noted by other reviewers, is not great (while maybe better than VHS, but that is expected).

I will recommend this disc only to the die hard fans of clay animation.

Zoo gets 5, the rest bring it down a notch!
I first saw Creature Comforts as a fill in on PBS. Many years have passed and I still recall the polar kid asking if it was ok to eat the interviewer.

The juxtaposition of the creatures of our Earth having such a clear image of human (and arn't they) lives is beautiful.

Seemingly trapped to the day and yet somewhat content in their memory of what has, might have, or may be.

Lovely! Thanks, Nick.

So-so
While "CC" and "Adam" are modern masterpieces, it seems the other, weaker shorts included on this release are merely there to pad out the DVD. Still, the price is very reasonable

Cheap Presentation
While considerable time and money were spent producing the four short films presented on this DVD, very little went into producing the DVD itself - and it shows.

Individually, the four shorts are nice, although the vocal tracks are muddy and overpowered by the musical soundtrack in places. Closed captions or subtitles would have been helpful, but they aren't included.

Unfortunately, you can't watch the features individually. Even though there is a "Play All" option on the menu screen, if you start with "Creature Comforts" all four shorts will play.

"Creature Comforts" is the best of the four, but because of the poor sound it also suffers the most. With no commentary track or making-of bonus feature the irony of the interviews (talking with kids about zoos and seniors about retirement homes) is lost.

"Wat's Pig" - with its minimal dialogue - comes across nicely, although the parallel storylines can be hard for younger viewers to follow. As with all four of the films a commentary or making-of feature would have been nice.

"Not Without My Handbag" has a good Tim Burton-esque style, but unless you're prepared to discuss the afterlife, the underworld, or the intricacies of contract law, it's not really appropriate for younger viewers. This is where the individual-play bug in the main menu is most apparent, as you have to manually stop the DVD after "Wat's Pig" (or hit the Skip button) to avoid this one.

"Adam" is my second favorite, and with its minimalist soundtrack it comes across the best of the four. Yes, there is cartoonish nudity. No, it doesn't conform to the Biblical chain of events. Nevertheless, it is a very witty story with three or four big laughs in its brief play time.

Ultimately, this DVD is worth less than the sum of its parts. Wait for something better to come along. ... Read more

Reviews (206)

Better than I'd expected
When I saw this advertised, I wasn't sure what to think. I'd never seen Wallace and Gromitt, created by the same team. I was pleasantly surprised.

The film follows a group of chickens in an egg farm. Slowly, they disappear by the farmer's axe as they stop producing eggs. The chickens continually try to escape, but to no avail. Eventually, Mrs. Tweedy the farm's owner, decides to get out of the egg business, and into the chicken (pot) pie business.

The chickens get wind of her plan, and decide they must escape at all costs. Their salvation, literally, flies over the fence one day as Rocky, voiced by Mel Gibson, enters their lives. He claims that if they hide him in their coops, he'll teach them how to fly so they can get over the fence to safety.

All in all this was a very good movie, and suitable for children. The humor is good, and the plot sound, for an animated chicken movie that is. I'd like to see more feature films done in the style that this was done in. Like I said, I've never seen Wallace and Gromitt, so maybe it's time I checked it out, and you should check Chicken Run out as well. You'll be pleasantly surprised as well!

Extremely Cute Movie ya gotta Run to!!!
I bought Chicken Run quite a while back and never got around to watching it. I went out of town on Business and decided to take it along, figuring I would finally see what my co-workers had been talking about... It was GREAT! I laughed hystarically at this one... A little about this movie....

Having been hopelessly repressed and facing eventual certain death at the chicken farm where they are held, Rocky the rooster (Mel Gibson) and Ginger the chicken (Julia Sawahla) decide to rebel against the evil Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy, the farm's owners. Rocky and Ginger lead their fellow chickens in a great escape from the murderous farmers and their farm of doom. Chicken Run is a comedy escape drama with a touch of passion set on a sinister Yorkshire chicken farm in 1950's England. The film follows the turbulent romance between two farmyard chickens, Rocky and Ginger, who yearn for freedom and plan a daring 'prisoner of war' style escape. A 'claymation' adventure from the creator of Wallace and Gromit, featuring chickens as the main characters. Ginger is the 'head chick', and she deviously plots to free all the chickens on the farm, preventing an otherwise certain 'Death By Chicken Pie'. After many failed attempts, she meets Rocky, the 'flying rooster', and decides that he holds the key to their freedom.

I would say this is 'RUN' and buy this movie... you will be glad you did!!!!

Not funny?
All those 1 star reviews claim that the movie was bad and not funny. Well, the first time was about to see it I thought it would be funny. It had quite a few funny moments but overall I got impression that it was rather sad (but optimistic). Then I realized that I liked it that way.
Technically, it is perfect, even in the era of 3D animated movies.
Chickens are not your prime target of any movies, but this is THE chicken movie to own. Funny and sad at the same time, if you think about it.

P.S: my usual comment for amazon reviewers. Before you claim that this or that movie is THE worst you ever saw, think twice. It might imply that you indeed have seen VERY few movies in your life, or that you are just talking bull. Can you seriously claim that a particular movie is the WORST movie you have ever seen? I don't know about you, but it would take me some serious thinking to come up with a SINGLE WORST movie I ever watched. Unless you are a Tibetian Monk, you probably did not think it through. It might be bad, but is it the worst?

Good for everyone!!
Kids love this movie for the talking chickens and their attempts to fly along with the creative rats...adults love this movie for the subtle humor and gentle jabs at other movie classics. If you are looking for a movie for all ages, this is one to fit the bill. And, it doesn't forget to examine the question, "Which came first?"

A real pleasure, with little (if anything) to offend.

THIS CHICKEN LAYS A GOLDEN EGG
CHICKEN RUN is a delightful film, fun for both children and adults! The stop motion animation is brilliant and the characterizations and the voices that supplied them are superb! What is basically an animated poultrified GREAT ESCAPE comes across with laughter, touching sentimentality, and lots of wonderful vignettes. Julia Swahala and Jane Sherrocks (both from Absolutely Fabulous) are indeed absolutely fabulous in their roles. Sawahla's Ginger is the epitome of today's female action hero---brave, loyal, independent and a touch feisty! All of the hens are wonderful, and producers should be ashamed in not featuring them in the credits. Their names don't appear until the end and they go by so fast you can barely read it. These actors are wonderful and deserve more credit for the quality of this film. Its only "star", Mel Gibson, is dashingly heroic and fits Rocky to a tee. Tony Haygarth (so good in Frank Langella's Dracula) does great with Mr. Tweedy's role and Miranda Richardson as the evil Mrs. Tweedy is perfect. This film is lovingly made and has wonderful music, as well. Also, catch some references to other films, such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where the tumbling boulder is replaced by tumbling wingnuts, and catch Mrs. Tweedy's Cruella deville impression after she is bombed with gravy!
I loved this movie, it makes you feel good, and is excellent to boot! Don't miss out on this one! ... Read more

Reviews (206)

Chicken FUN!
Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview of this new adventure from Aardman Studios (makers of the "Wallace and Gromit" films), so let me be the first (but definitely not the last) to say that "Chicken Run" is simply the most delightful, visually amazing, and FUN animated movie since Disney's "The Lion King." Other studios (notably Warner Brothers) have tried to take a bite out of Disney's pie-share of the kid-movie market, but Aardman and Dreamworks have done it best in this charming, hilarious, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling animated fantasy about a group of hens trying to break out of a chicken farm. Running the farm with an evil eye and an iron ax are the villainous Mrs. Tweedie and her henpecked (literally) husband, who's sure those chickens are plotting escape. The voices are perfect, from Julia Sawalha and Jane Horrocks from "Absolutely Fabulous" as chickens to Mel Gibson as the "flying" rooster Rocky. I want to recommend that every parent take their kids to see this one: unlike many other recent cartoons, this one is completely suitable for all but the very youngest children (there's some tense moments in a chase at the end, and a little threatening to the chickens with an ax), but even better, this will delight and amuse the adults with its clever animation, perfect voice-casting, witty visual allusions to famous movies like "The Great Escape," "The Bridge over the River Kwai," and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and Indiana Jones-type thrills that range from a chase inside a automatic chicken pie-making machine to a dramatic and climatic escape that is reminiscent of, but even improves on, the high-energy chase sequences of Aardman's "Wallace and Gromit" films. The moral lessons (you can succeed better with teamwork; stand by your friends) are pointed but gentle, without hitting kids over the head. I can't recommend this one highly enough, folks, whatever age you are. And if you head out of the theater and go eat a chicken pot pie, you have a much, much, harder heart than mine!

RUN and see Chicken Run...
I don't know quite what I expected when I saw this movie, but I have to say, that despite its theme, the humor was definitely NOT just for children. I was originally hoping it to be polished and neatly produced (similar to the fantastic Toy Story movies) but you can only do so much when it comes to clay-mation. Well with that said, 'Chicken Run' was truly a delight. The jokes were on a childrens level--PART of the time...SOMETIMES the jokes were outright WAY over the heads of children--nothing dirty mind you, but the producers also realized what Disney figured out a few years back: 'Sure, it might be considered a kids film, but there are going to be a LOT of adults that see this, too--and you simply CANNOT ignore them anymore'.

TRYING to escape from a chicken's version of a concentration camp (the similarities are hilarious) and the motto of those running the camp: "NOBODY escapes!" All of the characters are funny, especially the knitting lady who wonders about the chickens who disappeared by asking, "Did they go on holiday?" The first time I saw an animated film with the voice of Mel Gibson I hated it, I hated, hated, HATED IT!! 'Course I'm talking about the abysmal 'Pocohontas' and while watching it I just COULDN'T help but think of Gibson's face every time his character spoke...I was afraid that was also going to be the case here, but thank heavens that isn't what happened at ALL. In fact I completely forgot about Gibson almost immediately. This is not just fun for children, but VERY worthwhile for adults as well. Grab it while ya can and you will most likely see it over and over.

Not funny?
All those 1 star reviews claim that the movie was bad and not funny. Well, the first time was about to see it I thought it would be funny. It had quite a few funny moments but overall I got impression that it was rather sad (but optimistic). Then I realized that I liked it that way.
Technically, it is perfect, even in the era of 3D animated movies.
Chickens are not your prime target of any movies, but this is THE chicken movie to own. Funny and sad at the same time, if you think about it.

P.S: my usual comment for amazon reviewers. Before you claim that this or that movie is THE worst you ever saw, think twice. It might imply that you indeed have seen VERY few movies in your life, or that you are just talking bull. Can you seriously claim that a particular movie is the WORST movie you have ever seen? I don't know about you, but it would take me some serious thinking to come up with a SINGLE WORST movie I ever watched. Unless you are a Tibetian Monk, you probably did not think it through. It might be bad, but is it the worst?

Good for everyone!!
Kids love this movie for the talking chickens and their attempts to fly along with the creative rats...adults love this movie for the subtle humor and gentle jabs at other movie classics. If you are looking for a movie for all ages, this is one to fit the bill. And, it doesn't forget to examine the question, "Which came first?"

A real pleasure, with little (if anything) to offend.

THIS CHICKEN LAYS A GOLDEN EGG
CHICKEN RUN is a delightful film, fun for both children and adults! The stop motion animation is brilliant and the characterizations and the voices that supplied them are superb! What is basically an animated poultrified GREAT ESCAPE comes across with laughter, touching sentimentality, and lots of wonderful vignettes. Julia Swahala and Jane Sherrocks (both from Absolutely Fabulous) are indeed absolutely fabulous in their roles. Sawahla's Ginger is the epitome of today's female action hero---brave, loyal, independent and a touch feisty! All of the hens are wonderful, and producers should be ashamed in not featuring them in the credits. Their names don't appear until the end and they go by so fast you can barely read it. These actors are wonderful and deserve more credit for the quality of this film. Its only "star", Mel Gibson, is dashingly heroic and fits Rocky to a tee. Tony Haygarth (so good in Frank Langella's Dracula) does great with Mr. Tweedy's role and Miranda Richardson as the evil Mrs. Tweedy is perfect. This film is lovingly made and has wonderful music, as well. Also, catch some references to other films, such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where the tumbling boulder is replaced by tumbling wingnuts, and catch Mrs. Tweedy's Cruella deville impression after she is bombed with gravy!
I loved this movie, it makes you feel good, and is excellent to boot! Don't miss out on this one! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The perfect gift set for the Wallace and Gromit fan. All three of animator NickPark's first adventures featuring the dotty inventor and his loyal but laconic dog--TheWrong Trousers, A Close Shave, and A Grand Day Out--comewrapped together and ready for multiple viewings. This is truly one of the rare gift setsthat will entertain the entire family. --Doug Thomas --This text refers to an out ofprint or unavailable edition of this title. ... Read more

Reviews (159)

Simply Grand!
You have all 3 Wallace and Gromit cartoons in one package with this! Anybody interested in animation should see this. Nick Park (also known for Chicken Run and Creature Comforts) uses the Claymation technique (simmilar to The Nightmare Before Christmas) and I was reading 1 review which said his 1st movie, A Grand Day Out took 6 years to perfect. That explains why he has only made 3 films at this writing.

The 1st movie, A Grand Day Out, introduces Wallace, clever crackpot inventor in England who loves cheese, and his dog Gromit, the brains behind the two. Wallace invents a rocketship to take himself and Gromit to the moon (after all, the moon IS made out of cheese, isn't it?). They find out quickly that the "oven" they've been using to heat Wallace's moon-cheese is really a crater-skiing robot who doesn't take too kindly to their visit!

In the 1993 Academy Award winning The Wrong Trousers, Wallace gives Gromit a pair of walking trousers (designed to walk Gromit when Wallace has better inventions to think up!). Gromit feels ignored, especially after Wallace takes in a boarder, a mysterious penguin. Later, Gromit discovers the penguin is a notorious thief and makes plans to save himself and Wallace!

In the 1995 Academy Award winning A Close Shave, Wallace and Gromit go into the window washing business. When Wallace meets the sweet Wendoline (who owns a knitting business) and her evil dog Preston, Wallace invents the Knit-O-Matic, a yarn making machine which strips the wool of a whole flock of sheep as fast as you can say "Confound it, Gromit!". Then when Preston starts playing with the machine, trouble begins (and it's up to Gromit to save the day)!

Each one of these adventures is worth more than 1 view and I look forward to more Wallace and Gromit adventures (and other Nick Park produced efforts) in the future.

No Cheese, Gromit.
The WALLACE & GROMIT shorts have accomplished something very few other franchises can claim. They are as popular with cult-clasping-college students as they are with kindergarten children. For the First episode creator Nick Park needed an excuse to get a man and his dog to the moon... A GRAND DAY OUT was the result. The episode is quaint and filled with great character and humor. The second, and greatest to date, THE WRONG TROUSERS introduces an evil penguin to the mix. Thats right, an evil penguin. The last episode, A CLOSE SHAVE, is an awesome sequel but suffers from the same thing that haunts many live action sequels. It is given a bigger budget and more time is spent on the mechanics of the story than the human side. All three are laugh-out-loud. And coming in short of 30 minutes, they can easily be taken in in one sitting and you won't feel guilty for not getting your bank book balanced. This is the most recent DVD release and includes interesting making of material, commentary by creator Nick Park, and even 4 early animations. Great for the entire family...

The worst animation on Earth
If you can stomach "Wallace and Gromit",I admire you.This is the absolute WORST animation on Earth!I felt like I was punishing myself by watching this horrible DVD.The stories had no plots-they were just a bunch of adlibbed scenes slapped together in hopes of making a plot.The animation itself is sloppy,choppy and cheapThis is NOT worth your time-if you want a good cartoon-get "Tom & Jerry" or "Popeye" instead.

ARE THERE MORE WALLACE & GROMIT OUT THERE ?
We have purchased all the Nick Park/Aardman/Wallace & Gromit DVDs we can find on Amazon. Are there more out there? It seems to me from watching PBS, etc. that there might be. It may take a certain mindset to really appreciate this animation, but we'll take all we can get!

WALLACE AND GROMIT SUCK!
THESE SHORTS ARE NOT WORTHY OF THE ONE STAR WE WERE FORCED TO GIVE THEM. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU PEOPLE???? WALLACE AND GROMIT ARE THE CREEPIEST THINGS ON TV AND SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO BE VIEWED BY CHILDREN (MUCH LESS ADULTS!) WE'RE GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES FROM BEING FORCED WHILE BABYSITTING TO WATCH "THE WRONG TROUSERS" WITH A 2 YEAR OLD. WHAT ARE WE MISSING? WHAT IS SO EXCITING ABOUT THESE VIDEOS?? NOTHING!!!! THEY ARE SCARY SCARY SCARY!!! AVOID THESE FILMS AT ALL COSTS. EVERY REVIEW ON THIS SITE PRAISES THESE MOVIES LIKE THEY ARE THE GREATEST THINGS ON EARTH. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THESE MOVIES- SAVE YOURSELVES NOW!! WE ARE REACHING OUT TO YOU!! P.S. We love you but yea craig ... Read more

Description

A whirlwind tour of first-class animated shorts, "The World's Greatest Animation" assembles, for the first time, an eye-popping assortment of Academy Award winners and nominees from the years 1978-1991. Includes: Creature Comforts (directed by "Wallace & Gromit's" Nick Park), Balance, Technological Threat, The Cat Came Back, Your Face (directed by Bill Plympton), A Greek Tragedy, Anna & Bella, The Big Snit, Charade, Sundae in New York, The Great Incognito (directed by Will Vinton), Tango, The Fly, Crac!, Every Child, Special Delivery. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Excellent DVD
The 16 animated shorts on this DVD represent a wide array of animation styles, all Academy Award winners and nominees from 1978-1990.

They are: CREATURE COMFORTS (Nick Park - winner, 1990); BALANCE (Lauenstein - winner, 1989); TECHNOLOGICAL THREAT (Kroyer - nominee, 1988); THE CAT CAME BACK (Barker - nominee, 1988); YOUR FACE (Plympton - nominee, 1987); A GREEK TRAGEDY (Van Goethem - winner, 1986); ANNA & BELLA (Ring - winner, 1985); THE BIG SNIT (Condie - nominee, 1985); CHARADE (Minnis - winner, 1984); SUNDAE IN NEW YORK - (Picker - winner, 1983); THE GREAT COGNITO (Vinton - nominee, 1982); TANGO (Rybczynski - winner, 1982); THE FLY (Rofuscz - winner, 1980); CRAC! (Back - winner, 1981); EVERY CHILD (Fedorenco and Lamb - winner, 1979); SPECIAL DELIVERY (Wheldon and Macaulay - winner, 1978).

A thoroughly delightful collection!

Hardly the world¿s greatest ¿ but it has some real gems
The Film Board of Canada picked a pretentious title for this DVD; quite often it justifies itself, but of course not at all times. This is, of course, not 'the world's greatest animation'; it's a collection of animation shorts that were nominated for an Academy Award between 1978 and 1990 - predominantly Canadian. Many of the films are Oscar winners, but from some years only a nominee was included, which makes you wonder who exactly made the selection.

Still, 'The World's Greatest Animation' does indeed boast some masterpiece works. The first one that comes to mind is the celebrated 'Creature Comforts' (1990), a fantastic, hilarious masterpiece of claymotion that set Nick Park (of Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run fame) on the road to success. It's not, however, the only creation worthy of notice on the DVD. 'The Cat Came Back' (Cordell Barker, 1988) is a personal favorite of mine; it has a wonderfully stylish, nervous animation style, and great, creative character design (though only two active characters), not to mention hilarious slapstick and a brilliantly catchy title tune. 'Your Face' (1987) is a great musical number by the grand master Bill Plympton ('I Married A Strange Person', 'The Tune' and many others, as well as many of MTV's wonderful animation sequences of the late 80's), and like all of Plympton's work it's devilishly inventive and gloriously naughty; though I wouldn't call it Bill's best (I liked '25 Ways To Quit Smoking'), his animation is always a pleasure and 'Your Face' is a great showcase of his unique talent for those who are not familiar. And 'Charade' (MinVintonis, 1984) is hardly an animation masterpiece, but it's brilliantly, brilliantly funny.

Then, there's the grim, serious stuff. 'Tango' (Rybczynski, 1982) is absolutely ingenious; it put me in a complete trance for a full eight minutes. It's a stroke of creative genius that has to be seen to believed. Then there's 'Balance' (Lauenstein, 1989), which, like many other reviewers noted, can be seen either as an important statement or as pretentious pseudo-philosophy. Whichever way you look at it, it's still visually stunning and very original; and even if you'll find it superficial and pretentious, you won't be able to resist a little smile of amusement at the end of it. Other interesting, thought-provoking works include 'Crac!' (Back, 1981) and 'The Fly' (Rofuscz, 1980).

The collection weakness is that so many of the others seem like fillers. Most of them are amusing and enjoyable, many are very well-made visually, or well written; but in the end, they are very forgettable, and hardly unique. 'A Greek Tragedy' (Van Goethem, 1986), 'Special Delivery' (Wheldon and Macaulay, 1978), 'Sundae In New York' (Picker, 1983), 'Every Child' (Fedorenco and Lamb, 1979) and 'The Big Snit' (Condie, 1985) all fall into that category. On the other hand, 'Anna & Bella' (Ring, 1985) and 'The Great Cognito' (Vinton, 1985) are delightfully original and beautiful, but have absolutely nothing to say. 'Technological Threat' (Koyer, 1988) is so mediocre I can't understand how it made its way into the collection.

For the art and animation student or simply enthusiast, 'The World's Greatest Animation' does contain some must-see material (although many of the best ones can be obtained elsewhere: 'Creature Comforts' can be found on its own self-titled collection of Nick Park shorts, and 'Your Face' can be found on Plympton's collection DVD titled 'Plymptoons'), and is well worth owning. Much of the material, though is not essential, and is good for one watch.

Ideal for the Art/Film Student
Allot of people are confused by the title "The World's Greatest Animation" and think that it is suitible for children or familiy audiences. It is, infact, a collection of astounding and award winning peices filmed world wide. Scenes like "Creature Comforts", "Balance" and "Tango" are visually thrilling and wonderful and those alone are worth the purchase of the DVD/VHS. I would recomend this for any aspiring artist, film maker and professional as it is an ecclectic visual wonder. Again, for those looking for good clean family entertainment...enter in a Disney title or something...

Very disappointing
Other than Creature Comforts and Balance the items in this collection are instantly forgettable. This is definitely NOT the world's greatest animation - far from it. I watched many Canadian Film Board animations a long time ago when I was a child, and I still remember being impressed by their creativity and originality. That isn't reflected in this DVD.

Also, with a title of The World's Greatest Animation, I'd expect maybe just one piece from a music video or a TV commercial, something technologically dazzling, something that makes you go wow and call someone else into the room to see it, or maybe some internet-available stuff like L'Amour by Don Hertzfeldt or Video Computer System by Golden Shower. What I got instead was mostly tedious, unimpressive and uninspiring cartoons.

I'd suggest you don't waste your money on this one.

Some real gems, a couple rocks
This disk has some great material (The Cat Came Back will keep you humming the theme song, Tango is an intricate dance of overlaid images, but the nudity/sex make it very inappropriate for kids, Your Face makes one wonder what Bill Plympton sees in the mirror, and Charade is a scream). The Balance is either a powerful statement on greed or a pretentious attempt to out-Kafka Kafka. The Great Cognito has some good images (MacArthur puffing a mushroom cloud is a chilling reminder of what he wanted to do in Korea), but the story tries too hard to be funny. Sundae in New York I found to be a bore, and Every Child is a preachy guilt-trip. Definitely a keeper. ... Read more