Comic Con: Animation Show of Shows

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Amidst the spectacle of the studio and celebrity-driven films that packed Hall H this year was the Animation Show of Shows. Since 1998, the traveling showcase has been featuring the best hard-to-find animated short films from around the world. Founder Ron Diamond brought the hour-long compilation to Comic Con and though I'd venture at least a few people in the audience were actually there for The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones panels later in the day, everyone was still enamored by the selection.

The shorts represent a wide variety of styles and topics and tones, showing exactly what great animation can accomplish. Diamond said he started putting this together 15 years ago "because YouTube didn't exist and it's always better to watch animation with friends."
 
Some of my favorites included: 
 
FUN WITH FATHER: This was Chris Sanders' (LILO AND STITCH, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON) 1983 student film at Cal Arts. The roughly animated short features a wolf apologizing to his offscreen victims for having to murder them. When he realizes his son is watching, however, its revealed that he's actually talking to a handful of marshmallows. It's silly and dark, but you can see a similar humor and style from Sanders' later work.

DRUNKER THAN A SKUNK: Acclaimed independent animator Bill Plympton directed this rambling philosophical poem narrated by a drunk cowboy. The animation, done entirely in ballpoint pen, was definitely interesting.

SUBCONSCIOUS PASSWORD: This "psychorealist" CG animated short stars director Chris Landreth as a man who can't remember an old friend's name at a bar. The action immediately jumps inside his brain as it turns in to a subconscious game show pitting his id vs. his superego. It's wildly creative and just a little trippy, featuring a mix of animation and live action elements, as well as "cameos" by everyone from James Joyce to Dick Van Dyke to H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulu.

HOME SWEET HOME:  This CGI French piece—about two houses coming to life and going on a journey together—reminded me most of a Pixar short, mixing a unique subject matter with creative humor and genuine emotion.
 
REQUIEM FOR ROMANCE: The soundtrack to this animation is a recorded phone call between a couple breaking up, but set against the background of an elegant wuxia fight between Chinese warriors as a metaphor for their verbal sparring. Somber, but poetic.

ASCENSION: Another from France, this film was probably the biggest crowd pleaser of the bunch. It tells the humorous yet inspiring story of two men climbing a mountain in the Alps, only to suffer a series of unexpected setbacks. To say anymore would spoil it.
 
I highly encourage any fan of animation to seek this out. It represents a great variety of talent from around the globe with styles and content you typically wouldn't be exposed to. The show is always free and Diamond brings it to various studios and organizations around the country. Or you can pick up a digital or DVD copy on their official site.