Lines: Vertical

7.1

Last Day of Freedom

April 2015 •English

When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime he agonizes over his decision to call the police.

4.8

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors

October 2010 •English

This short probes the taboos around a very particular second-hand trauma, leading us to a more universal understanding of human experience.

4.0

The Falling Sky

June 2018 •English

Refashioning the original intention of footage lifted from an online animated news outlet, The Falling Sky is a cautionary tale about the inexplicable sea and the tumultuous sky—a poetic tour through the dense landscape of recent news in a recap of human foibles, follies and crises that are increasingly out of alignment with the forces of nature.

0.0

Head Space

May 2015 •English

Spectacle is proud to present HEAD SPACE, a showcase of animated works exploring dimensions both interior and outlying. Featuring an extremely talented and creative group working in a diverse array of styles, the shorts wander through strange and sometimes sketchy landscapes, including alternate-universe appliance stores, the ramblings of Charles Manson, environmental catastrophes in the Dutch style of painting, and a houseplant’s musings. Some, like Sally Cruikshank’s Make Me Psychic, are established classics; others feature newer animators working in looping GIF format, presented away from the small screen’s momentary pleasures to fully appreciate the art that it is. Occasionally gross, often beautiful, and always interesting, HEAD SPACE is a sampler of the thoughts happening inside and out of each frame.

6.8

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein

September 1999 •English

The Chipmunks work in an amusement park attraction. After Alvin drives a crazy tour group, they miss their next performance and are locked in the park after closing time. Little do they know that the real Dr. Frankenstein has been hired in a new attraction called, "Frankenstein's Castle"; figuring that the castle isn't scary enough, the mad scientist recreates the real Monster.

6.7

Nuts!

January 2016 •English

The true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers in 1917 that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. And that’s just the tipping point in this stranger-than-fiction tale. With the balls of a P.T. Barnum, the gonads of goats, and the wishful dreams of flaccid men, Brinkley amassed a fortune, was almost elected Governor of Kansas, invented junk mail and the infomercial, and built the world’s most powerful radio station. By the time all of the twists and turns of Brinkley’s story are revealed, Nuts! certainly earns its title.

7.0

In the Port

January 1975 •Russian

A large group of children from different countries sail to the Black Sea port, heading for the international pioneer camp "Artek". Two stragglers of foreigners meet local teenagers who arrange a tour of the port for them.

6.0

Shark Tale

September 2004 •English

Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile, Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess: He's a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and Lenny becomes an outcast, the two form an unlikely friendship.

8.4

A Silent Voice: The Movie

September 2016 •Japanese

Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?

7.2

Edmond

June 2015 •English

A stop motion film about an oddball felted character who slips through floors into the past and the deepest parts of his psyche in his pursuit of self-understanding.

5.8

The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa

June 1978 •English

An animated adaptation of Franz Kafka’s acclaimed novella, “The Metamorphosis,” made from carving images into sand with glass.

5.5

Famous Fred

December 1996 •English

Based on the book by Posy Simmonds. Mischievous kitten Fred grows up to be feline singing superstar, but a case of cat flu threatens to cut short his musical career.

7.0

Escape (Synchronomy No. 4)

September 1937 •English

To the toccata portion of Bach's "Toccata and fugue in D minor," we watch a play of sorts. Blue smoke forms a background; a grid of black lines is the foreground. Behind the lines, a triangle appears, then patterns of multiple triangles. Their movements reflect the music's rhythm. Behind the barrier of the black lines, the triangle moves, jumps, and takes on multiple shapes. In contrast with the blue and the black, the triangles are warm: orange, red, yellow. The black lines bend, swirl into a vortex, then disappear. The triangle pulsates and a set of many of them rises.

5.8

Parabola

September 1937 •English

Parabola is a celebration of film’s ability to create new ways of seeing the forms around us. Creating juxtapositions between light/shadow, stasis/motion, and form/music, this black-and-white short invites us to see the parabolic curve, or “nature’s poetry,” as both invigorating and beguiling.

7.2

The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas

December 2003 •English

When Princess Morebucks finds out that she's been put on Santa's naughty list (in fact, she's the only one on it!), she does a quick re-write, resulting with Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup with nothing but coal for Christmas! On top of all that, Princess gets the one thing she wants for the holidays: super powers! Now, the girls have to stop Princess and make sure that Christmas is saved for children everywhere.

5.0

Happily N'Ever After

January 2007 •English

An alliance of evil-doers, led by Frieda, looks to take over Fairy Tale Land. But when Ella realizes her stepmother is out to ruin her storybook existence, she takes a dramatic turn and blossoms into the leader of the resistance effort.

6.2

Hollow Land

June 2013 •French

In this evocative film about the eternal human search for home, Berta and Solomon arrive in a land that promises respite from their many journeys. But have they found utopia... or just another stop on their long journey?

6.1

Lines: Horizontal

January 1962 •English

An experiment in pure design by film artists Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart. Lines, ruled directly on film, move with precision and grace against a background of changing colors, in response to music specially composed for the films.

5.3

Pussy for Beginners

January 2015 •Finnish

An educational film about women's sexuality, genitalia and their functions during sexual interaction.

5.9

Spook Sport

January 1940 •English

It's midnight in a graveyard. The principal characters are spooks, ghosts, bats, bells, and, at the end, the sun. As midnight strikes, 12 spooks appear, then two ghosts. They move to the music's rhythm. Against the black night, they are blue and yellow. Bats appear as does a xylophone of bones. Mist rises, spooks swirl. A bell tolls. The sky turns light blue, the ghosts' dance slows. Then black night returns bringing intimations of frenzy. Bones play snare drums; spooks peek out of square graves. Scary faces appear. Frenetic movement takes over. A rooster crows and all return to earth as the sun's light appears.