FILM REVIEWS : Change of Pace in ‘Animation Celebration’

Audiences weary of the recycled humor in many of the summer’s comedy hits will find a welcome change of pace in “The Second Animation Celebration: The Movie!” (selected theaters).

A bright, upbeat collection of short films from the second and third Los Angeles Animation Celebrations, the show offers a look at some of the humorous work being done in contemporary world animation. (Most of the more serious films will be showcased in the annual Tournee of Animation later this year.)

The exception to the humorous rule--and the outstanding film in the collection--is the dazzling “Umbabarauma” (U.K./U.S.A.), made by Susan Young and Mike Smith for the multi-faceted David Byrne. Set to the Afro-Brazilian music of Jorge Ben, semi-abstract images of cockfights, fireworks and dancers metamorphose in an opulent collage of color and motion that evokes the excitement of the Carnaval in Rio. “Umbabarauma” should be a strong candidate for the Oscar for animated short next year.

The figures in Chris Casady’s “Pencil Dance” (U.S.A.) are purely abstract, but the shapes and lines dance to the Prokofiev score with a gleeful elan that imbues the film with a comedic feel. This handsome, tasteful work marks the debut of a promising young artist.

“Tin Toy” (U.S.A.) by John Lasseter and William Reeves, the first computer-animated short to win an Oscar, is both a charming entertainment and an impressive example of computer graphics, although the artists missed its obvious ending.

Mikhail Tumelya and Alexander Petrov use old-fashioned drawn animation and rotoscoping in “The Marathon” (U.S.S.R.), a warmly affectionate tribute to the enduring magic of Mickey Mouse and the medium of animation. Tony Collingwood strikes a balance between comedy and tragedy in “Rarg” (U.K.), an elaborate fantasy that suggests life really is just a dream. Tom Sito shows how music can transcend cultural boundaries and spoofs superpower rivalries in “Propagandance” (U.S.A.).

If Sito celebrates the ultimate triumph of brotherhood, Matt Groening revels in the frictions of daily life in five episodes of “The Simpsons” from “The Tracey Ullman Show.” The animation and artwork are minimal at best, but the writing is so sharply evocative of the petty hassles families create around mundane activities--like picture-taking and going to bed--that the results are hilarious.

The one real dud in the show, Bill Plimpton’s “Twenty-Five Ways to Quit Smoking” (U.S.A.), re-uses the scribbly drawing style and clumsily metamorphic animation of his popular “Your Face.” That film owed much of its appeal to the novelty of its technique, but the novelty has worn off, and the artist needs to find a new shtick.

“The Second Animation Celebration” runs through Aug. 10 at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles, the Balboa Cinema in Newport Beach, the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena and the Town & Country in Encino.