2 out of 5

Director: Various

From Spike and Mike on through The Animation Show, we’ve gotten some shorts of incredible originality and effort, but inevitably, with some different styles and intentions, you’re going to be presented with aspects that just don’t impress or interest.  It’s unfortunate that the latter most collection of these series seems like the least consistent collection as well.  There are definitely some highlights – Everything Will Be OK is classic, of course, and Bill Plympton always delights – but those are sort of expected shoe-ins.  The relative unknowns are what make and break it, and there are 13 other ones on this DVD besides the 3 mentioned.  I’d say 5 of those 13 are really good, really compelling – you’d watch ’em again – 4 of them are interesting, but either pacing or lack of a clear intention makes them work only as a collection and not as a separate piece, which leaves 3 which as just one note experiments.  Exposure is key – if you run across this, watch it.  Something might strike you that didn’t strike me.  But unfortunately, in terms of lasting value of this DVD sitting on your shelf, there’s just not enough solid content to make it worth repeat viewing.