3 out of 5

Director: Various animation kittens

Yow, sequencing both saves and kills this S&M collection.  Compilations – music, film shorts, whatever – are hard to get ‘perfect,’ unless, generally, all of your creators are on board for a central theme or something.  And in cases of Spike & Mike, where the only cue is to be creative, you’re inevitably going to end up with likes and dislikes depending on your tastes.  Some of these bits definitely fit the bill of ‘Cutting Edge,’ as they feel very experimental in either narrative or style.  But the majority of the collection would be at home on any other S&M mix.  To the sequencing: things start out pleasant and amusing, with some bits that are varied in style and length and are all harmless with a dash of strange.  Mo Willems bit and the four that follow go into a sort of slump.  Taken alone they are amusing, but strung together you feel like you’ve already been there.  Thankfully Tony Millionaire’s Maakies arrives to help you laugh awake, and the next few bits are all stylistically intriguing, leading into a couple experimental end pieces that are… experimental.  So it’s meh, with a couple bright spots thrown in at appropriate places.  But if you watch any one or two spots on their own, it’s almost always entertaining.