As anyone who’s been to a short film program at a film festivals knows, there are a lot of hidden gems to be found in this easy-to-ignore category. Which is why the release this week of Animation Express (Image, $29.98 DVD, $29.99 Blu-ray) is worth a look.
Animation Express collects 26 animated short films ranging from modern masterworks to experimental films from the National Film Board of Canada. The films in this collection include: Madame Tutti-Putli, Spare Change, Forming Game, The Spine, Hungu, The Man Who Slept, Rosa Rosa, How People Got Fire, Rains, Robes of War, Retouches, Drux Flux, Subservience, Sleeping Betty, Invasion of the Space Lobsters, The Necktie, Sainte Barbe, Come Again in Spring, Paradise, HA’Aki, Vive la Rose, Here and There, Land of the Heads, Flutter, Runaway and Engine 371.
Also out this week is Jim Henson’s Dog City: The Movie (Lionsgate, $14.98), presenting the episode from a 1989 episode of The Jim Henson Hour that spun off into its own series.
New children’s titles include Hot Wheels Battle Force 5: Season 1, Vol. 2 (Warner Bros., $14.97) and Wordworld: Pirate Sheep (NCircle Entertainment, $12.99).
Anime fans get Bleach Box Set 5 (VIZ Media, $49.95) and Samurai Deeper Kyo Litebox (Media Blasters, $59.99).
