THE ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS returns to theaters with 13 charming, family-friendly films!

Highlights include Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-winning PIPER; the latest in 360-degree storytelling in Google's touching father-and daughter-journey, the Oscar-nominated PEARL by Academy Award-winner Patrick Osborne; ABOUT A MOTHER, a new folktale with echoes of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree," and MIRROR, based on an interview conducted by This American Life host Ira Glass.

The films explore a broad range of themes, ranging from LGBTQ issues and civil rights to deeply felt personal stories to plain ol' wacky humor that animation does so well, featuring animation techniques ranging from hand-drawn to stop-motion to the latest computer-generated imagery, created by animators from Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, Korea, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Scotland, the U.K., and the U.S.

NOTE: There is a 5 minute-intermission after the 13th film, this allows children 13 years and under to leave as the last four films (Corpus, Blue, Manoman and All Their Shades) contain mature themes.

- Program Details -

Stems - Ainslie Hendersen (Scotland)
Stop-motion animated short.

Shift - Cecilia Puglesi & Yijun Liu (U.S.)
Once upon a time, in a fantastical village on the edge of a forest, a proper Victorian lady encounters a wild, free-spirited doppelgänger, in this beautifully designed 3D fable.

Pearl - Patrick Osborne (U.S.)
From childhood to adulthood, "Pearl" evocatively shows the transcendent power of love and music - and that ultimately there really is "no wrong way home."

Crin-crin - Iris Alexandre (Belgium)
A nefarious rabbit and raccoon make off with the tail of a self-regarding horse-while the fiddler in the film uses an appropriated horsehair ("crin" in French) for her own purposes.

Mirror - Chris Ware, John Kuramoto, Ira Glass (U.S.)
"Mirror" explores how a parent's uncensored casual comment might or might not harm her adolescent daughter.

Last summer, in the garden - bekky O'Neil (Canada)
Recounts one woman's journey through a joyful, fearful time of death and rebirth.

Waiting for the New Year - Vladimir Leschiov (Latvia)
Deeply affecting meditation on time, change and the human condition looks at the world through the eyes of a middle-aged woman whose solitary tasks - shoveling snow, raking leaves - reflect the changing seasons.

Piper - Alan Barillaro (U.S.)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself.

Bøygen - Kristian Pedersen (Norway)
This abstract interpretation of the battle between Peer Gynt and the Boyg (a serpent-like troll) in Norse mythology immerses the viewer in an alien world that is at once both foreign and familiar.

Afternoon class - Seoro Oh (Korea) (3:50)
Have you ever had the experience of being in a classroom struggling to stay awake, and trying mightily to avoid having your head collapse onto your desk? No? Well, it looks a little like this.

About a mother - Dina Velikovskaya (Russia)
In this touching African-themed fable, an ever-resourceful mother attends to her children's needs, even after they are grown and on their own.

Exploozy - Joshua Gunn, Trevor Piecham, & John McGowan (U.S.)
This very funny "explainer video" for the next big thing in animation hits all the key points that give animators nightmares.

Inner workings - Leo Matsuda (U.S.)
This lighthearted cautionary tale, set in the wilds of a beach side community, offers a timely reminder that life might be meant for more than just deadening routine and missed opportunities.

~ Intermission ~

Corpus - Marc Héricher (France)
Combining Rube Goldberg, human anatomy and a healthy sense of the macabre, this highly accomplished short presents a series of tableaux that constitute a single, convoluted chain reaction.

Blue - Daniela Sherer (Israel)
In this impressionistic, semi-abstract film, the filmmaker explores the pain and pleasure of love, weaving together suggestive, yet mysterious, images.

Manoman - Simon Cartwright (England)
Not for the faint of heart, this darkly comic film uses highly expressive rod puppets to graphically explore the excesses of unrestrained masculinity.

All Their Shades - Chloé Alliez (Belgium)
The mysterious ways of women, and all of the many characteristics that make them so lovable, are catalogued at length in this heartfelt and gently satirical paean to the wonders of the female gender.