Cartoon Noir (2000)

Cartoon Noir is a quirky and original set of six animated shorts. I consider three of them worth my time and two of those memorable; the other three, well, that's life. Story of the Cat and the Moon (Spain) is a simple black-and-white nautical affair with undulating, dynamic nuances of animation that will play with your imagination. Club of the Discarded (Czechoslovakia) is a notably weird yet creative segment about decrepit manikins in a warehouse that become animated to live out a daily routine of sorts; their kinetics and timing are all spot-on and true. Ape -- about a steady diet of ape carcass and parts for dinner -- feels coarse and oafish. Gentle Spirit (Poland) is drawn in a dense and dark palette with winning elements but couldn't hold my interest. Abductees seemed childishly drawn and lame in subject and execution. Suzan Pitt's Joy Street was phenomenal in its evolution of drawing styles, color palettes, creativity, and emotional range of communication; I loved it. 3 stars.