A Tale of How
Check out the amazing animated short available from the Blackheart Gang, A Tale of How (low-res youtube version). It feels grand and beautiful and immediately evokes a kind of childlike wonderment that’s all too rare in the adult world.
The short is often and aptly compared Terry’s Gilliam’s animation for Monty Python’s Flying Circus and to anything by Tim Burton (WFMU says: “I’m sure they whip a stapler across the room every time someone goes ‘Tim Burton.’“), although it’s denser and more surreal than either (yes, more surreal than Tim Burton). The most apt comparison I can make is to the little known work of Patrick Woodroffe. I first encountered Patrick’s drawings when I was a child through the very collectible The Second Earth: The Pentateuch Retold, which confused and intrigued me with it’s simple but striking story and fantastically detailed imagery.
There’s not currently a lot of information about the Blackheart Gang on the web, but Motionographer does have an informative writeup including links to two additional BHG audio files that I haven’t seen posted elsewhere. Update 5/7/07: Siouxwire has an interview with the Blackheart Gang.
Via WFMU’s Beware of the Blog (Update 2010-10-18: The original story at WFMU has disappeared, linking to their front-page instead).