I’m smitten with this spaghetti western on acid and it’s hard not to be. Everyone and their mom in Hollywood seems to be voicing animated film, so when someone as classy and as lunatic as Johnny Depp decides to step up as the lead character, you know you’re in for a treat.

I can’t help coming back to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, plus or minus a few tumbleweeds. This story of the small lizard that comes to town and becomes impromptu an sheriff has ‘one for the kids’ written all over it. But the scripting and the vibe is delivered straight for the parents.

There’s a few moments here that are just plain weird. But weird is god, and god is Jack Sparrow dressed as a small animated lizard. And that couldn’t be any better.

The Illusionist is the most recent animated film by Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet. Like his previous work, the entire film (80 minutes) passes with only a few mumblings of dialogue here and there. I liked the style and I appreciated the risk, but it didn’t work nearly as well without the three and then four charismatic and musically inclined septuagenarians to carry the film.

Instead we follow the Illusionist, an older gentleman that travels around pulling his feisty rabbit out of a hat and making strangers smile. The Illusionist’s kindness gets him into trouble as he tries to please a peasant girl who follows him from Northern Scotland to his next gig in Edinburgh. She doesn’t understand that her shoes and then coat and then dress come at a significant cost to the performer, and the Illusionist finds it difficult to explain that he doesn’t possess magical powers. There were certainly funny moments — any scene with the triplet acrobats in particular — but overall this film was a little too sad and a little too slow, despite some very thoughtful details.

What I love about this animation, most of all, is James Blagden‘s artwork and its truly signature style, which he uses for a wide variety of things besides animation: magazine illustrations, advertisements, etc.

Conceptual drawing for Made Me Clothing by James Blagden

I also love that it’s a “dramatization” with some verite. It sounds like it’s Dock Ellis’ actual voice telling the story, but the animation going along with it just makes it that much more hilarious. It helps, of course, that the guy was a total character in real life as well.

WTF, Dock Ellis?

Another beautiful animation that I’ve stumbled across online is an animated video by Asa Arnehed for the band by El Perro del Mar. Like the Dock Ellis piece, the simple black lines and selective use of color and movement is really effective.

Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox

I love the variety of film festivals held in Toronto particularly the smaller fests as there is always something new and interesting to check out.

The Reel Asian Film Festival wrapped up its 13th year this past week. The festival showcased contemporary film and video from Canada, U.S., Asia and around the world. Highlights included the musical Fruity Fly and the apocalyptic Fish Story which screened with an amazing short, The Animated Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a remake of the cult classic.

Although I was the last of my friends to see it, most Torontonians have gone wild for Where the Wild Things Are. The movie hit big on all fronts-costumes, animated effects and music –and was beautiful and inspiring to watch.  I look forward to seeing Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox as my next big Hollywood animated flick.

Sterling Archer and Lana Kane explore some issues.

If you liked Home Movies, you’ll love Sterling. In Sterling, H. Jon Benjamin (the comedian who voices Coach, one of Home Movies’ funniest characters) plays a James Bond-type special agent, channeled through Coach’s bumbling manly-man idiocy. The show hasn’t really gotten the promotion it deserves, and I have a feeling it’ll be one of those shows that gets tragically canceled before it earns a real following.

Sit Down, Shut Up is another great show. It’s scripted by a lot of the same writers who worked on Arrested Development, so it’s got a similar sort of humor. I wouldn’t call it my favorite show this year, but it’s a solid half-hour of TV.

I’m really looking forward to Where The Wild Things Are by Spike Jonze. It’s going to use minimal CGI; the same for Fantastic Mr Fox by Wes Anderson, which uses a totally different kind of animation to all this Pixar crap that’s out. Avatar looks like the worst film ever. As I write this I’m making plans to go and see Final Destination 3D and District 9.