Awesome Animation

(PG-13 Language) The animators of 1A4 Studios are a back to sum up the entirety of Star Wars Episode VII in just 60 seconds. Even as a stick figure, Kylo Ren is still a douchebag. And BB-8 is even more adorable.

“When you grow stronger the world grows more dangerous.” Our latest look at Laika’s Japanese adventure shows both its dark and lighthearted sequences. Stars George Takei, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

A forensic scientist helps solve a missing persons’ case through a revolutionary “reverse aging application”: a Facebook photo album. This being Cyanide & Happiness, the joke doesn’t end there.

Stop-motion animator Harry Chaskin presents the somber tale of a washed-up movie monster as he reminisces about days gone by. You’d think that after the studio tells him he’s done, he’d at least crush, crumble, and chomp on their building for old time’s sake.

“There’s a rawness to it, a sort of desperation. And that reminds you that this has been made by someone.” Like vinyl records, handmade animation refuses to die despite the abundance of modern alternatives. Monocle looks at some of the new students of this old school.

(Flashing lights) “I found myself there a collagin’ with all of the human race, a dancer from Ghana smiling in Tijuana.” The dancing baby is back, and he brought his family with him in the colorful music video for Animal Collective’s fun single from their new album Painting With.

This fresh-picked animation from Ed Jacoby’s Hogwash! Industries is as disgusting as it is hilarious. We couldn’t help but think of the offbeat, gross-out humor of Ren and Stimpy when we watched. Now get your finger out of your nose, Ed.

(PG-13 Language) Eclectic Method takes a break from his own musical creations with this brilliantly dubbed footage from Nick Park’s Aardman classic Creature Comforts, so the animals are singing London MC Skepta’s banging grime track Shutdown.

Its amazing to see how many times Pixar’s animators worked in references to classic films, as shown in this well executed, side-by-side video by Jorge Luengo Ruiz. From Hitchcock, to Kubrick, to Spielberg, to Welles, there are subtle and not-so-subtle tributes everywhere.

Apparently, studies have shown that we enjoy not just the vacation itself, but also anticipating it and then reflecting on it afterward. Also, our mind tends to zone in on the beginning and end of our trips, so try to make those parts memorable.

Elliot Lim created this animated homage to the HBO drama The Wire set to the of Way Down in the Hole, the show’s theme – as performed by The Blind Boys of Alabama. We still prefer the Tom Waits version, but that does nothing to diminish Lim’s brilliant motion artwork.

Homer Simpson teams up with the family couch to fight crime lord Ned Flanders. Steve Cutts’ couch gag for The Simpsons apes Miami Vice and other shows from the ’80s, which according to the idiots on YouTube, was a decade influenced by Kung Fury.

A factory worker has a happy, if plain life. But the daily grind gets to him, and one day, he snaps. Will he choose certain survival, or take a risk and find something new? Find out in Aaron Fisher’s modernist LEGO stop-motion film.

William Garratt’s humorous short film juxtaposes the look and behavior of audiences across different musical genres. And just when you think its novelty is wearing thin, William reminds you that you’re watching a cartoon.

A poor policeman comes up with a bizarre plan to take advantage of a lonely old lady who feeds pigeons with good food. Even stranger is that his plan works. La vieille dame et les pigeons is Sylvain Chomet’s critically-acclaimed 1997 debut short film.

A city girl takes a sabbatical to stay in the country. Her vacation makes her reassess her life. Originally released in Japan in 1991, Studio Ghibli’s classic will see a limited English language release in North America, voiced by Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel. Schedule here.

Eager to prove herself, Zootopia’s first rabbit police officer asks the help of a con artist to solve a huge case. The second trailer for Zootopia explains the movie’s plot, but we think it also reveals too much, so we can’t blame you if you skip it.

“Can’t I listen to just one podcast without hearing a Space Draft Kings commercial?!” The Sith’s new poster boy is the exact opposite of cool, calm and collected. Animator Bill Bergen imagines how Kylo Ren would react to life’s little annoyances.

(PG-13: Language) Vice’s documentary on Phil Tippett, the stop-motion animator who helped create creatures for Star Wars, Jurassic Park and many other films. Today his studio mainly uses CGI, but his latest film, Mad God, is a stop-motion affair.

Here comes the candy cane pain train. Machinima master Tyrannicon turned Santa Claus into post-apocalyptic Boston’s Judge Dredd. Who needs a sleigh when you have power armor? Check out the video’s description for the list of mods used.

Relax, sit back and drink in the warm glow of the yule log, done in the style of dozens of different animators, in this annual tradition orchestrated by Daniel Savage. Check out, then loop each of the individual short films here. James Wignall’s Yule Dog is our favorite.

Santa Claus tries to stay one step ahead of an apartment complex’s spooked but determined caretaker. This Pink Panther-esque 360º animated short film from Aardman is best viewed on a mobile device via the YouTube app, although Firefox or Chrome will do.

The second in a series of videos called Polygon Graffiti. Made by Japanese collective AUJIK, the series is a conceptual look at the potential of augmented reality for artistic expression. First video here.