Awesome Animation

Anton leads a lonely and monotonous existence, and decides he can’t take life anymore. But his decision to end it all transforms him into something quite unexpected. Written and directed by Ben Brand.

Daniel Savage’s gloriously animated short film tells the story of a boy who inhales too much helium, and ends up on the adventure of his lifetime. Think UP, but without the house, the dog, the old man, or the tears.

Electronic funk duo George Brower and Jonathan Baken set up an interactive audiovisual stream of their latest album George & Jonathan III that displays every note of the songs as they are played. The album is also out on iTunes.

Have you ever been morose for so long that the weight of the emotion has become a part of you? It’s as if you’re each others’ shadow, and it fears that one day you’ll wake up feeling fine. Kokooma’s short film reminds us of those times.

In this short film released to commemorate Batman’s 75th birthday, old man Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis fight against the Dark Knight’s past incarnations – Batmen from comics, cartoons and live action. Happy Birthday, Bats!

This somber and haunting animated short film by Shimi Asresay and Hili Noy tells the tale of a young boy who encounters a stranger of a different color, and the prejudice he feels obligated to act upon due to his upbringing.

William Shatner goes back in time to kill William Shakespeare. Two great Bills collide in AMAA Productions’ silly LEGO stop-motion short film. It’s worth watching just for the minifig reverse toupee.

While its imagery may seem primitive at first, the animation in Rodrigo EBA!’s stop-motion short about pollution is instantly more impressive when you realize that it was made entirely from meticulously placed droplets of water and coffee.

This animated short film by Supinfocom student François Heysen follows the story of a robot on a quest to recharge before his battery drains. Unfortunately, his choice of power source is none too happy with him taking what isn’t his.

Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead games are episodic adventures with difficult choices and unforeseen consequences. Dorkly imagines what the developer’s take on Super Mario Bros. would be. Luigi will no longer remember that.

Five people depicted as cute plants or animals share their stories of loss – a pet, a body part, a friend and parents – how they overcame it and what they took from the experience. A heartwarming claymation by Fiona Dalwood.

Here’s another brilliant stop-motion animation made using wood. Director André Maat “wanted to play with the shape and consistency of wood and bring it to life” and made the material behave like clay.

A retro-infused, sepiatone short film from Bruce Timm in which the Bat follows and subdues a mysterious giant en route to meet his nemesis Dr. Hugo Strange. We’d love to see a Batman feature film done in this style.

It might look like a primitive CGI animation, but this short film by DBLG was made by creating numerous 3D prints of a bear climbing a flight of stairs, then shooting them frame by frame. We’d love to see more of this technique.

In this timely commercial for social media management specialist Hoot Suite, the dominant players in social networking are presented in the style of Game of Thrones’ opening sequence. Snapchat is coming.

James Farr continues his awesome mashup series as his heroes journey to the surface of TatooWii in this Return of the Jedi episode. We can’t decide whether we like Link Skywalker or Slave Princess Peach better. (Thanks Anthony!)

Simon Russell’s short animated science fiction film about a dystopian future in which the world is monitored by an ungodly number of cameras and drones, and thought crime is a thing. Simon’s making of clip is equally engrossing.

A peek at the life of Elastika, a happy-go-lucky adventurer. Irene deserves a lot of credit too. Using only rubber bands and thumbtacks, director Guillaume Blanchet created a vivid world by leaving much to our imagination.

(NSFW: Language) “We keep these secrets buried deep, as we walk the life that was mapped out for us at age 13”. A collaborative animation for Talia Randall’s poem Common Room, a depressing account about being forced to conform.

An entertaining series of short films created by 15 independent Canadian animators who were all asked to use pads of 4″x6″ sticky notes and a black pen as their only tools. Each segment is a reflection on a single day of the artists’ lives.

“Design” is often associated with fancy concepts for gadgets, clothes, cars, etc. Johnny Kelly and Scott Burnett remind us that even everyday objects, structures and surroundings need to be thoughtfully designed. Learn more here.

(NSFW: Language) FoxADHD does for classic children’s stories and movies what it did for superheroes, taking any sense of wonder and magic and crushing it like a bug with its putrid guts splattering from beneath your shoe.

(NSFW: Language) “Used to be I’m a “ride or die” chick, B.I.G. with the “Me And My Bitch”, no objections, being an object.” Talib Kweli raps about the objectification of women that’s become par for the course in hip hop. Video by dreambear.