Spike & Mike's Cutting Edge Classics

Rating:
Summary: Some classic animated shorts from the 80s to now
Review: Cutting Edge Classics is a perfect title for this collection since it showcases material from the last 20 years that either is now or was cutting edge at the time. For those of you who have seen the Maakies cartoons on Saturday Night Live and want to own them, well this DVD has four of them. Adam Elliot who won the Oscar in 2004 for his animated short "Harvie Krumpet" is represented here with "Brother." My favorites on here are "Drink" and "The Snowman" which features some great 3D computer animation. All in all a very nice selection of animated shorts.

Rating:
Summary: a GREAT collection!
Review: I think the point of this collection is that it collects classic shorts from the past 15 year that were on the cutting edge at the time of their release. That's why they're classics. Looked at that way, there is a ton of great material here. My favorite is Rope Dancers, which is really trippy--almost like what Escher would have done if he had worked in animation. There are plenty of other great clips here, as well. If you're new to animation, this is a great starting point, and if you've scene it all before, then this DVD is a fantastic set of highlights.

Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Dull ¿Cutting Edge¿
Review: Perhaps the folks behind the Spike and Mike label have spent so much time sifting through "sick and twisted" shorts that they've lost the ability to choose the classics. If you could choose to anthologize 17 cutting edge independent animated shorts, why in the world would you choose these? A few are impacting -- "Brother" and "Balance" for example -- but they've also been released on better compilations. As for the rest, you've got to wonder why a) so many animators relish the use of farts and guts and b) why so many people are willing to distribute it.

For more worthwhile contemporary animated shorts, try looking up the Resfest volumes, "The Animation Show," "Avoid Eye Contact," or even the earlier Spike and Mike "classic" offering.

Rating:
Summary: Classics indeed
Review: Spike & Mike have been bringing us the best and most twisted animation for so many years now that it's hard to imagine what the current state of animation would be without them. This DVD collects some of the best animated shorts in one place. There are other collections out there and many of these shorts are available elsewhere but there's no denying this is a rock-solid collection. Some of my favorites on here include the Academy Award-winning "Balance" and the 3D short "The Snowman." If you're looking to turn someone on to the world of non-Hollywood animation this may the best place to start. For hadcore fans this definitely belongs in your collection.

Rating:
Summary: no new films, no extras, no digital quality.
Review: Spike and Mike scrape the barrel again to re-release another old collection of rehashed animated shorts on DVD, with minimal extras and unrestored VHS picture and sound quality.

There's very little rhyme or reason as to the selection process behind such a random compilation. Aside from a couple Internet cartoons that you could just watch online for free, everything else here has been previously available on other, superior collections. All I can guess is they had some old film licenses lying around that were close to expiring and they wanted more of your money.

I have to sadly agree with the other reviewers here, that Spike and Mike is truly dead. Pick up the "Animation Show" instead, or if you can still find them, the old out-of-print "Tournee" animation collections.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing new here..
Review: What is "cutting edge" about animated shorts over 10 years old and internet cartoons we've all seen before? I keep hoping for Spike and Mike to release just one good DVD, but from the looks of it, it probably won't ever happen.

While the quality of the cartoons here are a step up from their usual bathroom humor, all of them are pulled from previous video tape and DVD volumes. There's not a single piece that even a casual fan has not seen a million times before.. have they given up on finding new material? Out of money? Too out of touch? I used to be a big fan of this stuff, but these guys have been out of steam for years.

Rating:
Summary: Give it Another Try
Review: When I first wrote my review for this disc, I panned it. Recently, I've given it another go, and I have to say that this isn't such a bad little compilation after all. I still don't have too much interest in the blood-guts-and-butts humor of "An Old Story," "Maakies" or "Cane Toad," but the disc also includes some fascinating work like Patrick Smith's "Drink," Mo Willems' "Iddy Biddy Beat Boy," Pjtor Sapegin's "One Day a Man Bought a House," and Raimund Krumme's "Ropedancers." "Stubble Trouble" is quick and humorous, and with The World's Best Animation DVD out of print, it's nice to see the German film "Balance" available for a new generation of artists.

So, Spike and Mike, I take back some of what I said before. While I still prefer your previous release, "Spike and Mike's Classic Festival of Animation," I appreciate the effort in putting some very unique animations on one very affordable disc. Here's looking forward to an even better compilation in the future!