I should have mentioned: Thank yous to:

SF Signal for finding Space Alone.
http://www.sfsignal.com/

And to Tor editor Paul Stevens for pointing me to Balance.

Okay, I get the artistic freedom thing, but where's the cartoons that are ENJOYABLE AND HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!

One Rat Short almost made it, but the creator chickened out at the end and made it a bittersweet ending. Beautiful animation, great sound, good plot, wonderful action, and the sad ending ruins it. At least for me.

sigh...

Great cartoons, again! I love this feature.

Irene: Great films as always. Balance is a long-time favourite of mine, I've always admired the character who tries (but fails) to get rid of the box.

Annoyed: I totally disagree that One Rat Short's creator chickened out. Would you ask for happy endings if these weren't animated films? If yes, why? These films are like the majority of literature, the endings don't have to be happy and are often ambiguous.

Annoyed,

I'll admit, I was rather surprised how dark many of these films are once I started gathering them. But, while I love Pixar and and other more upbeat movies (in fact, Pixar is one of the only reasons I will wait in line for a movie) I see these shorts as a different kind of experience -- one that lends itself for more ambiguous and introspective feelings. Part of it may be my own sensibilities but since so much of the short indie animation I’m running across is dark, I wonder if the form attracts creators that have shied away from Hollywood features in order to explore these emotions.

In any case, I don’t mean for them to be depressing -- and perhaps there's something wrong with me, but i don't see them all as depressing...per se -- but if I can find some lighter fare, I’ll add it to the mix.

I think these short pieces contain a response to the more mainstream animated works. They stand apart better if the endings and overall tone are as different as possible from anything Disney(or however) would produce. And I found The End and Chainsaw Maid to have very happy endings.

I think these short pieces contain a response to the more mainstream animated works.

Very well put.

I'll simply add that they are part of a conversation an lot of mainstream films ignore -- kind of like SF works are part of a conversation mainstream works ignore.

Already looking forward to next weekend's edition