The visual diversity of these striking personal films reflects John Canemaker's encyclopedic knowledge of animation history: the artist-author draws on the work of John and Faith Hubley, Oskar Fischinger, the National Film Board of Canada, and the Disney tradition of character animation. In "Bottom's Dream," a meditation on "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Canemaker blends pastels, pencil, wat…
Bored, bored, bored. That's how young Keith feels about being stranded at the time-worn Mountain View Inn with his parents. Then he meets Ralph, an equally stir-crazy mouse who quickly befriends Keith and begs to ride Keith's toy motorcycle. Soon Ralph masters the tiny two-wheeler and "rrroom-zzzooms" through the hotel hallways, dodging four-legged predators, adults, and the occasional va…