Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Animation, creative visuals
Likes: "Daria"
Dislikes: Very short DVDs
Hates: Not getting expected extras

The Show
Patrick Smith is not a well-known name in mainstream filmmaking, but he is an award-winning animator who's worked on popular cult series like Daria and Downtown. Pretty much everyone has seen his work though, as he was the artist behind the little cartoon Zoloft blob that used to be on TV every minute or so.

What most people had not seen are his short films, where he really gets to show his skills as an animator, combining a Plympton-esque sense of the absurd and physical deformities with a Looney Tunes-level gift for musical integration. These films are seen on his web site and mainly in animation festivals and fit firmly into that genre, eschewing story for emotion, putting the onus on the look and technique.

Liquid Tales brings together his first five animated films, missing only the upcoming "Masks" to represent his complete filmography. Ranging from his first short, "Drink" to his most recent release, "Puppet," the films show a definite progression in Smith's skill, as "Puppet" shows a control of his style that's not as evident in his earlier films, and, combined with "Handshake," indicates a confidence in animating chaotic action that was hinted at in "Drink."

The films included in Liquid Tales are:

"Drink": A young guy comes across a container of liquid and takes a drink, setting off a series of transformations, which emerge from inside of him, revealing a new and different persona. Even for his first film, it's very polished and shows off his unique style and kinetic animation.

"Delivery": The arrival of a package at the house causes a brutal case of sibling rivalry. The least inventive of the five films, it's got the most story to it. It's also the most "meaningful" film.

"Moving Along": A music video for hip-hop group The Planets, this dark short gives life to the song, creating a militaristic feel for a bunch of puppet soldiers/thugs. It's a more complex film than the others, due to the video-style editing, but otherwise its a pretty straightforward example of Smith's visual style. It's also something of a precursor to the design of "Puppet."

"Handshake": Brighter and more naturalistic than the other films, this short examines the bond created by a handshake, in a very visual way. Very organic in its look, there's a simplicity to "Handshake" that helps amplify the quality of the animation by making just one main portion the focus. Of the five shorts, this was the most enjoyable.

"Puppet": The newest short in the collection, this is possibly the most imaginative, as a man's sock puppet turns against him. Simple in its design, without much in the way of backgrounds, importance is placed upon characterization in the main characters. It also has the most complete story arc, showing maturation in Smith's storytelling.

The DVD
Packed in a standard keepcase, this one-disc release has a static full-frame main menu that offers a choice of shorts, and the options to check out the special features or play all the shorts. There are no audio options, no subtitles and no closed captioning.

The Quality
The full-frame presentation is clear and clean, allowing the viewer to easily see all the detail of the pencil shading and strokes as they were intended. Color is solid and naturally reproduces the sometimes vivid, sometimes muted look of Smith's films.

The audio, delivered as PCM 2.0 tracks, is very strong, with a center-channel focus, resulting in crisp, powerful music and distortion-free sound effects and dialogue (where present.)

The Extras
According to the box, the DVD is supposed to have a commentary by Smith for each short, but when you check out the bonus menus, only three are listed, for Drink, Puppet and Delivery. A fourth, for Moving Along, can be found by adjusting the audio track, but Handshake is sans commentary (unless it's hidden somewhere.) Smith is a subdued speaker, but he provides a good deal of background on the cartoons, keeping the focus mainly on technical matters.

Pencil tests for Handshake and Puppet are included, which are interesting for animation buffs, as they show the development of the art.

A 12-minute interview with Smith, done for an animation web site, covers the bases you'd expect from a personality profile, though there's considerable discussion of animation technique, which makes sense considering the source.

The Bottom Line
Smith's work is visually impressive and technically adept, and the storylines, though limited, are interesting and original. The only problem is the amount of material, as the five films add up to barely 30 minutes of video. The disc's quality, outside of a menu problem, is good, and there are a couple of decent extras, but you're paying a lot of money for a limited amount of content, making this disc attractive mainly to Smith fans and diehard animation aficionados.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.