May 9 - 16, 1 9 9 6

Wallace & Gromit: The Best of Aardman Animation

With four Oscar nominations and two wins to their credit in the past five years, the ingenious folks at Aardman Animation are top of the heap in the realm of claymation. They've done everything from commercials to children's programming to surreal shorts for the adult imagination in England. But here in the US they're still best (un)known as the visual magicians behind Peter Gabriel's award-winning video for "Sledgehammer."

This delightful, witty, eye-boggling assortment of Aardman artistry is a wonderful introduction to what we've all been missing out on. It opens with "Ident," a five-minute tour of a fantastic world that blends the cartoon-noir of Nightmare Before Christmas with Dalí-like visuals and a Kafka-esque storyline.

Another five minutes is devoted to Nick Park's Oscar-winning "Creature Comforts," a subtle mockumentary about some very human animals that aren't terribly fond of life at the zoo. A charming video for Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares for Me," two humorous doses of the Monty Python-style faux children's show "Rex the Runt," and a hilarious action/adventure mystery that pits cheese-loving, motorcycle-riding pals Wallace & Gromit against a Terminator-like dog round out a 90-minute program of wonders that's over before you know it. At the Kendall Square.

-- Matt Ashare