Extraordinary Tales2015

Both the source material and the man reading it are legendary. And that inherent cool factor in Extraordinary Tales carries the final product a very long way, although its shortcomings do sometimes force me to wonder if it could have been a masterpiece instead of a mere curiosity.

I can welcome almost any kind of introduction of classic writers to the short attention spanned people of today. Now, this only has 5 or so tales, and somewhat abbreviated at that. But the simple animation, along with good narration, bring the theme (if not the tone) of Poe's works to light (read: dark). Those who don't know Poe this serves as a simple, cliff note version.

Like "A Cat in Paris" or "Sita Sings the Blues," Extraordinary Tales reminds viewers that animation can enable an artist to realize an individual vision, even on a limited budget.