Endangered Species

The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.

Six interlocking stories reveal Bruce Wayne's earliest adventures as Batman and the steps he took to become the grim avenger of Gotham City.

Mal emerges from the shadows of a mystical forest onto a dark coastline where she crosses paths with Dizzy.

An emotionally scarred former child soldier becomes a letter writer in this condensed recap of the moving, gorgeously animated award-winning series.

A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.