You probably are one of the millions that grew up on some diet of television. And in that diet consisted, at least a portion, if not a full course of Sesame Street. Sure we recall the usual cast of Jim Henson characters that pleasantly populated the screen, along with the live-action folks, all with the aim of educating some moral rightness within us. But between many of these scenes were strange animated segues that, on their own made little sense, but within the context of the whole show made perfect sense (well, sort of). Even then, as children with an unformed mind, we were not really caring that it was teaching us anything, but that it looked so cool!

Now that have we have grown up with “real” opinions and points of view about the world, we have largely forgotten what goes on down on Sesame Street. It was part of our childhood and now we move on. In the film world, we have centered upon more important works of, say, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and other sorts of filmmakers that have influenced and changed the cinematic landscape. Yet, nestled beneath the giants of our culture, are those seedlings from our youth that still require attention once in a while. And in those cinematic seedlings, it comes in the works of Al Jarnow.

Just, who is Al Jarnow? I never heard of him when I got this set. I was curious. Once I put it on, I was suddenly shifted back to the days of watching Sesame Street all over again. Well, not in the same way. This was a new experience, but recalled so much from my past. Here is that unsung artist who created many of those strange animated segues that objects move through space with stop-stop motion, or classic style animation, or even computer animation. So who is Al Jarnow ?

In this collection of short films, you are treated to 45 short animated films, most that were originally broadcast on either Sesame Street or 3-2-1 Contact, the latter a show I did not grow up with, but was aware of its existence. In these sequences, you hear little kids yelling simultaneously at some sort of completion of a task, or see them get together moving across the screen in some sort of musical manner. Or see seashells grow large and then small and then to move around on the ground in circles. These are just scenarios that happen.

On the flat plane of traditional animation, squares move in space, turning, changing and multiplying, or we move through space: up and down stair cases, through a valley and hovering over a hilltop. But all is designed under two umbrellas: the first is a means of teaching children about space, math or time; and the second is the scientific understanding that Al Jarrow approached the subjects by discovering either new means of animating something, or discovering how nature is designed or behaves. Such is the manner in which the centerpiece of this collection, Celestial Navigations, is constructed. His use of planes, perspectives and movement exemplify his work both as an artist and a scientist. One might argue that Jarnow has found a middle ground exploring his relationship with nature, while teaching those his discoveries.

The short film titled Celestial Navigations, is a live action stop-motion piece of how sunlight passes through the window of his studio apartment on the third floor, onto the wall throughout the day from equinox to equinox. Jarnow would map out the points onto the wall with pencil and ruler of where the sun is as it moves across, while narrating in astrological notation the time of the earth's position. From here he painted the squares of light and then animated the sequence to give an amazing realism that is simplistic in design. It is here we might say that all his other works are inspired from. You can see the dedication and attention to detail as he goes forth with his project with a precision only an artist could have. It becomes and observation of the observer.

Many of the sequences in this film are so simplistic in their presentation that one would argue that a style exists that one might call “Jarnownian” (or whatever extension you want to give). But viewed as a collection, they are unmistakable. One of the qualities I really like about this approach is that Jarnow lets you in his animation process. Many of the films show you what he is animating, to the degree that you are watching an animation of how animation is created. Throughout the drawings, you see many lines that tell you how the scene was put together, or hints of previous scenes or lines that go off the page. Sometimes he even animates the animation board, with the artists chair, sitting empty swiveling about at its completion. The film Celestial Navigations is a more complex example of Jarnow at work, and in his own style, animated himself in the process of stop-motion to demonstrate both time and space and the changes that take place. 

As stated, getting this set, I was not aware of Jarnow, however, doing some searches (even if most of them led to this DVD) I found he has a respectable following and has revolved in such circles with such avant-garde mavericks as Stan Brakhage and famous animators like Walter Lantz (famous for his creation of Woody Woodpecker). His work is treated more as art than he as a cartoonist or even animator. In the documentary, Jarnow spoke with Walter Lantz who enjoyed his films, but said "If you want to go somewhere, you need a character". Jarnow apparently did not need such a device. Films aside, Jarnow explored various types of artistic means from painting to sculpting to art at the beach to creating software! In my own respect for animation as an art form, in my studies I learned of Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery and many of the greats of animation and considered myself knowledgeable. So Jarnow coming out into the light with this set is a new discovery for me.

Celestial Navigations: The Short Films of Al Jarnow package comes with a single DVD in a slimline case, a 60-page booklet housed in a cardboard slipcase. Quality of both sound and video are very good from what I can tell. At least, there was no glaring audio drops or changes, and the visuals were consistent throughout. Given the medium used, any slight imperfection beyond the original print gives it character. The extras include an interview with Al Jarnow who talks in depth about his work, style, inspirations and how he came about doing some of the animations. The booklet offers an introduction by Al Jarnow, an essay titled 'From Stonehenge to Northport By the Sun: Dead on the Third Floor', by his son Jesse Jarnow. Another essay, ' Independent Frames' by George Griffin. 

Celestial Navigations is released by Numero Group, who is known for their CD collection, this being the first DVD release in their library numbered 031.  Overall this is an excellent collection of animated shorts. Animation enthusiasts, especially those who still appreciate the hand-drawn style, will eat this up! This set is being released on February 23rd and copies can be ordered at Amazon or through the Numero Group website. Highly recommended!