Well worth the rain-soaked trek to Memorial Union, “Animated Shorts from Chicago” (put on be the Chi-Animated All Stars) proved to be a wonderful show. On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Play Circle housed an avid audience. Jodie Mack and other renowned animators revealed their eyes for art in the form of a program full of new techniques and innovative styles.

“Errata,” one of the more inventive shorts (created by Alexander Stewart), was made entirely by photocopying pieces of paper and recording the changes in ink values. The result was a remarkable cycle of rorschach-esque blobs of darkness that alternately receded and grew seemingly at whim. The unique choice of background music further added to the theme of drawing complexity out of simplicity.

Another selection, entitled “Flesh Gun” (by Lale Westvind), was far less abstract; however, it was quite a bit more surreal. The film followed a deformed woman, nude and alone in a barren environment, who was regularly attacked by lecherous, mustachioed astronauts. It was hard to decipher the overarching message of the film, but the vivid images and unnerving sounds were compelling enough to captivate for its duration.

The crowd favorite was “Mermaid” by Lisa Barcy, was a pseudo-noir piece about the love triangle between a man, his wife, and the seductive squid who steals him away. The self-described “tragicomedy” kept the crowd laughing while still maintaining its dark undertones. In addition, the film used an interesting form of media. Paper cutouts against a background of sand presented a striking image, which added to the novelty of the piece.

A show like this, with a diverse range of media and an overabundance of creativity, is an absolute breath of fresh air. While many animated shorts are stuck in the past, these films broke through the barrier and brought the future of film to their viewers in the present.