About Us

Since 1998, The Animation Show of Shows has selected the best in animated short films from the world’s most renowned animation festivals and presented them at the major animation studios to inspire their animators and directors.

Curated by Acme Filmworks founder Ron Diamond, The Animation Show of Shows collection features 162 superb films that until now have received only a limited release or have only been available in expensive compilations. Now this dazzling collection is being offered exclusively in a deluxe set of 54 DVDs—available individually or in 9 boxed sets—for less than the cost of a download from iTunes. Acme Filmworks has long been known for its award-winning commercials by many of the world’s best animators, now presents an award-winning collection of some of the best animated short films of the last twenty years.

Ron created the annual Animation Show of Shows as a way of bringing the year’s best shorts, selected from festivals around the world, to industry professionals who might not otherwise have an opportunity to see them. The screenings at major studios such as DreamWorks, Pixar, Disney and many others throughout North America have served to inspire and enrich the many professionals who have been lucky enough to see them. With the release of these DVD collections, everyone now has the opportunity to enjoy these artistic gems, which, in the space of five or ten minutes, provide an experience as poignant, humorous, or profound as the best feature film.

The 162 shorts include multiple Academy Award® winners, as well as even more nominees, and other films that have won major prizes at Cannes, Annecy, Zagreb, Ottawa, and Berlin. The techniques range from hand-drawn, paint on glass and stop-motion, to the latest computer-generated imagery, with its ability to conjure entire worlds with astonishing verisimilitude. Together these films capture, in the words of Andrew Stanton, writer and director of Finding Nemo, “all the wit, cleverness, integrity, warmth and humor that humanity is capable of,” and have a universal appeal that makes them ideal for sharing with family and friends.