For he goes birling down a-down the white water;
That’s where the log driver learns to step lightly.
It’s birling down, a-down white water;
A log driver’s waltz pleases girls completely.

As the National Film Board of Canada marks its 70th anniversary this year with its Get Animated! film festival at the Cinematheque, it is the nostalgic images conjured up by those three letters - N, F and B - of flannel-wearing, log-driving ballerinas, psychotic house-destroying cats and Scrabble-loving, apocalypse-ignoring grumpy old men that should drive the children of the ‘80s in droves to this event.

Back then, children were guaranteed to be spoon-fed at least a couple of NFB short films between their Saturday morning cartoons.

With only about 12 channels to choose from, one had little choice but to tune in to a history lesson about Flin Flon for the 600th time or to watch an egg try to repair its own shell, courtesy of the NFB.

Though those days may be long gone, the National Film Board’s Animation Department has continued to feed its creative creed.

Hailed as one of the most important animated film studios in the world, the NFB continues to have an output that not only utilizes major technological breakthroughs in animation, but creates them.

The Winnipeg lineup of Get Animated!, running from Tuesday, Oct. 27 to Saturday, Oct. 31, features a variety of ways to celebrate and enjoy this major Canadian staple in creativity.

Appropriately titled “A Master Class With Cordell Barker,” Tuesday night’s event featured an analysis of clips from the animation legend’s own films, as well as a study of the short films of other animators.

Barker, the creator of the classic animated short The Cat Came Back, discussed the important element of timing in animation.

On Wednesday night, Oct. 28, Barker’s new film Runaway was screened along with eight other exciting new animated shorts.

Thursday night will be a showcase of the best animated short films from around the world.

Friday, Oct. 30 will feature films from local independent and student animators.

Saturday, otherwise known as Halloween, will focus on the kids.

Along with a hands-on workshop where kids can learn animation techniques using digital cameras and various inanimate objects, there will be a screening of five kid-friendly short films.

This, in conjunction with the Halloween party that follows, should help a new generation of Winnipeg children fall in love with the endlessly imaginative animation of the National Film Board.

So whether it be to stimulate your nostalgia-seeking psyche, to activate or expand your imagination or just to suck up some gorgeous, award-winning short films, the National Film Board’s Get Animated! festival is jam-packed with enough unique animated wonderment to entice and satisfy everyone.

Published in Volume 64, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 29, 2009)