While not every short in this collection is a gem, the four or five that are impressive are unbelievably creative. Guard Dog is a gut-bustingly hilarious opening from the great Bill Plympton, with a great combination of clever, uproarious comedy with a twist of tragedy. Ward 13 is one of the most impressive action movies I've ever seen. That's quite a lot to say for a short animated film, but check it out and you'll see what i mean, it's relentlessly kinetic and dynamic. There's a short called Pan with Us that's an interpretation of a poem by robert frost that is a unique, ingenious form of animation unlike anything else out there. It's unfortunate that Don Hertzfeldt felt the need to make something so epic and out of character for his work because i think it left most of the audience disappointed, but it still had glimmers of his simple, comic genius. Thankfully, there are plenty of other works that cover up the less exciting ones. With the previous ones i mentioned, plus the gorgeous motion paintings of The Man With No Shadow, the perfect auditory love story of Hello, and thoughtful, subtle interconnected story of livestock humanoids in When the Day Breaks, the Animation Show Volume 2 is an amazing collage of the best modern animation in the world.