Extraordinary Tales (2013)

Directed by Raúl García. Starring (voices) Christopher Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Béla Lugosi, Julian Sands, Cornelia Funke, Stephen Hugh, Roger Corman.

Animated anthology of five Edgar Allen Poe chillers: “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” et al. Interpretations, storytelling approaches, and animation styles are all variable, the most stylish being the lushly garish fifth tale and the stark black & white second episode; the latter features narration from the late Lugosi, culled from a scratchy old recording that gives it a transdimensional beyond-the-grave spookiness. The abridged texts make it suitable for newbies, yet over the long haul, the pic will, no doubt, be best enjoyed by devotees of the writer (ones who don’t mind the revisions/simplifications, that is). Wraparound interstitial material involving a haunted conversation with the “statue of death” and a “raven stand-in” provides a nice touch of dread, but isn’t fleshed-out enough to emerge as much more than morosely meditative padding. Spanish animator/director García also earned writing and producing credits.

60/100