There are three different types of animation out there. The first type is the classic Disney feature, like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” These films are works of art, put together with care and design. They are the highest quality of animation around. Even though movies like “Toy Story” and “Shrek” are computer generated, they still fit in this category.

The second type of animation is knock-off animation. This is what you see in the sequels and television shows based on these original films. They can be good, bad or awful. However, there is still an inspiration behind them, no matter how far removed it may be.

The third type of animation is the lowest form. This is the kind that is just slapped together without much care, relying on cliches and ripped-off ideas to survive. It can also be the low-quality Saturday morning work we saw in the 70s and 80s. Sometimes it works - like with many of the Scooby Doo cartoons - but too often it’s just bad.

The thing about animation is that no matter what category it falls in, children will generally like it. Children just don’t have discriminating tastes, and to them, any cartoon is a good cartoon. I remember as a child enjoying some of the worst Saturday morning cartoons around. Do you remember “The Littles”? It was a terrible show with atrocious animations. Same goes for “The Laff Olympics” and about 70 percent of what Hanna Barbera put out. However, I still liked them.

It was only as I grew into an adult that I started to look at the different quality that was out there and truly appreciate the feature classics.

The show “Sharks, Flipper and Lopaka” fell into the third category. Created by famous animator Yoram Gross, this film tells the story of Lopaka, a young island boy whose dolphin friend teaches him how to breath underwater and live in the ocean. Throughout the show, Lopaka splits his time between his family on the island and the fish in the sea.

Underwater, there’s a cranky octopus named Dexter who dreams of ruling the ocean. He’s constantly got a scheme up his sleeve, and he tries to intimidate others with some shark thugs. However, Lopaka and his dolphin friend Flipper refuse to be bullied.

Eight episodes of this series have been collected on this DVD. In these episodes, Flipper and Lopaka encounter a white whale, a sea serpent and a good shark. They also battle a volcano and a curse from the past. Young kids should go for this show simply because it’s a cartoon. However, the adults might find it a little weak.

The animation is cheap, put together by a special system from the 1990s. I’m sure this system made animation easier, but it also gave a blurry staggered look to fast movement on screen. This weak animation pre-dates the use of Shockwave Flash that we see all over the toons nowadays. At least Flash, while cheap and easy, renders cleanly.



Specifications: Dolby Digital Stereo Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.