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Jim Trainor premieres new and old animations at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Thursday.

Sunday Nov 16, 2008.     By Beatrice Smigasiewicz

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Jim Trainor's animated shorts always inspire a strong response, whether it's one of sheer disgust or of utter amazement. Childish yet profound, his Sharpie-marker animations depicting the animal world have the same kind of immediacy as naughty notes passed around during recess. They're innocent, simple and so vulgar at times that you can't help but look. On Thursday at 6 p.m., the Gene Siskel Film Center [164 N. State] screens several of his works.

Trainor's interest in animals began when he was a young boy fascinated with dinosaurs, insects and birds. Unlike the typical youngster, though, Trainor turned his curiosity into art, creating animations along with his school buddy at the age of thirteen. He studied at Columbia University, after which he took an office job, bartended, and quietly pursued his passion in the off hours before moving to Chicago to teach animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

His fascination with animal nature has remained constant. Though none of his animations are nature documentaries in any sense, they often display a playful adherence to the rules of the wild. In his faux documentary about an extinct species ("The Moschops"), he uses irony and humor to get his message across. "Scientists believe the Maschops was capable of interior tenderness, which it expressed, ironically, through incessant fighting."

Trainor's most widely acclaimed piece, "The Fetishist," is about a killer whose nature hides somewhere between the wild, animal ego he calls "George" and the rational human self. The film examines the killer's psychology through a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde scenario. The character has no control over his own nature, but he's aware enough to write on the bathroom mirrors of his victims, "For heaven's sake catch me before I kill more!"

His animations are a product of a long process that can take as long as 11 years to complete. For example, "The Fetishist," a 38-minute piece, required him to create as many as 15 images per second of film. Trainor does have his own technique to makes things a bit easier. Most of his cells, or drawings, are done freehand on white copy paper; while most animators go to great lengths to make sure the cells align, punching holes and pinning them to make sure nothing shifts or moves during the filming process, Trainor leaves the paper be, so his figures flutter and move on their own. This gives them a lively, pulsating look.

Thursday's screening will premiere two new works by Trainor, "The Presentation Theme" and "The Little Garden of Herbert S. Zim." Expect to see a few old favorites as well in "The Animals and Their Limitations" (1998-2004), a collection of shorts including the above-mentioned "The Moschops." The animator will be on hand to answer questions. Check the Film Center's website for tickets.