Extraordinary Tales

Five stories of the macabre tend more toward monotony in the strikingly animated but rather wishfully titled Extraordinary Tales. Spanish writer-director Raul Garcia has brought considerable care and artistry to bear on this omnibus of the ominous inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, though not even the use of a different drawing style for each yarn can ward off a creeping sense of inertia; with a few exceptions, this death-obsessed affair never fully sparks to life.

Released in Stateside theaters just in time for Halloween, the GKids pickup should appeal to young adults and toon buffs inclined toward non-mainstream animated fare, even if it only intermittently captures a sense of Poe’s telltale art.