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An anthology film is a feature film composed of vignettes or Short Films. Generally, the shorts have nothing to do with one another, but occasionally there is a theme, Framing Device, or plot running through the stories, connecting them together. In animation, this kind of film is often called a "package film."

Anthology films are made for various reasons. They give short films exposure they wouldn't otherwise get, since shorts are no longer run by themselves in most cinemas. Anthologies also allow animation studios to practice and experiment without committing millions of dollars to a project. They allow a writer to explore a theme in multiple ways, or show the ways different directors will approach a subject. And sometimes, it really just makes for a neat story. Comedic ones often cross with Sketch Comedy.

An anthology film is different from an anthology of shorts in that all the films were intended to be released together. Fantasia is an anthology film; a collection of Silly Symphonies is not.

Here's Wikipedia's list of anthology films, but feel free to add examples below.

Compare Vignette Episode for serial works.


Examples:

Animation

Live Action


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