ANIMATED Exeter, the South West's leading independent animation film festival is nearly here again. For the second year running Animated Exeter has an outpost in North Devon at The Plough Arts Centre in Torrington.

The Plough will be screening animated films and running animation workshops. Films include Puss In Boots, Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, The Dark Crystal and Tatsumi.

Puss In Boots (U) shows on Monday, February 13 and Wednesday, February 15, at 2pm. A Dreamworks spectacular, it follows the events leading up to the sword fighting cat's meeting with Shrek and his friends.

Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked shows on Thursday, February 16, 2pm or Friday, February 17, 5pm. Playing around on a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidently go overboard and end up marooned on a not-so-deserted island.

There's a rare chance to see The Dark Crystal (PG) on the big screen on Thursday, February 16, 7pm. On another planet in the distant past, a gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magic crystal and so restore order to this world.

While on Wednesday, February 22, 8pm there's a celebration of the life and work of Japanese comic artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi in the film Tatsumi. In the late 1950s, he pioneered a breakthrough in Japanese comics, redefining the manga landscape by encouraging an alternative genre for adults.

On Thursday, February 16, 2 to 4pm there is a Family Film Animation workshop for children and parents. Participants will explore the theme of fairytales through hands-on animation.

There's also a Fishy Tales workshop on Saturday, April 14 (10.30am to 1pm for children aged 5 to 7 years or 2 to 4.30pm for children over 8). A chance to make characters from driftwood, shells, card and fabric and then animate them using software animation.

Box office: 01805 624624.