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Thurs. Feb. 25 & Fri. Feb. 26 Once upon a time, animation was cartoons and cartoons were for kids. Or so a lot of folks thought. But just like comic books weren't just Donald Duck but the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, there was always an animated underground and that's what "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Animation Fest" was been doing for, gulp, 33 years. It's up this year at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. We think the title tells you what you might need to know and you should be aware a few gross-out gags could be involved. You know what that means: animated gross-out gags,from quirky hand-draw stuff to more elaborate computer generated animation. "Spike and Mike’s" is the longest running festival of its kind, and has played a major role in helping the animation medium become one of today’s most popular facets of mass entertainment. Note: the Oscar created for animation, the popularity of "Shrek" and the sequels, "Up," and dozens more. This year, Spike & Mike adds spice to the "S&T" event with another series, “New Generation of Animation,” which focuses on the flat-out best, funniest, hippest, and most sophisticated animated shorts the world has to offer. It's a brain-slapping assortment of award-winning (and worthy) animated accomplishments from the top talents around the globe, including Bill Plympton, PES, the TOWN CALLED PANIC crew. It includes 20 of the world’s most bizarre and acclaimed animated shorts featuring subjects such as Psycho Santas, Phallic Fish, and a trio of zombie-related shorts, not to mention Canadian David Bass’s “Skylight”—a 2-D computer-animated mock documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world—and winner of no fewer than 18 festival awards. Schedule: Thursday at 7:30 p.m.: "New Generation Animation"; 9:30pm "Sick & Twisted Animation, Friday,7:30 p.m.: "Sick & Twisted Animation"; 9:30 p.m. "New Generation Animation." Tickets: $10 advance, $15 day of. Spike & Mike history: It all started in 1977 with Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation and later the popular and infamous Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted. What Spike & Mike have accomplished is quite remarkable. US theatrical premieres have included Wallace & Gromit, Beavis & Butthead, the first films of Shane Acker, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, Pixar, Bill Plympton, Danny Antonucci, Eric Fogel, Breehn Burns, Tim Burton,Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Chris Wedge, Kenn Navarro, Marv Newland, Mike Johnson & Nick Park. 7 Medford St., Arlington, 781-646-4849 www.regenttheatre.com |
