“The Animation Show” may prove to be the perfect
compromise for students appalled by the shock value tactics of
“Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of
Animation,” yet too intellectually pretentious for Saturday
morning cartoons.
Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt are the seasoned masterminds
behind the film, which Campus Events will screen on campus this
weekend. Although sometimes compared to the “Spike &
Mike” festival, “The Animation Show”
distinguishes itself with its creators’ strong histories and
experience.
Whereas the “Spike & Mike” festival was set up
by fans of animation, “The Animation Show” is overseen
by veterans in the animation field itself. Hertzfeldt is an Academy
Award nominee, and the wide success of Judge’s creations,
which include “Beavis and Butthead” and “King of
the Hill,” speaks for itself.
“Mike and Don have a lot of recognition in the animation
field because people know their work,” said Robert May,
“The Animation Show’s” programming director.
“Because of this, they had important interaction with other
creators and this made it easier to get other directors to add
their shorts.”
The show, which compiles 17 animated shorts from eight
countries, premiered in the fall of 2003 and has been shown in
almost 200 cities to date. While many of the shorts have already
garnered accolades, and six of the pieces were nominated for
Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, most of them have not
had any theatrical distribution.
Still, only one of the pieces was prepared exclusively for the
show. Hertzfeldt created a trilogy, one of his four contributions
to the show, which fills in the short intermissions between the
longer pieces.
“Many of these shorts have only been seen among devoted
animation fans and award organizations,” May said. “The
show is meant to bring more experimental and witty animation to a
wider audience.”
Another aspect that sets “The Animation Show” apart
is its adherence to two-dimensional animation. While there are a
few 3-D shorts, the majority of the films stick to traditional
forms and techniques. This form is especially characteristic of
Hertzfeldt’s work; his characters consist of cloud-like
bodies with stick-like extremities.
“Judge and Hertzfeldt both believe the power in animation
lays not so much in the flashy presentation as in the
storytelling,” May said.
Viewers do not have to be animation connoisseurs to relate to
the short films. Some of the shorts provided inspiration for a few
of pop culture’s favorite movies. Tim Burton’s short
“Vincent” is a precursor to his “Nightmare Before
Christmas” and models the larger movie’s dark, gothic
style.
And fans of Judge’s “Office Space” are in for
a treat with his short, “Milton,” named after the
obsessive cubicle slave who finds refuge from modern office life in
the defense of his cubicle, stapler and radio.
Animation junkie or novice aside, some students are excited
about the chance to see something other than movies featured on
campus.
“I think it’s cool how Campus Events is taking a
different direction in showing animation,” said Mario
Bassani, a third-year political science student. “This type
of smart animation shows that it’s not just for the
kids.”
“The Animation Show” will screen today and
Friday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Tickets
are $2 at the door.