As animation evolves, so does the beloved Spike and Mike's Festival
Vancouver, BC - March 11, 2010 - After a three-year hiatus, Spike and Mike are returning with a new genre of animation. Its newest and latest festival is called the New Generation Animation Festival, which replaces the Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation that started back in 1990. Wanting to move away from the crude and politically incorrect themes of the past, this year's festival focuses on animation that is artistic, thought-provoking, humorous and technically savvy.
Founded in 1977 by Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble, the Festival of Animation is a collection of short, animated films. It takes place annually at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla, California and then tours theatres, film festivals and college campuses across North America.
The festival originally showcased classic, traditional animation, but eventually started featuring shorts that were lewd and unrated. This came to be known as the Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. The festival has since become a haven for aspiring animators and filmmakers. In fact, Tim Burton, John Lasseter and Nick Park made their mark in the industry by premiering their films through Spike and Mike during the 1980s.
Although Mike died from cancer in 1994, Spike continues to organize the Festivals of Animation. He spent the past three years compiling the best and funniest animated shorts in the world to show this year. The festival will play 19 films that touch on almost every animation style - from 3D to CGI to Claymation. Among the best are Oktapodi, the Pixar-influenced CGI animation that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009, For Sock's Sake, which combines stop-motion with 2D mechanics, and Eleven Roses, a story of unrequited love that shifts between 2D and 3D animation to fit the film's changes in mood.
Spike and Mike's New Generation Animation Festival starts April 1, 2010 at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver.
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