There might come a day when “Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation” is regarded as an intelligent forum for social satire and experimental animation. That dream is probably far from fruition, so until then, we can all just sit back and enjoy the wholesale slaughter of cute and furry animals.
This year’s collection of short films, which will play nightly at the Bijou through March 6, is one of the most diverse in the festival’s history. The entries range from classic cell animation to CGI (computer generated images), cut-outs and even puppets. The subject matter is not for the weak of heart or stomach, and to protect the naive sensibilities of youth, no one under 18 will be admitted.
For those who do make it in, be prepared for a joyful level of moral bankruptcy. Topics such as spousal abuse, oral sex, drug use, inbreeding and violence are all targeted to offend just about anyone with any sense of decency or good taste. So, of course, I laughed like hell. The truth is many of the shorts are well-written, beautifully animated and funny, as well as being brutally violent and degrading.
Highlights include the “Ren and Stimpy”-style of animation of “The Inbreds,” a delirious hillbilly romp complete with guns, moonshine and “Dueling Banjos.” And the festival’s CGI short, “Cubism,” is easily the best-looking, most beautifully rendered fart joke in the history of animation.
The stick figure animation and dead-on timing of Don Hertzfeldt’s festival staple “Ah L’Amour” is also a crowd favorite, along with the Australian short “Shh.” And for those who think there is only a limited number of jokes that can be made about someone with no neck, there is Craig McCracken’s classic series “No Neck Joe.”
The best short by far was the Bermuda Shorts production “1300cc.” The gorgeous artwork and driving music score highlight the story of a biker and an old lady whose paths cross in a bizarre way. Told with pitch-perfect timing and creativity, it manages to be funny, intelligent and even touching. At nine and a half minutes, it’s also the festival’s longest film.
Not all the shorts were as endearing, though. “The Happy Tree Family” series is funny the first four times, but once the theme of decimating fuzzy critters is established, there is only so far you can go with it. Compared with many of the other shorts, “Coco the Junkie Pimp” feels sloppy and underwritten, like something a group of especially juvenile high school boys would come up with over a weekend.
And, of course, it wouldn’t be a “Spike & Mike” festival without at least one short that offends almost the entire audience. This year, it’s “Father and Son Chat,” a stop-motion piece which looks as trashy as its subject matter.
But criticizing a festival of twisted animation for being disgusting is like criticizing “Celebrity Boxing” for being intellectually bankrupt. You get what you expect. And for those who want cartoons that stick to your brain like tar and have more substance than standard commercial Disney fare, “Spike & Mike” give you what you’ve got coming.