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KPBS Midday Edition

Midday Movies: Spike And Mike's 30th Anniversary Festival Of Animation Extravaganza

By Alison St John / Reporter,  Beth Accomando / Arts & Culture Reporter
Published February 4, 2013 at 8:02 AM PST
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
Damian Nenow's "Paths of Hate" won best film award at Comic-Con and special distinction at Annecy 2011. It screens as part of SPike and Mike's 30th Anniversary special.
Damian Nenow
Damian Nenow's "Paths of Hate" won best film award at Comic-Con and special distinction at Annecy 2011. It screens as part of SPike and Mike's 30th Anniversary special.

Not Sick And Twisted Just Award-Winning And Spectacular

Midday Movies: Spike And Mike's 30th Anniversary Festival Of Animation Extravaganza
GUESTS: Craig “Spike” Decker, Festival Founder and Director Joan Gratz, Filmmaker, "Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase"

Whenever you see a festival branded with the names "Spike and Mike," you can be assured that there will be something to dazzle the senses. Spike and Mike’s 30th Anniversary Festival of Animation Extravaganza kicks off this Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.

Spike and Mike (Craig "Spike" Decker and the late Mike Gribble) have been bringing amazing, outrageous, and technically impressive animation to San Diego since 1977. So when you see their name on a festival you know you are in for a treat. They initially gained fame by pushing the envelope with their Sick and Twisted programs of the 1990s. But for this anniversary edition they return to their roots and to animated films that are more notable for their artistry than their raunchiness or extreme attitudes.

Here is Joan Gratz's 1992 Oscar-winning animation, "Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase," one of the films screening at the festival.

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Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase

An accomplished director, artist, and animator, Gratz pioneered the animation technique known as claypainting in which she works with bits of clay that she then blends with colors and etches fine lines to create a seamless flow of images. Gratz’s latest short, "Puffer Girl," moves into the digital realm incorporating photography, Photoshop and AfterEffects with her claypainting.

This latest festival of animation culls films from Spike and Mike's award winning and most popular shorts drom their 30 year history, including more than 10 Academy Award Winners or Nominees. This is a family friendly program that includes such delights as Nick Park's "Creature Comforts" and the classic "Bambi Meets Godzilla."

Special festival guests include: David Silverman (director and producer of "The Simpsons" and "The Simpsons Movie") on February 9th and 10th. He is also a 2013 Oscar Nominee in the Best Short Animation category; and Rich Moore (2013 Oscar-nominated director of Walt Disney's "Wreck-it Ralph") on March 1st and 2nd.

Spike and Mike’s 30th Anniversary Festival of Animation Extravaganza runs February 9th through March 30th at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. You can get ticket information at the Spike and Mike website.

You can listen to Beth Accomando's earlier interview with Spike here.

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Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
Beth Accomando
I cover arts and culture, from Comic-Con to opera, from pop entertainment to fine art, from zombies to Shakespeare. I am interested in going behind the scenes to explore the creative process; seeing how pop culture reflects social issues; and providing a context for art and entertainment.
See stories by Beth Accomando
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