On a movie screen that usually plays artsy fare, bodies can be seen being charred, maimed blown up and completely destroyed.
Thursday was the last day of Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival at the Valley Art Theater on Mill Avenue. Cartoons sure have changed.
People who love to see raccoons impaled on trees or would enjoy watching a moose sever its own legs will enjoy the three sadistic installments of "Happy Tree Friends," a cartoon about violent and unfortunate woodland creatures that makes "The Itchy and Scratchy Show" look tame.
This didn't stop an audience member from saying, "That was cute," after one violent episode concluded.
Stomach this and it's all downhill. Just keep saying it's all a cartoon.
Not all of the shorts are disturbing or even crass. There's an odd black-and-white French installment about crabs called "Crab Revolution," which is actually very original and entertaining.
Another short, "Proper Urinal Etiquette," plays like a 1950s informative classroom movie and instructs a young boy on how to select the right urinal in a row when other people are in the bathroom. Most men are probably already familiar with the all-important "buffer zone," the space left between restroom patrons.
However, most do include some sort of questionable material, allowing the festival to live up to its name. A few of the shorts, such as "The Boy Who Could Smell the Future" and "The Answer" are around 2 minutes long and consist of a brief setup followed by a swift ending in the form of a twist or a punchline. Some are more rewarding than others.
This can also be said for the entire program, which contains 23 different episodes and runs under two hours. It's a mixed bag and not consistently enjoyable, but it's also niche entertainment. There are probably a lot of avid cartoon fans out there who may love every minute. Those people form the audience to which this show is geared. There was, interestingly enough, a wide gamut of ages in the audience, but two people who looked like they were at least in their 50s walked out together when the show was halfway through.
But it would be difficult for anyone to avoid laughing at the longest and most hilarious cartoon, "Here Comes Dr. Tran." In this almost 8-minute-long film, both live action and animation are used to create a fake movie trailer about a hero named Dr. Tran. "Dr. Tran" has appeared at the festival before and is back this year due to audience requests.
In the film, a movie trailer voice over speaks about Dr. Tran's feats of strength to a young boy who insists that he's just a child and couldn't possibly be a doctor. The voice's ravings become increasingly distressing and of course more sick and twisted, much to the boy's dismay.
Those who want to revisit one of their favorite former childhood activities -- but with a harder edge -- may enjoy this cartoon festival, but those with soft stomachs may want to buy a ticket for "The Pacifier."
Chaz Holmes is a freelance contributor to the Web Devil. Reach him at chazholmes62@hotmail.com.
ONLINE EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated March 14.
