This year's show is a mixed cocktail with a strong stir from the flaming absinthe spoon. Again proving the world isn't flat, we are set to tour with one of our best shows to date. To provide you with a taste of what's what... We are proud to present Jonas Georgakakis' "Saga of Biorn" a ferociously funny animated Nordic tale divulging the absolute truth about how one might earn the right to enter Valhalla. Then there is Javier Mrad's "Techopolis," an absolutely amazing 12min stop motion piece resembling Fritz Lang's Metropolis black and white film. This is the only show where so many entertaining films like these take the spotlight and are given full theatrical effect.
Before the "Festival of Animation" it was difficult to see independent, experimental, and foreign animation. Spike and Mike embarks on yearly world-wide film hunting expeditions. They have signed-on animation from the National Film Board of Canada, Cal Arts, Sheridan, Royal College of Art, Annecy, and select studios active amongst the art-house scene that at one time did not have a public venue. This Festival has come to be known as one of the most anticipated touring events on the circuit.
Initially, Spike and Mike produced the "Classic Festival" and later both the "Classic" and "Sick and Twisted" simultaneously- but by the early 2000s, the "Classic Festival of Animation" was phased into hiatus by the Sick and Twisted Festival (mainly featuring shorts venturing into the non sequitur e.g. "Lloyd's Lunchbox"). "The Festival" (meaning the current show) premieres a new cavalcade of adventurous films annually. Spike & Mike's "New Generation Animation" noted as the latest genre in animation, without question is now premiering the most captivating film-set of thought provoking concepts, humor, story, and daring production design in animation.
In animation, it is important to have an accurate gauge on the pulsating shifts in pop culture. Spike and Mike's content has evolved with the changing tastes of our times. The shows in their entirety have toured globally in theaters, film festivals (such as Cannes, Sundance, Annecy), college campuses, and dynamic events such as the Vans Warped Tour, the Winter X Games, and with the nu-metal band Korn.
