A shot from Sean Scott's Tongue Twister. Courtesy of Mellow Manor Productions. © Collideascope Digital Productions.

Several works this year are somewhat sophisticated and avoid the loud brash style of storytelling that has dominated past shows. In Chicken Coup a rooster discovers that his pet fish fathered what he thought was his off-spring. This isn't a great work, but it did make me chuckle. Billy's Balloon, about balloons getting their revenge, is another nice understated tale. It won the grand prize for Best Short Film at Slamdance this year and was selected to be shown in the official competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

A quick glance at the titles in the program tells us a wide variety of subject matter is covered. Among the titles are Die Hard in Under Two Minutes, Bowlin' for Souls, Swing Sluts, Radioactive Crotch Man, Forrest Dump, The Beckers: Cannibalism and Your Teen, and Home, Honey, I'm Higher: What You Should Know About Drugs. The film about a middle class son developing a craving for human flesh, including his own, was an unexpected treat and possibly the best work in the show. Unfortunately the "naughty" parody of Forrest Gump (1994) was a mindless pre-teen bathroom joke and the pro-drug movie was well made but boring. Swing Sluts is a tribute to really stupid valley girls. While I consider the film awful, I assume it will be a hit with the intended audience.

The Spike & Mike produced Swing Sluts lets director Brett Johnson take a biting crack at the stereotypical valley girl. © Mellow Manor Productions.

Previous Spike and Mike programs have had a somewhat juvenile heterosexual consciousness, so it came as a surprise to see an inoffensive homosexual gag in one film. Even more unusual is Legend of Raggot, an outrageous comedy about a bored gay couple that devises a ludicrous plan for finding sexual fulfillment. It was directed by Sean Scott who also animated Tongue Twister. I suspect he is an emerging talent who will go on to bigger and more outrageous projects.

Part of the program's success comes from the films being extremely short. Most are designed to deliver their punch lines as quickly as possible using an economical amount of artistic talent. A dozen works in the show are under three minutes in length and nothing is over six minutes long. This results in a fast paced program.

Another strength of the new show is the expanded variety of subject matter. This keeps the show moving forward. If one form of humor doesn't amuse you, just wait a minute as the next film might very well have you laughing.

Students at San Francisco State used to complain that the shows got boring quickly as there were too many cartoons that were similar. One wrote in a term paper that the 1993 show was, "essentially boring and redundant... the festival wore thin, (I was) dissatisfied with the show when it ended." The present program has enough variety and vitality to keep most fans entertained from start to finish.

The screening of Academy Award-winning Bunny and 1999 Cannes' Official Competition Selected Billy's Balloon proves that Spike & Mike isn't just shock. Courtesy of Mellow Manor Productions. © 1998 Blue Sky Studios and © Bit

In past years much of the artwork was amateurish looking. It appears there was a conscious effort this year to select better looking films for the show. Spike and Mike commissioned four works in the current program and all have well designed titles and graphics. It appears somebody within the company, who likes the 1950s modern design look, has worked with the animators to improve their visual designs.

What Is The Appeal Of These Shows?
Since sick and twisted animation mainly appeals to a young audience, I have been asking students for their opinions of the show for many years. Several have commented on what motivated them to see it in their term papers. One said, "People are drawn to the obscene, the bizarre, the freak show. People like to test their tolerances... it promises the wild and raunchy. These are cheap thrills - cheap thrills are good thrills." Someone else said he was "curious to see rare, hard to see work." He had heard the program had a large cult following just as the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) did a few years ago.

The desire to be shocked was important to many people. One person explained that he wanted a change from his daily life and he wanted to see something that he couldn't see on TV or at regular movie houses. He expected to be shocked and offended. He said, "Being shocked can be fun... the show is meant to be shocking, not cute or sentimental."