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The Nicktoons Film Festival Announces:
Screening 7–"Of Monsters
and Machines"
The Nicktoons Film
Festival continues this Sunday with
Screening 7, a selection of six shorts made by animators
from around the globe. A co-production of Frederator Studios
and Animation Magazine for Nicktoons, The Nicktoons
Film Festival airs on the Nicktoons cable channel Sunday
nights 10 p.m (EST) and 7 p.m. (PST), with a repeat at 1 p.m.
(EST) and 10 p.m. (PST). The films featured in Screening
Number 7–are Welcome to My Life by Elizabeth
Ito of Glendale, Calif.; Kactus Kid from Lancast Mota
Dos Santos and Renato Canini of Brazil; Robot Family: The
Slick Salesman by Chris Harding of Prairie Village, Kansas;
Wingnut from Conrad Chu of Alameda, Calif.; Medusa
by Pierce Davison of Australia; and Martini and Meatballs:
Avery’s Game by Mike Csunyoscka of Canada’s
Nelvana.
The Nicktoons
Film Festival:
Screening 7—"Of
Monsters and Machines"
Airdate & Time: December
5, 2004, 10 p.m. (EST); 7 p.m. (PST), Nicktoons
Film
#1: Welcome to My Life (Length: 4:42; hand-drawn
2D)—This black-and-white mocumentary taks a hilarious look
inside the lives of monsters living among us. Viewers learn
that though these creatures may look different, they are really
no different from the rest of us. Pleasantly reminiscent of
Aardman’s classic clay animation short, Creature Comforts,
Welcome to My Life won the Peer’s Pick at CalArts
and was an official selection of the San Diego Asian American
Film Festival. (Contact Elizabeth Ito at minkymail@yahoo.com.)
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Film
#2: Kactus Kid (Length: 7:00; Flash and Traditional
2D)—Brazilian filmmakers Lancast Mota Dos Santos and Renato
Canini take us way back with this cowboy yarn set in Idle Ville,
"the least known city in the west." There we find
Jack Wondertaker, the peace-loving undertaker who mounts his
valiant horse, Twister, to fight for truth and justice as his
alter ego, the Kactus Kid. When a mysterious, gun-toting
stranger arrives in town, our hero fears that he may be an assassin
who has come to put an end to Kactus Kid. Fans of old
UPA cartoons should get a kick out of this English-subtitled
short featuring humorous commercial brakes for such products
as Wells Fargo delivery, Dust Storm powered milk and Scalpex
hair tonic. (Contact Lancast Mota Dos Santos and Renato Canini
by e-mailing Denise Ehlersat ehlersd@terra.com.br.)
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Film
#3: Robot Family: The Slick Salesman (Length:
2:15; Digital 2D)—We all know the feeling. You sit down
to have dinner with the family when the phone rings. "Could
be important," you say to yourself, only to find yourself
being chatted up by a slick telemarketer who won’t take
"sorry, we’re not interested" for an answer.
Apparently, even metal automatons have this problem. Filmmaker
Chris Harding uses simple visuals and pitch-perfect acting to
put a hilarious twist on this common annoyance.
Film
#4: Wingnut (Length: 2:45; 3D CG)—Conrad
Chu uses beautifully rendered 3D images and haunting music to
tell the story of a lonely robot who finds that his squeaky
joints can be an asset when it comes to making new friends.
The short won the Academy of Art University Spring Show Animation
Award for special achievement in 2004. (Contact Conrad Chu at
conradchu@bbcberk.org.)
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Film
#5: Medusa: Pilot (Length: 3:00; Stop-motion animation)—This
first installment in a 13-part series for SBS Television in
Australia shows how difficult it is to be a mythological character
in modern times. Needless to say, dating can be a pain for the
snake-haired Medusa. Will the bloke take one look at her and
turn to run, or will he turn to stone? A former ABC Young Filmmaker
of the year, Davison founded Davison Bros. Prods. with his brother,
Seymour. They say they are currently working out how to animate
an octopus knotting gloves, just for fun. Also in the pipeline
are various dramas and animations about mathematics, propaganda
and Ho Chi Minh. (Contact producer Jacob F. Jord at Jacob@papercutmedia.com.)
Film
#6: Martini and Meatballs: Avery’s Game (Length:
5:00; Flash)—A unique 2D visual style marks this funny
and action-packed installment from Canadian toon house Nelvana.
Our canine heroes think they’re quite clever when they
build a giant gorilla robot, but things get out of control when
a video game console falls into the beast’s brain and sends
it rampaging across the city and toward a nuclear power plant.
Can the gang stop it in time, or is it game over for everyone
within a 200-mile radius? Tune in and find out. (For more information,
Hally Butera a line at halleybutera@corusent.com.)
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