Lost Animation at Oddball Films August 1, 2009

Event: “Lost Animation” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rarely screened classics of animation, plus a few obscurities. A couple of these have made it to DVD on hard to find collections; most are quite scarce- despite scads of accolades and a few Oscars! Films include: “The Violinist”, voiced by Carl Reiner; “How To Catch A Cold”, a Disn*y/Kleenex collaboration; “Toys”, war toys come to life; “Bags”, a spooky Polish stop-motion rarity; “The Place In The Sun”, a classic Czech short; “The Fly”, brilliant “fly’s-eye view”; “Cat’s Cradle”, creepy Blue Meanies style from a Yellow Submarine animator; “Ersatz”, Oscar-winning mid-century classic; “Mr. Rossi Buys A Car”, a goody from Italy; and more TBA!
Date: Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com
Web: http://www.flarerecord.com/?p=274


"Lost Animation”
Screens at Oddball Films

On Saturday, August 1, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rarely screened animated shorts- both classics and obscurities. Several of these shorts won or were nominated for Academy Awards and all showcase inventive, wild imagination- from the simplest line drawings to painstakingly animated stop-motion figures.
Show time is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“The Violinist” (Color, 1959)

The brilliant Carl Reiner voices this Academy Award nominated short by Ernie Pintoff (Oddball favorite “The Interview”, “The Critic”), about a violinist who learns to play “with feeling”, through the tried and true “suffering artist” method. Pintoff started out as a jazz trumpeter, then a stint at Terry Toons (where he directed the wonderful “Flebus”) before launching his own production company, Pintoff Productions.

“How To Catch A Cold” (Technicolor, 1951)
A highly entertaining PSA in lovely Technicolor, produced as a collaboration between Kleenex (not yet a household name, let alone a genericized product) and Disn*y. Distributed freely to schools, it was seen by millions in its day, but now qualifies as a lost treasure.

“Toys” (Color, 1966)
Grant Munro, frequent Norman McLaren collaborator, directed this clever anti-war and anti-war toy short using the stop-motion technique. It all starts innocently enough with kids coveting the toys in a store window with a groovy soundtrack. But then the war toys come to life and the ensuing violence is quite less than playful.

“Bags” (Color, 1967)
Mysterious and creepy stop-motion film from Poland, directed by Tadeusz Wilcosz. A burlap sack proceeds to consume everything in sight, until all the objects- scissors, sewing machines, etc. revolt, organize and subdue “him”. This may be a parable for something…

“The Place In The Sun” (Color, 1960)
Two figures battle for their spot in the sunshine- a place that should have room for everybody (unless you live in Frisco in the Summer).

“The Fly” (Color, 1980)
The sole representative from the 1980’s is this wonderful Academy Award-winning short from Hungary. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be the “fly on the wall”, you’ll know after seeing this.

“Cat’s Cradle” (Color, 1974)
Directed by Dutch animator Paul Driessen, one of the principle artists who worked on “Yellow Submarine” (and immigrated to Canada in 1971 to join the NFB), this curious piece is reminiscent of the Blue Meanies style, but with a darker tone. Witches, cloaked riders and other gothic characters in a tale about the hungry natural world.

“Ersatz” (Substitute) (Color, 1961)
Another Academy Award winner, this beautifully animated mid-century styled piece is something else! The first non-US animated short to win the Oscar, it took the States by storm and influenced many artists. Cute little guy goes to the beach and inflates everything he needs (and doesn’t need), from a raft, to a girl, a shark and so on…

“Mr. Rossi Buys A Car” (Color, 1966)
Italy was not well known as a hotbed of animation in the 60’s, with the exception of Bruno Bozetto’s great series of shorts starring the “everyman” Mr. Rossi. Here he buys a car and tears around Rome when he isn’t fighting the endless bureaucracy, mechanics and other maniac drivers.

PLUS- More TBA at show time!

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro Theatre.

Official Website: http://www.flarerecord.com/?p=274