Page 8-The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, September 25, 1991 AT23: You'll have a gay old time The 23rd International Tournee of Animation dir. Various Animators by Brent Edwards Going to every annual animation festival presented at the Michigan Theater is like visiting the Ann Arbor Art Fair year after year. You expect to see familiar pieces by your favorite artists along with some junk you can't believe anybody would like, but you also hope to see something new that'll catch your eye with its wit or innovation. True to form, The 23rd Inter- national Tournee of Animation provides us with the latest pieces by our favorites: the cute escapades of Canadian Paul Driessen's goofy- looking dreamer; a disappointing "environment" piece by Italy's usu- ally outrageous Bruno Bozzetto; and the obligatory hilarious se- quence by American Bill Plympton. Plympton's feature, Push Comes to Shove, which has been aired on MTV in bits and pieces, shows two well-dressed gentlemen inflicting incredible punishment on each other in funny ways. In past years, political allegories have been a popular mode of story telling, but there is a noticeable re- duction of the genre in this year's selection, possibly because anima- 5TH AVE, AT LIBERTY 7619700 $3. OfDAILY SHOWS BEFORE 8 PM / %R ALLODAY TUESDAY . I . *.6 . *. * . S., -S- e e- * - 0 e THE DOCTOR (PG-13) BARTON FINK (R) BUY A22 OZ. DRINK AND GET ONE Free 4 OZ.Popcorn0 PRESENT THIS COUPON WITH PURCHASED TICKET THRU 9/30f91 tors feel less satirical urgency in today's New World Order, but more likely because the funding for these works are coming less from government grants and more from the likes of MTV and Sesame Street. The familiar computer-animated parent/child desk lamps by Pixel are used to demonstrate the word "surprise" and the difference be- tween "light" and "heavy" for the Children's Television Workshop, while a claymation kid named Arnold demonstrates the powers of one's imagination. The pros and cons of animation funding by the entertainment indus- try is evident in Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions. The MTV- funded piece can be compared to the MTV-logo claymation skits that proliferated a year or two ago, mak- ing it apparent that this renewed in- terest by industry in animation has injected money into the art form while diluting its importance. While none of the pieces in the 23rd Tournee have the significance that the Academy Award winner Balance had two years ago, there are still some very entertaining pieces. One of the funniest is Potato Hunter by Timothy Hittle, a claymation short where a hunter tries to capture a member of a group wild potatoes who roam his tabletop environment, finally succeeding when he ca- mouflages himself in a potato skin and infiltrates the herd. There's also an amusing piece about childhood by Stephen Barnes called Capital P, in which a child must choose between wetting his bed and traversing the dark and scary hallway to the bathroom. Two Ann Arbor Film Festival highlights are also included in the festival: the creative Photocopy Cha Cha by Chel White, which won Best Animation and was created solely with photocopies; and the humorous Ode to G.I. Joe by Gregory Grant, which won the Student Academy Award for Animation and has old 12-inch G.I. Joes taking over a little boy's room when they're left alone. Part of the success of the Tournee of Animation series is the way that animation transcends words (most mimicked language sounds, like the school teacher from Peanuts). Yet the most interesting works in the latest collection, by father and son Paul and Menno de Nooijer from the Netherlands, in- corporate a narrator's dialogue. Their pieces At One View and I Should See combine animation, photography and philosophy in a comment on the role of the visual@ media, the artist and time.: Unusually heady for the rest of the Tournee, they add some weight tQ what is otherwise a light yet entert taining collection. THE 23RD TOURNEF OF ANT: MATION runs through October 2nd at the Mich.,fan Theater. Billy Crystal finds his smile in the blockbuster summer comedy, City Slickers. (Just kidding. It's Tim Hittle's Potato Hunter. Yee-haw.) - ----. Napoli Pizza WEDNESDAY SPECIAL OPEN FOR LUNCH 7 DAYS A WEEK MON - SAT 11:00AM TO MIDNIGHT SUNDAY NOON TO MIDNIGHT DELIVERY STARTS AT 4:00 PM 1214 S. UNIVERSITY AT THE GALLERIA 741-1200 Chel White's Photocopy Cha Cha (The Chelmeister - makin' copies!), also shown at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, is the first animated film to be created on a copy machine. Can fax art be far behind? I It's not just another way for you to spend your money It's a way to help you save it. VIDEO Continued from page 5 been purchased by a public televi- sion station in New York for broad' cast later this year. Sternberg is cur- rently finishing her degree here at!' the University and is studying to become a professional documentaryI filmmaker. The Ann Arbor premiere of One Banana, Two Bananas is part of ' program of cutting-edge perfot7 mance art at the Performance Net- work this weekend. (Actually;: Sternberg's video played at the Ann~ Arbor 8 mm film fest two yearsl: ago, but nobody showed up excepf' her dad and "some guy fromt Toledo.") Portions of the proceeds, from the show will be donated to,,' the Hospice of Washtenaw, a sup,., port organization which, as Stern%, berg describes, "makes it easier fo? people to live with someone they love who happens to be dying." ONE BANANA, TWO BANANAS plays, along with other art and artists, at the Performance Network Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $9, $7 for students. The, video will also be shown on Sunday at 6:30 at $5 per ticket. RECORDS Continued from page 5 the recent glut of pseudo-funk pre- tenders on the musical scene."If Were A... I'd," a four-part live skankin' workout that pops u throughout the album, takes tongue-in-cheek look at anything and everything ("If I believed evA2 erything I saw on television/ I'd.' W Think like Brady Bunch/ Eat; Wendy's for lunch..."). So strap orb your crash helmet and lace up those. steel-toed Doc Marten's; thy. 'Bone's gonna go for your head a' well as your feet. -Scott Sterling Stereo MC's Lost In Music (12") 4th and Broadway For those who live to dance, the Stereo MC's have whipped out a new disc to keep your butt wig gling. Although "Lost in Music'" doesn't come close to the band' hypnotic summer club hit "Elevate My Mind," the song does manage r4 hold its own on the dance flood With deep shuffling drums, funkX bass and those oh-so-hip British v _ cals, how could they lose? ,r a ,Hl 1 %y.c;AP t ko .. P Now, get the Card and get Student Privileges. Special savings created just for you. Only from American Express. If you think the American Express* Card is simply another way to buy things, we'd like to share some valuable news with you: Since you're a student, the Card can actually help you save. Become a Student Cardmember today and you'll automatically get American Express® Student Privileges our newly expanded package of outstanding savings and special offers. 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