The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 11, 1991 - Page 7
re
Animation compilations from
Expanded Entertainment are getting
harder and harder to cover. It's not
that they're any worse, but just that
,they're basically staying the same.
.It's obviously not one of these "if
you've seen one you've seen them
all" situations, since the shorts are
different every time, and every time
there are both gems and duds. But
the essentially mixed-bag nature of
'the compilations isn't changing. It's
as if the producers, in trying to keep
the films as universally acceptable as
possible, intentionally throw in the
*same types of films over and over.
Often we see the same names and the
same subject matter in several ani-
mations on the same program. Not
that these things are getting bad (the
films in the compilations are almost
universally excellent), but that with
years of watching, I can hardly
differentiate between these various
festivals any longer.
This latest compilation, The
Third Animation Celebration,
is - basically - in the same
format as all of its predecessors. So,
rather than telling you all again how
great and unusual modern non-
Simpsons and non-G.I. Joe
animation is and how you will never
have a chance to see this stuff (or
even this kind of stuff) anywhere
else, I'll just give you the highlights
and say that if you have not been to
one of these compilation films then
you should definitely go and if you
have then you should go anyway,
but be prepared for a bit of deja vu.
The best film is John Kricfalusi's
Ren Hoek and Stimpy in "Big.
House Blues". Made for the retro
crowd at Nickelodeon, this is basi-
cally an updated Tex Avery cartoon
(Avery, working for Warner Brothers
in the '40s and '50s, consistently di-
rected the most clever, wry and vio.-
lent cartoons at a studio that was no
stranger to any of these concepts).
The plot is Avery-esquely simple:
the two lead characters (an asthmatic,
whiny chihuahua and a dumb, fat
cat) are sent to The Big House (the
pound) where they await The Big
Sleep until they are finally rescued.
What really happens is a
psychedelic, schizoid trip through
Kricfalusi's plastically violent uni-
verse (sorta like what would hap-
pened if one, such as Avery, crossed
Walt Disney and William S. Bur-
roughs). It's remarkable not only for
its style, but for the fact that it sig-
nals - even more than the Roger
Rabbit cartoons stuck to the begin-
nings of recent Disney films - that
animation and reason is finally win-
ning over marketing and censorship
(read that as Smurfs).
Coming in a distant second is
Mike Wellins' and Mark Swain's
This is Not Frank's Planet. This
computer animation project from
CSU, Chico is amazing for a student-
film. The film tells an amusing
story of two aliens, Spigott and
Rudy, who run some errands on the
Planet Gerplaxstenfeltplops in the
Solar System of Doug.
Some other good films are Vin-
cent Cafarelli's and Candy Krugal's
Snowie and the Seven Dorps (a Pas-
sive-Agressive Fairy Tale for the
90s), a sequel to their 2nd Celebra-
tion's A Warm Reception in L.A.,
Jan Svankmajer's Darkness, Light,
Darkness, the master's latest bit of
surrealism with clay and meat and
Bruno Bozzetto's Mr. Tao. There is
also some average computer anima-
tion, a couple of new cartoons by
nose-fetishist and ex-political car-
toonist Bill Plympton (who does
those MTV spots with the Wise-
man) and the video for They Might
be Giants' Istanbul (Not Con-
stantinople).
All-in-all, it's not a bad festival,
and it's still nice to see people using
the medium that, more than any
other, allows virtually complete
freedom to create, manipulate, criti-
cize and undermine what most of us
call reality.
The Third Celebration plays at
the Michigan through the 25th.
-Mike Kuniavsky
Feeling like all of us do at some time, this is Ren Hoek and Stimpy.
GULF CRISIS TEACH-IN
Saturday January
12
1991
i.-
--WA I - - , -, - so , - I - - - - I
ANNOUCEMENTS
ANN ARBOR'S FAVORITE COMEDY
TROUPE RETURNS TO THE
POWER CENTER WITH A
BRAND NEW.100%
NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN SHOW!
K
~idjng
When: Saturday, January 12, 8:00 PM
Where: The Power Center, Ann Arbor, MI
.Tickets: $5.50 in advance,
$6.50 at the door
Available at The Michigan Union Ticket
Office. For more info, call 763-TKTS.
U OF M BOXING CLUB seeks new
members. Safe friendly student club meets at
Elbel Field House, Hill & Division. M-F 4-
5.30. Good coaching, facilities. Beginners
welcome! Drop in, or call coach 677-3131 or
Brent 994-8958.
ANNOUNCEMENTS'..s
CORRECTION: The correct phone number
for OAKLAND MANAGEMENT is 761-
7491. The phone number was published in-
correctly in the January 9 and 10
publications. We apologize for any incon-
venience this may have caused.
SUMMER IS COMING & Collegiate Stu-
dent Storage Inc. is available to handle your
storage needs. We offer the largest network
of storage services in the US. Completely
professional. INFO 996-5551.
INTRO. ZEN MEDITATION COURSE, 5
Thurs. eves., starts Jan. 17. Zen Buddhist
Temple. 761-6520.
EROOMMATES
FEMALE STUDENT FROM AUSTRIA
taking English at UM from Jan. to May wants
to live with American family. Willing to help
with household chores and babysitting. Con-
tact Ann Marie 559-4189.
LOOKING FOR 4TH ROOMMATE. Own
reasonably priced room in lge., charming
home. Walking distance to campus &
shopping. Call today MM at 668-6906.
LOOKING FOR ROOMMATE to share
large, comfortable apt. on Walnut Street. Call
MM 668-6906.
LOOKING FOR ROOMMATE to share
apt. Reasonably priced. Packard near central
campus. Call MM at 668-6906.
ROOMMATE NEEDED to occupy unfur-
nished single in a 4-bdrm apt. $218/mo.+ util.
January is on us. Parking and laundry free.
908 Greene St. apt. #1 - 668-8315.
IBM COMPATIBLE computer, 40 MB,
hard disc, printer, software, etc., brand new,
guaranteed, just $99. This is NOT amisprint!
482-1621.
Loose Ends
Look How Long
MCA
Not many acts struggling for
airplay on black radio do the insis-
tent form, bedroom music, the jus-
tice that it deserves. In other words,
too many bad ballads irritate this re-
viewer's ears. Now missing the
presence of long-time former singer,
beautiful, powerful Jayne Eugene,
Loose Ends continues to persevere as
one of the best acts in this field.
At this point it would be best to
define Loose Ends as one man:
singer, songwriter, multi-instrumen-
talist and producer Carl McIntosh,
the only remaining original member
of the act. Fortunately, with his cast
of songstresses and the majority of
music performed by himself, McIn-
tosh has preserved the sensual sensi-
bility that diehard fans still
remember from classics like
"Hanging On A String."
Abandoning the richer, livelier
sound he was experimenting with
with "Watching You" (from The
Real Chuckeeboo), McIntosh instead
has immersed his talents in the bril-
liantly anachronistic fusion that so
many of his contemporaries claim
mastery of, with challenging results.
"Don't Be A Fool," the first single,
is exemplary of this form, with its
juxtaposition of soothing, trite-
sounding keyboards and sultry vocals
by Linda Carriere underneath an
intrusive drum loop with a distinctly
go-go intensity.
Certainly a distinct member of
McIntosh's cast now, Carriere
retains a stubborn coolness in the
See RECORDS, Page 9
9:30 am - Assemblies, Angell Hall, U of M
"The Background - Middle East Perspectives"
Noon - Rally at the Federal Bldg.
1:30 pm Assemblies, Angell Hall, U of M
"The Crisis - Iraq, U.S. and the Middle East"
4:15 pm - Lecture, Rackham Auditorium, U of M
"The Consequences of a War in the Gulf"
Rashid Khalidi, Prof. of History, U of Chicago
7:30 pm - Rackham Auditorium, U of M
"WE MUST STOP THIS WAR"
Karima Bennoune, Law Student, U of M
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Archdiocese of Detroit
(All Free - Open to the Public)
MICHIGAN
RECORDS
1140 South University
Above Good Time Charley's
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Ph: (313) 663-5800
Hours: Mon-Sat: 9 am-10 pm
Sun: 11 am-8 pm
OLD ON TO YOUR SEAT!
maxelIl
ms s, / \
TASTE FOR
NEW
MUSIC!
in store January 15
David Lee Roth
a-ha
Book of Love
Chicago
Todd Rundgren
maxell.
XL I
I
90
Same great
tape with
rounded
tape case
TWO-PACK
0e0
each
~e1ch
in store January 22
STING
Pop Will Eat Itself
Chagall Guevara
Boy George
Divinyls .g
(o'.
SONY
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1h fnn tTiRI^ nfA f%If
I