The Genesis of Animation Festivals, Spike & Mike made it possible for animators to get to know each other, their work and technical advances that were being developed, in a pre-digital media era.
Sinopsis:
“There are few people who have brought together and united more animators in the history of the genre than Craig “Spike” Decker and Mike Gribble, known to all as Spike & Mike. They created an animation festival that helped launch the careers of John Lasseter, Peter Lord, Will Vinton, Bill Plympton and Mike Judge to name just a few. Their Spike & Mike festival had an enormous impact on animation that was felt the world over. The festival was known as much for the breakthrough animation it presented as the outrageous antics of the founders. But who were Spike & Mike, how did they start and where did it lead them? That’s what this 90-minute documentary will reveal. Similar to Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films and All Things Must Pass the Spike & Mike film is a journey told through the stories of those they impacted – people like Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), Tim Burton (Nightmare Before Christmas), Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.), Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit) and many others. It is an adventure of highs; as they discovered amazing new talent and incredible lows; Mike Gribble’s untimely death from cancer in 1994. Interspersed archival footage of their stage appearances with Scotty the Shredding Wonder Dog will highlight the legacy of these two showmen while underscoring the impact, both cultural and economic that animation has had on film making. The film is broken into three acts, each separated animation transitions that reflect the time period in which it takes place. Classic cel-style, stop motion and eventually CG versions of Spike and Mike support the transitions in their lives and the festival itself through the 70’s and early 2000’s.”
The official release is scheduled on July 14, but you can pre-order it trough Amazon or iTunes.
