The Animation Show is a touring festival of animated short films that was first held in fall 2003. It was sponsored by MTV, and was created by award-winning animators

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cr ...

and

Don Hertzfeldt Don Hertzfeldt (born August 1, 1976) is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', the '' World of Tomorrow'' series, an ...

. Due to its association with MTV, the showcase was not intended for children, as the festival was more aimed at adult audiences, with its main kid-friendly equivalent being

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's ''

Nicktoons Film Festival The Nicktoons Film Festival (also known as the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival) was an annual event that was created by producer Fred Seibert and produced for its first three years by his Frederator Studios. The festival featured a selectio ...

'', presented by Frederator Studios. Following the demise of other American touring festivals of animation, such as Spike and Mike's Classic Festival of Animation,In the early 2000s, Spike and Mike phased out their general "Classic" festival of animation, but retained their adult "Sick and Twisted" festival; thus general animation did not have an outlet through this channel. the stated purpose of the ''Animation Show'' was to bring animated short films back into proper cinemas, where most of them were intended to be seen, and to "free these artists from the dungeons of Internet exhibition". It was the first-ever festival of animation to be curated by working animators and was described as a "passion project" by its creators, not something intended to turn a giant profit. A sister series of ''Animation Show'' DVD volumes are also available from MTV Home Video and

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

, but the producers stress that the theatrical and DVD lineups are intentionally a little bit different, to encourage audiences to not just wait for the DVD but to visit the cinema and view these films properly. As stated on the ''Animation Show'' programs and flyers, once the current edition of the Show is out of theaters, it's "gone forever".

and

programmed the first three ''Animation Show'' programs together.

parted ways with the festival in 2008 and the fourth season of ''the Animation Show'' was released without his involvement.

History

2003

The first season's 2003 tour visited over 200 North American theaters with occasional appearances from the producers (Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt) and Q&A's with many of the award-winning filmmakers involved. The program included "everything from forgotten classics to the very latest in computer animation". This included many current

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

nominees, as well as the restoration of a 5-minute excerpt from Ward Kimball's 1957

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film, " Mars and Beyond". The tour concluded with the DVD release of ''Animation Show, Volume One''.

2005

The second ''Animation Show'' toured throughout 2005, featuring Bill Plympton's '' Guard Dog'', The 1999

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

's classic '' When the Day Breaks'',

's '' The Meaning of Life'' and new films by animators Peter Cornwell, Georges Schwizgebel and

PES Pes (Latin for "foot") or the acronym PES may refer to: Pes * Pes (unit), a Roman unit of length measurement roughly corresponding with a foot * Pes or podatus, a * Pes (rural locality), several rural localities in Russia * Pes (river), a river ...

2007

The third season of ''The Animation Show'' began its nationwide release in January 2007, featuring the return of

's '' Beavis and Butt-Head''. The third tour also showcased new work by animators Joanna Quinn,

, Bill Plympton, and

2008

The fourth ''Animation Show'' was released in 2008. It included new work by animators

, Bill Plympton and Georges Schwizgebel as well as the Academy Award nominated short '' This Way Up''.Animation Show Year 4 Trailer-YouTube
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Notes

References

External links

* * * * *
Official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Animation Show 2003 establishments in the United States Film festivals held in multiple countries Films directed by Don Hertzfeldt Films directed by Mike Judge Short film festivals in the United States Recurring events established in 2003 2000s in animation Animation film festivals in the United States MTV animated films