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Arts & Entertainment

Friday the 13th Animation Night hosted by the Coastside Film Society

Thirteen funny Friday the 13th cartoon classics that deal with bad luck, murder, trips to Hell, ghosts and other unwanted experiences.

Once again the Film Society has asked Karl Cohen, the famous animator and film historian to assemble an array of captivating shorts (2-7 mins each) to show at film night in Half Moon Bay. 
 
The night starts with a couple of early black and white cartoons from the 1920s. In "The Pet", animation pioneer Winsor McCay envisions a nightmare featuring a mystery pet who keeps eating and growing until it threatens the whole city. Our three Fleisher Brothers shorts push against the boundary of reality as Betty Boop (depicted as a dog this early in her career), her partner Bimbo and her sidekick Koko the clown each star in ridiculous musical nightmares.           
 
The picks from the 1930s are less surrealistic but just as much fun. In "Mickey's Nightmare" the Disney star dreams of a life full of far too many misbehaving children. Otto Soglow's chubby Little King bathes and plays with his pooch while a dastardly villain plots his murder in "The Fatal Note". In "Wotta Nitemare" Popeye dreams of a picnic in the clouds.
 
Next come two 1940s shorts by legendary cartoon director Tex Avery. "Who killed Who" deals with a detective who has to solve a murder in a haunted house. "Bad Luck Blackie" introduces us to a cute white kitten tormented by a bulldog and saved by a bad luck black cat. It is widely acclaimed as one of the fastest paced and funniest cartoons ever made. 
 
Karl's final three picks are famous mind bending shorts from the 60s and 70s. You can guess who will win in "Bambi Meets Godzilla". "Vicious Cycles" uses stop motion animation with live people to give us a  motorcycle gang without motorcycles. It's part Tarentino, part Monty Python. Then its back to the surreal with "Make Me Psychic" in which Anita the duck buys a gizmo that gives her psychic powers and makes her the hit of a party in an alternate universe.  
 
Karl Cohen will attend the screening to introduce the films and lead a discussion afterwards.   A great night to introduce the whole family to classic animation.

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